Catholic Commentary on Psalm 137

"How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?" (Psalm 137:4)

By the Rivers of Babylon

Psalm 137 is one of the most moving and most difficult psalms. It opens with one of the most poignant images in all of Scripture: the exiles sitting by the rivers of Babylon, weeping when they remember Zion. Their captors demand songs, the songs of Zion, sung for entertainment. The exiles hang their harps on the willow trees. How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? The refusal to perform worship as entertainment is itself a form of faithfulness: the songs of Zion are not for those who despise Zion.

The closing verses with their violent imprecations against Babylon and Edom shock the modern reader. The Church does not remove these verses from the Liturgy of the Hours but provides interpretive guidelines: the enemies of Babylon can be read as the enemies of the soul, the spiritual forces that hold the soul in captivity and rejoice over its destruction. Blessed are those who dash these forces on the rock of Christ. The infant Babylon that must be dashed is the beginning of sin, the first movement of temptation, which must be met at its earliest stage before it grows into captivity. St. Augustine made this reading central to his commentary on the psalm.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the exile is a real spiritual experience. There are seasons when the songs of Zion seem impossible, when worship feels forced and praise feels dishonest. The fidelity of this season is not to perform praise you do not feel but to hang your harp on the willow and wait for Zion. The waiting is also faithfulness. Do not perform for Babylon.

Prayer

Lord God, in our own Babylon of spiritual exile, let us not forget you. Keep the memory of Jerusalem alive in us. And when we cannot sing, let the silence itself be a form of faithfulness that waits for the return. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.