1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,540
I want to say right out of the gate

2
00:00:01,540 --> 00:00:03,320
that this morning's sermon is not

3
00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,020
one that you will hear preached in most churches.

4
00:00:07,020 --> 00:00:09,360
I know that's an ominous start.

5
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:13,380
But most preachers and teachers will skip right past the psalm

6
00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:16,320
that we're going to cover today and move forward

7
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,700
to other more encouraging psalms, all those psalms that

8
00:00:19,700 --> 00:00:23,260
speak of God's grace and mercy and loving kindness.

9
00:00:23,260 --> 00:00:24,960
And those are wonderful psalms, and we've

10
00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,280
covered a whole bunch of them in this series,

11
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,520
covered several of them just recently.

12
00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:35,400
But what do you do when you turn to a particular psalm

13
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:39,920
and you have to wrestle with its description of God's searing

14
00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,040
hatred for the wickedness of man?

15
00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,900
And what do you do when the psalm describes God

16
00:00:46,900 --> 00:00:50,480
exacting justice through violent judgment on Earth?

17
00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:54,160
When it speaks of repaying the nations for their heinous

18
00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,840
policies and their wicked actions.

19
00:00:57,840 --> 00:00:59,680
Now, we seem to understand that that's

20
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:01,120
going to happen in the end of days.

21
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:02,440
We've sort of accepted that.

22
00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,760
It's built into the gospel story that someday Jesus

23
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,320
is going to return, and there he will pour out

24
00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:09,720
his wrath upon the Earth.

25
00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:11,320
We sort of get that.

26
00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:15,600
We accept that truth, even if it does sound pretty horrific when

27
00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,320
you get to the details.

28
00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:20,480
But what about the temporal aspect?

29
00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,040
What about when God intervenes in the course of human history

30
00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,320
to judge and destroy a nation?

31
00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:27,680
How are we to feel about that?

32
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,640
I'm not going to sugarcoat where we're headed this morning.

33
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,720
Our text for today has some very, very difficult things

34
00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,120
to say, probably the two most shocking verses

35
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,400
in the entire collection of the psalms.

36
00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,240
And trust me, when you read them out loud,

37
00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,480
they will jump off the page.

38
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:49,040
And trust me, when you read them out loud, they will jump off the page at you.

39
00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:56,200
Psalm 137 is only nine verses long, but it is so chock full of biblical themes.

40
00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,920
The dreadfulness of sin and its consequences,

41
00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:03,360
a passionate love for the things that God loves,

42
00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,600
how to maintain a godly mindset in the midst of exile and suffering.

43
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,720
And finally, today's Psalm is about the vengeance

44
00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:16,040
that God promises to render upon the heads of his enemies.

45
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,960
So this morning, what we're going to try to do is put ourselves back

46
00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,680
into the world of the sixth century BC, which I know is not an easy thing to do,

47
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,160
because obviously, the world has changed so much.

48
00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,320
But at least one thing has never changed,

49
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,160
and that is the absolute depravity of human nature.

50
00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,340
And we'll see that in our text for this morning.

51
00:02:34,340 --> 00:02:36,720
So buckle up, grab your Bibles.

52
00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,680
Let's go to Psalm 137.

53
00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,360
I'll warn you, this is not going to be shallow or short today.

54
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,920
So prepare accordingly.

55
00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:52,480
Now, this Psalm can be categorized in a number of ways.

56
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,680
I'll refer to it first and foremost as a lament Psalm,

57
00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,600
although you're also going to hear why some scholars look at this

58
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,960
and refer to it as an imprecatory Psalm, something

59
00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:03,840
that we've covered in this series already.

60
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,120
In terms of the collection itself, this Psalm

61
00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:11,280
is part of a short series of three Psalms, 135 to 137, that come right

62
00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,520
after the songs of ascent.

63
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,560
But these three Psalms are dedicated to recalling

64
00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,840
certain parts of Jewish history so that people can see the faithfulness

65
00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,120
and the justice of God.

66
00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,800
So let's read together these nine verses, Psalm 137, beginning at verse 1.

67
00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,420
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept

68
00:03:33,420 --> 00:03:36,640
when we remembered Zion.

69
00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,400
Upon the willows in the midst of it, we hung our harps,

70
00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:45,320
for there our captors demanded of us songs, and our tormentors mirth,

71
00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:49,880
saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion.

72
00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,360
How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?

73
00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:58,080
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill.

74
00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,680
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

75
00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:07,840
if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.

76
00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,560
Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem,

77
00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:16,080
who said, raise it, raise it to its very foundation.

78
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:18,960
O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one,

79
00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,640
how blessed will be the one who repays you with the recompense with which you

80
00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:25,640
have repaid us.

81
00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,840
How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones

82
00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:31,000
against the rock.

83
00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:38,520
So did those last two verses cause you to wince just a little bit?

84
00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,080
If so, you understand the controversy of this song.

85
00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,400
But before we get to that, and we will explain that,

86
00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,160
and I think you'll walk away with a good understanding of what the psalmist is

87
00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:49,360
intending to say here.

88
00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,360
But first, let's talk about the historical setting.

89
00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:54,460
This is actually one of the easiest psalms for us

90
00:04:54,460 --> 00:04:57,800
to date in terms of a biblical era, because it's built right there

91
00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,840
into verse 1, where it says, by the rivers of Babylon we sat.

92
00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:06,000
And that tells us that this is describing that 70 year period,

93
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:11,040
70 years of exile of the people of Judah in Babylon between the years

94
00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,360
586 and 516 BC.

95
00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:16,320
But while we know that it's covering that era,

96
00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:21,040
we're still not really sure exactly when this psalm was written down.

97
00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,880
So I promised you timelines and maps today.

98
00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,520
So let's look at a timeline, and we'll talk about some options

99
00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,800
about when this psalm was written.

100
00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,280
Let's start, if you look at the timeline on the left,

101
00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,720
with the completion of the first great temple,

102
00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,920
built by Solomon around 960 BC.

103
00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,200
Sadly, after he passed away around the year 930,

104
00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,560
the kingdom of Israel split into two.

105
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:45,880
It was split into two.

106
00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,200
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled over the southern kingdom, which

107
00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:55,000
is known in the Bible as Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital.

108
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,240
His rival, Jeroboam, went up north and ruled the northern kingdom,

109
00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,640
which came to be known as Israel with its capital in Samaria.

110
00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,920
Now, as you can see there, the utterly wicked northern kingdom

111
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,400
fell to the Assyrians in the year 722.

112
00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,320
And the 10 tribes, the 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel,

113
00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,080
were scattered all over the ancient world.

114
00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,440
The southern kingdom, you see, lasts longer,

115
00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,920
primarily because it did have a few good kings who resisted idolatry

116
00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:24,640
and reform worship in the land.

117
00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:26,920
But they, too, were conquered in that.

118
00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,640
And that's a really important date that every Christian should know.

119
00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,280
586 BC.

120
00:06:32,280 --> 00:06:34,880
The southern kingdom of Judah is conquered by Nebuchadnezzar

121
00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:36,760
and his Babylonian army.

122
00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,680
And as most of you know, it was then that the city of Jerusalem

123
00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,000
was destroyed, its walls were brought down,

124
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,920
and Solomon's temple tragically was demolished.

125
00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,440
And the people who survived the invasion and the massacre,

126
00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,120
they were then sent to Babylon in exile.

127
00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:55,960
Now, let's keep going with the timeline.

128
00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:57,960
We'll look a little bit more detail.

129
00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,760
Again, if you look to the left, that's the fall of Jerusalem

130
00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,000
and the destruction of the first temple in 586.

131
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,560
But then shockingly, and as we'll find out in scripture divinely,

132
00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:13,520
the Babylonians themselves are conquered 47 years later,

133
00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:18,040
in the year 539 BC, by a military alliance of two kingdoms

134
00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,160
to the east, the Medes and the Persians, brought together

135
00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,880
and coalesced in an alliance by a very important biblical

136
00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,720
character by the name of Cyrus the Great.

137
00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,560
We'll come back to that at the end of the message

138
00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:31,840
because that's very important.

139
00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,960
539, Babylon is conquered by the Medo-Persians.

140
00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,440
So it was that change of kingdoms from the Babylonians

141
00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,720
to the Persians that God used to then begin

142
00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:45,160
to send his people, at least a portion of the population,

143
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,520
from Babylon back to the Holy Land.

144
00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,520
And that happens in several waves.

145
00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,880
The first wave happens in the year 537.

146
00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,240
And as you can see, there's two other important dates there.

147
00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,880
516 is when the second temple, much less glorious

148
00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,400
than the first, but the second temple is rebuilt in the land.

149
00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,240
And then it takes all the way until the days of Nehemiah

150
00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,640
in 445 for Jerusalem's walls to be rebuilt.

151
00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:11,960
All those dates are important.

152
00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,840
So going back to when Psalm 137 was written,

153
00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,640
it could have been during the exile period

154
00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,760
when the pain of it was at its height.

155
00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,720
During the 46 years of the Babylonian rule,

156
00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,680
could have happened then, or it could have happened

157
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,880
after the Medo-Persian assault and after the psalmist

158
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,800
had been sent back from Babylon to the Holy Land.

159
00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,760
We're not sure, sometime after 537.

160
00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,960
If this is being written after he returns to the land,

161
00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,240
then he's writing Psalm 137 looking back on the events,

162
00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,760
looking back on his experience.

163
00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,440
So you know we need a map.

164
00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,560
After a timeline, always comes a map, right?

165
00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,000
So let's talk about the ancient Near East here

166
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,400
so that we can get some geographical details.

167
00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,600
First of all, you see that greenish region.

168
00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,800
That's known as what?

169
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,520
Good job, historians, the Fertile Crescent.

170
00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,640
Right, that is where large ancient civilizations

171
00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:09,240
were established for one reason, the availability of water.

172
00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:10,560
So you see this from the left.

173
00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:13,200
You see Egypt, which had, of course, the Nile Valley,

174
00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:14,360
the Nile River.

175
00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,120
Moving north, you had the coastal region

176
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,480
of Israel and Lebanon that's fed by Mount Hermon

177
00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,720
and into the Jordan River.

178
00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,080
And then moving east, you see Mesopotamia,

179
00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,000
which is fed by these two very large rivers, the Tigris

180
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,160
and the Euphrates, that flow out of mountains way up

181
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,440
in modern-day Turkey, flow all the way through Mesopotamia

182
00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,680
and exit out in the Persian Gulf.

183
00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:41,320
The blue dot is Jerusalem.

184
00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,880
And the red dot is Babylon, where

185
00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,880
the survivors of the massacre in Judah

186
00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,400
are ultimately sent into exile.

187
00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,680
And you can see there that blue line that I've highlighted.

188
00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:53,440
That is the Euphrates River.

189
00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,480
It runs straight through the ancient city of Babylon.

190
00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,960
So as the psalmist is talking about sitting down by a river,

191
00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:02,080
he's either referring to the Euphrates itself

192
00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,040
or to one of its many canals, one of its tributaries

193
00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,480
that come off the Euphrates.

194
00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,560
Now, just a few other fun notes, because, man, I just

195
00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:12,240
love geography.

196
00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,120
A couple really important, you have up there that yellow,

197
00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,600
that's Nineveh, the former capital of the Assyrian Empire,

198
00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:20,800
which the Babylonians conquered in the year,

199
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,040
I think it was like 615.

200
00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,000
That's where Jonah was, of course, sent.

201
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,000
But that was the capital of the Assyrian Empire

202
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,320
when they fell to the Babylonians.

203
00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,040
You have the green dot is Ur.

204
00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,560
That is where Abraham originally comes from.

205
00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,040
We talk about Abraham being a pagan

206
00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:40,840
and then being called out of his homeland

207
00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:42,520
to come to the land of Canaan.

208
00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,120
That's where he was from, right on the Persian Gulf there in Ur.

209
00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:48,360
And then the pink dot is Susa.

210
00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,800
And that is the setting, the Persian city,

211
00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,320
the setting of the Book of Esther.

212
00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,400
So you should know all those things just for fun.

213
00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,320
OK, with all that background in mind,

214
00:10:58,320 --> 00:10:59,920
let's dive into the psalm now.

215
00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,080
And let's begin with the lament portion,

216
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,800
the obvious lament portion of this particular psalm.

217
00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,600
And I'll just walk you through the three parts on the screen

218
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,600
as you look at it.

219
00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,440
Let's talk about verses one through four.

220
00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:20,520
There are times when the church is guilty of taking a psalm

221
00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,160
like this and expositing it in a very sort of cold

222
00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,120
and indifferent manner.

223
00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,840
We have a tendency in the modern world

224
00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,600
to just look at a text and diagram it

225
00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,120
and try to find the core truths and then apply it

226
00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:35,240
to our lives.

227
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,040
But can I caution you, especially

228
00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,240
when you're reading historical psalms like this,

229
00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,960
that is not the right way to approach the scriptures.

230
00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:44,480
When we read a psalm like this one,

231
00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,360
we should start by trying to place ourselves

232
00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,320
in that historical setting to put

233
00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:53,560
on the sandals of those people, as I'm fond of saying.

234
00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:55,120
Consider these things.

235
00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,240
I want you to think carefully about this.

236
00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,840
Consider your life right now, where you live, your family,

237
00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:01,960
all of it.

238
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,760
What would it be like to be driven out of your homeland

239
00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:12,520
by an invading army, to see loved ones and friends

240
00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:18,200
and your countrymen slaughtered, to see your town or your city

241
00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,720
burned to the ground, to be pulled from your home

242
00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,720
by soldiers with your children hiding behind you,

243
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:32,120
everything you've ever owned taken from you,

244
00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,320
then to be force-marched at the point of a sword

245
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:38,400
for months on end, on foot, some 900 miles,

246
00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:43,800
around that Fertile Crescent from Jerusalem to Babylon?

247
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,680
Imagine.

248
00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,880
And then when you arrive, probably placed in something

249
00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:49,800
like a refugee camp.

250
00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,680
Definitely not luxurious accommodations.

251
00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:53,640
But there's even more.

252
00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,100
What would it be like to witness the entire foundation

253
00:12:56,100 --> 00:12:57,520
of your religion disappear?

254
00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,360
Everything that you knew about your spiritual life,

255
00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:04,960
your religion, suddenly vanishes.

256
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:10,840
Solomon's Temple, which it stood for 400 years, brought down.

257
00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,880
The Holy of Holies desecrated.

258
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,800
The sacred furniture stolen by these pagans.

259
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,040
The sacrifices brought to an end.

260
00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,360
The priesthood absolutely decimated.

261
00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,720
The walls of your city lying in ruins.

262
00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,560
It really is impossible, impossible to overestimate

263
00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:35,680
the trauma of this event in the life of the Jewish people.

264
00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:37,880
And now these devastated families, at least the ones

265
00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:42,080
who survived the massacre, then survived the forced march,

266
00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,760
now they find themselves in this foreign land.

267
00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,500
And they've got to build a whole new life apart from this city

268
00:13:48,500 --> 00:13:50,960
that they love, apart from the city where they're told

269
00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,120
Yahweh dwells in their presence.

270
00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:55,360
Now what?

271
00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,000
Can you imagine?

272
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,920
So the psalmist picks up the story with the immense grief

273
00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:02,520
and mourning in verse 1.

274
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:05,040
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down

275
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:10,480
and we wept when we remembered Zion.

276
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:12,640
And in that time and culture, sitting down

277
00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,080
was the posture of mourning when you

278
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,320
were lamenting over great loss.

279
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,580
And how could you even process the extent of a loss

280
00:14:20,580 --> 00:14:23,680
like this for all that Zion symbolized

281
00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,240
in the community of Israel?

282
00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:27,560
But there's even more going on.

283
00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,440
It's not just what's been lost, but why it was lost.

284
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,280
Why was it lost?

285
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,480
And for the faithfully worshiping Jews,

286
00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:36,920
who by the way, had been caught up

287
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,240
in this judgment against the entire nation,

288
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:40,880
and that's just a reality.

289
00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,280
Sometimes godly people get caught up in judgment

290
00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:46,080
as God judges a nation.

291
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:47,600
They're caught up in this judgment.

292
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,160
But they knew in that moment why they were now in exile.

293
00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,040
They knew.

294
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,480
Judah had turned its collective back on God's law.

295
00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,560
They had broken covenant with Yahweh.

296
00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,280
And they had ignored all the warnings

297
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,360
that the prophets gave to them.

298
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,240
And now they were reaping the consequences

299
00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,920
of the idolatry of Judah and their foolishness.

300
00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:11,600
And it's important to say this clearly.

301
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:17,120
God's judgment upon Judah was absolutely warranted and just.

302
00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:18,960
You see, there's a principle that's on display

303
00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:20,120
throughout the Old Testament.

304
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,280
And it's clearly stated in the New,

305
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:26,680
judgment begins with the household of God.

306
00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,440
Believers don't get to say, oh, well, we're fine down here,

307
00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:29,940
Lord.

308
00:15:29,940 --> 00:15:30,880
Judge everybody else.

309
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,760
No, God says, no, it starts with you.

310
00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:34,760
You are my witnesses.

311
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:36,560
You are my ambassadors.

312
00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:38,200
Judgment starts in the household of God.

313
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,680
And that's because of a second biblical principle,

314
00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,720
to whom much is given, much is required.

315
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,160
And so if Yahweh places his unique love on you,

316
00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,560
and you turn your back on him, and you disobey him,

317
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,360
then there should be an expectation

318
00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,600
that discipline is coming, which, by the way,

319
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,640
had been clearly laid out in the Torah.

320
00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:02,000
In Deuteronomy 28, we have this blessings and curses

321
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,160
part of the covenant.

322
00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:04,000
And God was clear.

323
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,160
If you do not obey the Lord your God,

324
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,320
you will be driven out of the land of promise

325
00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,280
and into exile in foreign lands.

326
00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,320
He had been very clear this was not a surprise.

327
00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,920
And so as they sat by the river, they wept over all this.

328
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:19,760
They wept over the sins of their nation.

329
00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,400
They wept over the tragic loss of everything

330
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,760
that they held dear, both in their physical lives

331
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,680
and in their spiritual lives.

332
00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,240
Again, cannot overestimate how difficult this moment was.

333
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:32,320
Verse 2 now.

334
00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:34,560
Upon the willows, or the poplar trees,

335
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:38,040
and those were common along the banks of the river,

336
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,720
upon these trees we hung our harps.

337
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:43,320
Back then they were called lyres, right?

338
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,160
L-Y-R-E-S.

339
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,800
So you have musicians, possibly Levites, who

340
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,400
had survived the massacre, had gotten to Babylon,

341
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,480
and they had brought this precious thing,

342
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,240
this instrument with them.

343
00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,480
But they hang them up on the trees.

344
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,880
It's interesting, for those who doubt small details like this

345
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,320
in the biblical record, archaeology

346
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:08,960
has something to say about this.

347
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,840
Just as an aside, about 175 years ago,

348
00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,760
a British archaeologist discovered,

349
00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,320
and some of you guys know this story.

350
00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:18,440
They discovered the ruins of an Assyrian palace

351
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,400
under the ground in the ancient sort of wiped out

352
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,000
city of Nineveh.

353
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,120
And it was the palace of the great King Sennacherib,

354
00:17:26,120 --> 00:17:28,720
who by the way is mentioned in the Old Testament 16 times.

355
00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:30,560
He's an important character.

356
00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:34,840
And they dug up a whole series of these massive reliefs,

357
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:36,840
these intricate carvings that had once

358
00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:38,600
adorned Sennacherib's walls.

359
00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,600
And they were images of all of his greatest victories.

360
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,440
And one of those reliefs depicted the victory

361
00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:49,360
over a Judean city called Lachish.

362
00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,640
Some of you have seen pictures of this.

363
00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,480
So to commemorate his great victory at Lachish,

364
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:59,960
Sennacherib had a carving made, get this, 16 feet tall

365
00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,640
and 40 feet long.

366
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,080
This is how grand his palace was in Nineveh.

367
00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,440
And it portrayed the image of himself sitting on his throne.

368
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,200
And these generals and these soldiers

369
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,640
are coming up to give him the spoils of war.

370
00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:16,600
And right in the middle of this train of people,

371
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,880
you see very clearly three prisoners of war.

372
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,760
And what do they have in their hands?

373
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,720
Harps.

374
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,360
They have liars in their hand.

375
00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:31,320
So these are two different slabs in the British Museum.

376
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,720
And so the one on the right, it's 40 feet long,

377
00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:35,160
so I can't give you the whole thing,

378
00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,080
is Sennacherib sitting on his throne.

379
00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:41,360
But here you see three Jewish, these are Jewish men from Lachish.

380
00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,960
And the Syrians always pictured the Jewish prisoners

381
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,200
with skull caps.

382
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,800
See how they have different hats than the Syrians?

383
00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:50,600
And they're carrying in their hands

384
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,000
their musical instruments.

385
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:54,500
Now this is a different time period

386
00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:56,040
than the one we're looking at today,

387
00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:57,720
Assyrian versus Babylonian.

388
00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:01,320
But the cultural issue is exactly the same.

389
00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:06,400
These instruments were precious to any Jew who went into exile.

390
00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:07,960
And given enough time and resources,

391
00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,520
it's amazing how archaeology consistently

392
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,040
confirms the biblical account.

393
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:13,960
So back to our text.

394
00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,600
The Jews are now sitting along the banks of the river

395
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:17,320
in Babylon.

396
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,040
And they're not playing these instruments

397
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:20,040
that they love so much.

398
00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,040
Why?

399
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:22,760
Look at verse 3.

400
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:27,360
For there are captors demanded of us songs,

401
00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:29,440
and our tormentors mirth.

402
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,520
And that word just means joy or gladness.

403
00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,360
They demanded songs of joy from us saying, hey,

404
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:39,760
sing us one of those songs, one of those songs of Zion.

405
00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:41,360
And you can probably picture the scene

406
00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:43,100
because you've seen something like it

407
00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:46,040
in a movie or a documentary at some point in your life.

408
00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:47,840
You've got Babylonian guards now who

409
00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,560
are overseeing these Jewish refugees.

410
00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,360
And they're harassing them.

411
00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:53,600
And they're taunting them.

412
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,880
They're pouring salt in their collective wound.

413
00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:01,520
Sing us a song about how great and powerful your God is.

414
00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:05,000
Sing us a song about the majesty of your city,

415
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,240
which we leveled.

416
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,040
In his commentary on this Psalm, Calvin says this.

417
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,360
Their design was less to wound the hearts

418
00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:17,480
of these miserable exiles than it was to cast blasphemies

419
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,640
upon their God.

420
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,080
Basically, they're saying, sing us a song.

421
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,800
By the way, where is your God?

422
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,320
Uncomfortable, right?

423
00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,080
So the Psalmist says in verse 4, so how can we

424
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,600
sing the Lord's song in this foreign land?

425
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,320
So for them, singing the praise songs of Zion

426
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,280
was spiritually unthinkable in this moment.

427
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,600
To give their tormentors the satisfaction

428
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,960
of hearing a precious worship song

429
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,360
would be like casting pearls before swine.

430
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:51,760
And it might also be interpreted that they were acknowledging

431
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:53,720
that somehow Yahweh had been defeated

432
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,040
by the pagan gods of Babylon, which they knew wasn't true.

433
00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:58,920
So they aren't going to sing.

434
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:00,960
The best description I've heard of this would be,

435
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,760
a parallel would be, if you or I were

436
00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:06,120
invited to go to an interfaith event,

437
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:08,240
and we were to stand on a stage, and they said,

438
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,520
OK, you go ahead and sing a song to Jesus,

439
00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,640
and then we'll let the Hindus sing their song,

440
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,720
and the Muslims sing his song, and the New Agers sing his song,

441
00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,120
you'd say, no, thank you.

442
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:18,640
No, thank you.

443
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,400
I won't be a part of that, because it muddles

444
00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,000
the identity of the one true God.

445
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,560
And that's what's happening here in this verse.

446
00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,520
So that's the lament in verses 1 through 4.

447
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,640
The next two verses, 5 and 6, we hear

448
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:36,680
the exiles commitment and resolve to remain loyal to Zion.

449
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,600
Verse 5, if I forget you, O Jerusalem,

450
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,560
may my right hand forget her skill.

451
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,520
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

452
00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:47,320
if I do not remember you, if I do not

453
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,600
exalt Jerusalem above my greatest joy.

454
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,120
Friends, this is spiritual loyalty.

455
00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:58,760
This is spiritual resolve, committing oneself

456
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,760
to remember and not to forget, to never forget,

457
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:04,240
never allowing the goodness of God

458
00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,960
to fade from your heart, to fade from your mind,

459
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:11,480
no matter where you are, even in Babylon,

460
00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,400
no matter what circumstances you're in,

461
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:17,600
being an exile, a refugee in a foreign place.

462
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:19,680
Because these people, these exiles,

463
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,720
they knew that renewal and restoration are always

464
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,120
possible with God.

465
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:27,760
These exiles knew their Jewish history.

466
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,920
They knew what God had done in the past to redeem his people.

467
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:31,880
So they had hope.

468
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:33,840
Even in this moment, they had hope.

469
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,560
All they had to do was endure, persevere, and wait

470
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,480
for God's promises to unfold.

471
00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,360
And that is a great lesson for all of us.

472
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:45,160
When we're going through the storm, we look at the past.

473
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,240
We look at what God has done for his people.

474
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,840
And we have hope because we know his promises

475
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:51,600
will unfold in our lives.

476
00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,200
He will never forsake us.

477
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,840
And you hear the psalmist make a personal vow in verse 5.

478
00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:00,040
Notice in verses 1 through 4, it was all about we and our,

479
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:01,680
all these collective terms.

480
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,720
But now in verse 5, it gets very personal.

481
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,280
He says, I will never forget Jerusalem.

482
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,400
I will never forget the house of the Lord.

483
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:11,720
I will never forget the songs of praise

484
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:16,240
that my people have sung there together.

485
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:17,840
He was so sure of completing this vow

486
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:22,640
that he even placed a curse upon himself if he should fail.

487
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,200
If I forget Jerusalem is my greatest joy,

488
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:31,800
may the hand that I use to play my instrument become crippled.

489
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,480
If I forget Jerusalem, may the voice

490
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:38,600
that I use to sing praises to Yahweh, may it become mute.

491
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:39,800
He's a psalmist, after all.

492
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:41,080
He's a musician.

493
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,240
And for a musician, the hands and the voice

494
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,640
are your most valuable possession.

495
00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,320
But far better to lose them or even lose your life

496
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:54,400
than to let my God in the city he loves fade from my memory.

497
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:56,400
Whatever your most valuable thing is,

498
00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:00,760
better to lose that than to lose the Lord in the city

499
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,640
that he loves.

500
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,280
As I was working on this message,

501
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:07,640
that reminded me of this beautiful, some of you

502
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,120
guys know this story, this beautiful and well-documented

503
00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,000
story from church history.

504
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,680
The story of a man named Polycarp,

505
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,280
who was the head of the church in an Asian minor city called

506
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:21,640
Smyrna around the year 155.

507
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,840
And Smyrna was devoted to Roman worship.

508
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,760
And Polycarp, who was a very old man at the time, in fact,

509
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,380
Polycarp is known as the last living student who

510
00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:32,360
sat under the teaching of the apostle John,

511
00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,640
he had become a problem for the governor of that region.

512
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:38,600
So they had him arrested.

513
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:42,520
He was leading the people to not worship the Roman gods

514
00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,120
and to not worship the emperor.

515
00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:45,440
So they had him arrested.

516
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,080
According to the man who wrote down

517
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,560
his chronicle, the story of his martyrdom,

518
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:51,720
Polycarp could have run away, could have escaped,

519
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,320
but he refused, he said, let God's will be done.

520
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,560
And when he heard that soldiers had come to arrest him,

521
00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,640
he came out, he spoke with them, he offered them food and drink,

522
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,520
and he asked for one thing, may I

523
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:07,200
have an hour of uninterrupted time to pray to my God?

524
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,880
By the time they got him to the local arena, where

525
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,160
he would be mocked and tortured and burned alive

526
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,100
before a crowd, the governor of that region

527
00:25:15,100 --> 00:25:16,440
gave him one last chance.

528
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,740
He said, revile your Christ and swear an oath,

529
00:25:19,740 --> 00:25:23,120
and I will set you free.

530
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:25,720
Here's what Polycarp said in response.

531
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,220
86 years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong.

532
00:25:30,220 --> 00:25:34,800
How can I blaspheme my king and my savior?

533
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,680
It is unthinkable for me to repent from what is good

534
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,160
and turn to what is evil.

535
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:41,880
So what are you waiting for?

536
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:46,040
Bring on whatever you wish.

537
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,060
And Polycarp was burned alive that day.

538
00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:52,080
Loyalty, resolve, commitment.

539
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,000
OK, let's get to the last verses.

540
00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,320
Let's get to the really hard ones.

541
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,320
Deep breath.

542
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:10,160
As we come to verse 7, notice that there are two nations

543
00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:11,960
in the crosshairs.

544
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,960
There's Edom and there's Babylon.

545
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,800
And both the Edomites and the Babylonians

546
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,600
have been utterly cruel towards Israel.

547
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,400
They had brought immense pain and suffering

548
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,520
into the lives of the Jewish people.

549
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:27,680
And so the psalmist lays a prayer request before the Lord.

550
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:29,640
Notice this is a prayer request.

551
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:34,960
Verse 7, remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom,

552
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,120
the day of Jerusalem, who said, raise it, raise it,

553
00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:39,920
or level it to its foundation.

554
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,600
OK, so who are the Edomites?

555
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,600
Many of you know the answer to that question.

556
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,760
The tragic relationship between Judah and Edom

557
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,560
goes all the way back to Genesis 25,

558
00:26:54,560 --> 00:27:00,440
to the two sons of Isaac, whose names are Jacob and Esau.

559
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,960
Jacob, the child of promise, Esau, the fool

560
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,280
who despised his birthright.

561
00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:07,920
And because of a whole series of events

562
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,200
we don't have time for this morning, in Genesis 27,

563
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,120
we're told that Esau held a grudge against Jacob.

564
00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:18,840
And he determined to kill his brother.

565
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,440
Later, his descendants, the descendants of Esau,

566
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:22,800
they moved away from Judea.

567
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,840
They migrated south, below the Dead Sea,

568
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,400
to a region that today is like right

569
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,720
in the middle of Israel's Negev Desert

570
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:36,920
and the western border of the country of Jordan.

571
00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:38,880
Map time.

572
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,880
So now we're now centering on Israel itself.

573
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:44,920
The blue dot is Jerusalem.

574
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:50,320
That's where Edom settled later on, the descendants of Esau.

575
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,280
And as they settled there, and they built cities,

576
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,040
and they built some beautiful mountain

577
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,540
fortresses in that region, as they did,

578
00:27:57,540 --> 00:28:02,600
they became sworn enemies of Judah.

579
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:04,160
And I mean that sworn enemies.

580
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,760
And there's a long history of conflict we could walk through.

581
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,240
But for our purpose today, notice in the Psalm

582
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,360
how it refers to a specific day.

583
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:15,840
He calls it what, the day of Jerusalem in verse 7.

584
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,000
That is the day, listen now, that Edomites

585
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:25,640
chose to side with Babylon in the invasion of Jerusalem.

586
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,680
They sided with the world.

587
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:35,560
They sided with the pagan as their brothers were attacked.

588
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,840
And they took great pleasure in seeing Zion destroyed.

589
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,840
The psalmist tells us they cheered from the sidelines,

590
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,640
level it, bring it down to its foundations.

591
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,760
And by that, they meant more than just the city walls

592
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:49,120
and more than just the temple.

593
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:50,080
They meant everything.

594
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,280
They wanted Zion wiped from the face of the earth

595
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,000
and everything that it represented,

596
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,320
including the sovereign rule of Yahweh

597
00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:59,080
because he chose Jacob over Esau.

598
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,400
The grudge remained.

599
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:06,960
We even know from the prophets that when some Judeans tried

600
00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:11,360
to flee the massacre, they fled south from Jerusalem to escape.

601
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:12,600
What did the Edomites do?

602
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,640
They captured these Jews and then handed them

603
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,400
over to the Babylonians.

604
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,880
The fact that the Edomites are so closely related to the Jews

605
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,560
makes their treachery so bad.

606
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:26,160
Brother turning against each other,

607
00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,440
choosing to ally themselves with this depraved,

608
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,920
violent pagan people.

609
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:37,000
So the psalmist pleads his case, remember them, oh Lord.

610
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,560
Remember what they have done.

611
00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:40,280
Think of it as a judicial request.

612
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,760
Lord, you are a God of justice, so remember your word.

613
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:45,880
Fulfill your promises to your people

614
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,520
and punish this evildoer.

615
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,400
It's an imprecatory statement, isn't it?

616
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,400
So that's Edom.

617
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:55,960
Next, the psalmist turns his attention

618
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,200
to the invaders themselves, the Babylonians.

619
00:29:58,200 --> 00:29:59,200
Look at verse 8.

620
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,920
Oh, daughter of Babylon, you devastated one,

621
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:06,200
or the one doomed to destruction.

622
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,800
How blessed will be the one who repays you

623
00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:12,320
with the recompense with which you have repaid us.

624
00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,040
How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes

625
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,280
your little ones against the rock.

626
00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:19,120
Now obviously, that is, listen, that

627
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,960
is shocking language that sort of shakes

628
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:23,480
our modern sensibilities.

629
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:26,480
But let me share a few things so that we can understand

630
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:27,520
what's going on here.

631
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,040
First of all, historically, this is hard for us,

632
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:32,840
especially young families.

633
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,040
Slaying the children of defeated enemies

634
00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,160
was a common practice in the ancient Near East.

635
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:40,080
Why?

636
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:44,160
Because children are the future of any nation.

637
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,960
Little boys grow up to be warriors.

638
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,560
Little girls grow up to be the mothers of warriors.

639
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,800
So executing children in that time and place, so hard,

640
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,480
was viewed as practical and sensible.

641
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,080
And it would not have shocked the original audience

642
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:04,480
of this psalm at all, because it was so normal.

643
00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:05,160
That's number one.

644
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,080
Second thing, what the psalmist is requesting here

645
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,920
is adherence to a principle known as lex talionis,

646
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,080
or the principle of retribution.

647
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,880
And that is first stated in the Torah in Exodus 21.

648
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:19,440
And most of us know this, right?

649
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:21,640
This is the verse that comes up every time we discuss

650
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,720
capital punishment in America.

651
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:26,320
If there is injury, then you shall

652
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,760
appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye,

653
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,120
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

654
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:39,120
burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

655
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,400
In other words, justice should be equitable.

656
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,080
The punishment should be commensurate

657
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,880
with the crime committed.

658
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:48,560
And so all of the violence and injury

659
00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,520
that Babylon brought upon Judah should be brought down

660
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,800
upon their own heads, including the dashing of children

661
00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:58,960
to pieces before their eyes.

662
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,200
Because that's what the Babylonians did to the Jews

663
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:02,880
in 586.

664
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,360
And I have to wonder as I was thinking about this,

665
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,240
did the psalmist witness this?

666
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,440
Did he see children murdered in front of his eyes,

667
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,080
Jewish children?

668
00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,200
How would that image not be seared in your mind

669
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:20,360
as you prayed and as you asked the Lord for justice?

670
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,400
And I don't want to get political here this morning,

671
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:28,720
but you can also help to think about what Hamas did in Israel

672
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:32,920
back on October 7, the bloodshed that we witnessed.

673
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:37,560
Third thing that's important to see here,

674
00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:42,640
notice that the psalmist is not asking the Lord for permission

675
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,760
to dish out his own personal vengeance.

676
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,520
He's not saying, Lord, let me, give me a sword.

677
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,120
I'll go deal with this.

678
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,200
He's asking God to do it.

679
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,760
And that is a huge distinction.

680
00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,200
Remember, both the Old and New Testaments command this.

681
00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:01,760
So not just a New Testament thing,

682
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:03,400
it's an Old Testament thing.

683
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,760
Do not take your own revenge, but leave room

684
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:08,800
for the wrath of God.

685
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:10,800
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.

686
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:12,720
I will repay.

687
00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,400
Not us, the Lord.

688
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,320
So this is not about personal revenge or personal hatred.

689
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:21,240
This is a collective and national prayer

690
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:27,200
that God would punish the ruthless enemy of his people.

691
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,520
And really, this is the psalmist turning his anger over

692
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,440
to the Lord and praying that justice would be done.

693
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:37,000
Fourth thing, and this is the most important one.

694
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,800
If you really want to understand verse 9,

695
00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,280
this is the most important one.

696
00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,960
The thing that often makes the reader wince at these verses

697
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,160
is that specific word used by the psalmist where he says,

698
00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:50,800
blessed.

699
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:51,880
Right?

700
00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:54,320
We tend to think, wow, blessed is

701
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:56,280
the one who brings violence against Babylon

702
00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:58,160
and murders his children.

703
00:33:58,160 --> 00:33:59,880
Really?

704
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:02,240
Blessed?

705
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,360
Here's the key to understanding this.

706
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:10,080
What the psalmist is asking for is actually not his idea.

707
00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,720
What he's asking for is actually not the psalmist's will.

708
00:34:13,720 --> 00:34:17,400
It's what God had already promised to do.

709
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,480
Again, that makes a huge difference.

710
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,880
He's not saying, Lord, I demand that you do this.

711
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,920
He's saying, Lord, do what you've promised to do.

712
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:27,840
God had already promised through his prophets

713
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,280
to repay Babylon for their wickedness.

714
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,960
That's why the psalmist uses that word remember.

715
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,280
Remember, God, what you said in your word.

716
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,520
Remember what you declared and do as you said you would do.

717
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:42,280
Act justly in this situation.

718
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:44,040
I'm going to give you some examples of this.

719
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:48,520
200 years before this event, through the prophet Isaiah,

720
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:49,360
this is what God said.

721
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,440
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming with fury

722
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,280
and burning anger to make the earth a desolation

723
00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,240
and to destroy its sinners.

724
00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:00,880
I will punish the world for its evil

725
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:02,960
and wicked people for their iniquities.

726
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,440
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant

727
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,200
and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.

728
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:10,240
Whoever is caught will die by the sword.

729
00:35:10,240 --> 00:35:11,800
Look at that last statement.

730
00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:17,320
Their children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes.

731
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:21,160
Through Jeremiah, who prophesied right before the exile,

732
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,200
God had already promised to fully repay Babylon

733
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:25,840
and to destroy its walls.

734
00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,440
In fact, it's no coincidence that the verse I'm

735
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,320
about to show you, Jeremiah 51, 56,

736
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,760
shares some of the exact same language as Psalm 137.

737
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:39,360
Because the psalmist would have known Jeremiah 51.

738
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,320
He's only asking God to do what God said he would do.

739
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:45,800
Jeremiah 51, 56, for the destroyer

740
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,320
is coming against her, against Babylon.

741
00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:50,920
And her mighty men will be captured,

742
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:52,400
and their bows shattered.

743
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,120
For the Lord is a God of what?

744
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:56,000
Recompense.

745
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:57,840
He will fully repay.

746
00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,680
Then in addition to those two major prophets,

747
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:06,160
we have multiple references to the downfall of Babylon

748
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:07,280
in the minor prophets.

749
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:11,200
Habakkuk, for example, speaks of the violence and cruelty

750
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:12,480
of the Babylonians.

751
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,640
And he says this, because you have plundered many nations,

752
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,200
all the peoples who remain will plunder you,

753
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,240
speaking of Babylon.

754
00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:24,120
You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory.

755
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:27,160
The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you,

756
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:29,720
and utter disgrace will cover your glory.

757
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,000
Going back to the Edomites, I have to mention Obadiah.

758
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:39,080
Did you know the book, when was the last time you read Obadiah?

759
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,360
The entire book of Obadiah is a prophecy

760
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,640
against the Edomites, the entire book.

761
00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:47,560
God's serious about this.

762
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,800
And it also has language that we see in Psalm 137.

763
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,000
And by the way, this predates Psalm 137 by 300 years.

764
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:00,520
This is what Obadiah says about Babylon.

765
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,360
You will be covered with shame and destroyed forever

766
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,960
because of violence done to your brother Jacob.

767
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:08,920
The house of Jacob will be a blazing fire,

768
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,840
but the house of Esau will be stubble.

769
00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,280
No survival will remain of the house of Esau,

770
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,840
for the Lord has spoken.

771
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,480
For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations.

772
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:22,600
As you have done, it will be done to you.

773
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:27,360
What you deserve will return upon your own head.

774
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:31,360
That is lex talionis, the principle of retribution.

775
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:35,440
So just to recap and to summarize,

776
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:39,320
the word blessed in verses 8 and 9 of our Psalm

777
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,040
can be misleading.

778
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:43,040
Hear me now.

779
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:44,560
This is critical.

780
00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,920
If I've lost you, wake up.

781
00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,760
In and of itself, invading and destroying a city

782
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:53,960
and slaughtering its people and its children

783
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:58,080
is not righteous, obviously.

784
00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:04,480
But fulfilling God's will is a righteous thing.

785
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,760
And this is a tough principle for us to embrace.

786
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,560
In fact, the Book of Habakkuk, this

787
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:11,440
is the question that the prophet asked God

788
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,600
in the whole discussion between him and the Lord.

789
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:16,960
Because he's having a hard time grasping it, too.

790
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:17,480
Listen now.

791
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,120
Sometimes God uses wicked people as a tool

792
00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:23,680
to fulfill his divine plan.

793
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:30,040
In particular, he will use them as an agent of his wrath.

794
00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:30,760
Let me say it again.

795
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:33,240
Sometimes in human history, God will

796
00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:37,000
use a wicked people, a wicked army,

797
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,680
as a divine agent of his wrath.

798
00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:42,240
By the way, we see this principle,

799
00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:46,080
shockingly, in Romans 13.

800
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:51,680
God establishes government, even wicked governments, to do what?

801
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:53,640
To bear the sword for a reason.

802
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:58,160
They are avengers of the Lord, Paul says in Romans 13.

803
00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:00,440
They bring wrath on evildoers.

804
00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:05,200
Even wicked governments are used by God for that purpose.

805
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:08,640
So in both of these cases, both with Edom and Babylon,

806
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:10,640
listen to the intent of the psalmist here.

807
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,080
First of all, Lord, you have already spoken about this.

808
00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:15,600
It's in your word.

809
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:17,720
So remember what you have declared,

810
00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:21,920
and act justly, repay these two enemies.

811
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:25,960
But second, listen now, blessed is the nation and the army

812
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:31,920
that does your will in punishing Edom and punishing Babylon.

813
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:39,040
As they have done, may it be done to them.

814
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:40,680
Deep breath.

815
00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:43,840
Is that hard?

816
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,600
You know what?

817
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:49,920
We don't take evil seriously, not seriously enough,

818
00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,520
not as seriously as God takes it.

819
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:55,800
I know I read once where C.S. Lewis commented.

820
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,120
He didn't like this psalm much, but he said, you know what?

821
00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,640
He said, one thing that comes out of this psalm,

822
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,120
they understood evil more than we do in the modern world.

823
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:07,880
They understand right and wrong more than we do

824
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:08,960
in this world we live in.

825
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,080
It's hard.

826
00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,320
OK, I'm available for coffee this week

827
00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:16,800
if you want to talk more about this.

828
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,400
I told you that most churches just skip over this psalm,

829
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:21,080
right?

830
00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:23,440
But we can't skip over hard things.

831
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,240
And it does give us a different perspective

832
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:28,000
on a Christian worldview, on the way

833
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,320
we need to see things like righteousness and evil.

834
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:35,280
And the consequences of sin.

835
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:36,640
Let me share a few more thoughts,

836
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:38,360
and then I promise we'll be done.

837
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,440
First of all, we should do a little PS to the story

838
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,440
about Edom and Babylon.

839
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:45,120
And we should ask the question, what happened to them?

840
00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:46,480
God's faithful to His word, right?

841
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:48,720
So what happened to those two nations?

842
00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:50,800
Well, as a people, the Edomites were gradually

843
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:55,720
absorbed into a mixed race people known as Ijumeans,

844
00:40:55,720 --> 00:40:58,840
by the way, which was the source of wicked King Herod.

845
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:00,440
Lovely.

846
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:04,680
And by AD 100, they'd vanished from the history books,

847
00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:06,840
never to return.

848
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,240
And all the great fortresses that they once

849
00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:12,200
stood in the mountains in the ancient region of Edom,

850
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:16,040
later they were abandoned, taken over by the Nabateans.

851
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:19,280
And today, some of you have been in that part of the world.

852
00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,280
It's a desolate wasteland.

853
00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:25,880
The only thing that lives there now is one tourist site, Petra,

854
00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,480
and a bunch of desert creatures.

855
00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,760
Edom is gone, as God promised.

856
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:33,880
As for the Babylonians, the history of their downfall

857
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:35,000
is well-documented.

858
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:36,500
I talked about this at the beginning

859
00:41:36,500 --> 00:41:38,640
of the message in 539 BC.

860
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:40,920
Cyrus the Great unites the two empires,

861
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:42,360
the Medes and the Persians.

862
00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,000
I'll go back to a map.

863
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,080
And he launches an invasion, a daring invasion,

864
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:48,200
against Babylon.

865
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:50,720
The two arrows, the Medes were the northern kingdom

866
00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:53,100
on the other side of the Zagros mountain range.

867
00:41:53,100 --> 00:41:56,000
The Persians are the lower orange arrow.

868
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,280
And together, they marched their armies,

869
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:02,440
and they invaded the entire nation of Babylon.

870
00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:04,680
They conquered the city of Babylon in less than three

871
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:09,800
weeks, less than three weeks to take down powerful Babylon.

872
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:13,440
To this day, historians still shake their heads at it.

873
00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:14,000
It's amazing.

874
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:19,440
They're like, how could a nation so powerful fall so quickly?

875
00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:21,040
We know the answer to that.

876
00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:22,720
God had declared it.

877
00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:23,660
Doesn't surprise us.

878
00:42:23,660 --> 00:42:24,800
We trust in God's word.

879
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:27,120
We trust in what he has promised.

880
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:29,840
Babylon will fall.

881
00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:31,560
Once again, God had prophesied this.

882
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:33,960
This is going back to Isaiah 13.

883
00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:38,120
He literally says, before this happened,

884
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:41,880
I am going to stir up the Medes against them, who will not

885
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:44,240
value silver or take pleasure in gold,

886
00:42:44,240 --> 00:42:46,560
and their bows will mow down the young men.

887
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:48,080
They will not even have compassion

888
00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:54,680
on the fruit of the womb, nor will they I pity children.

889
00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,200
And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory

890
00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:00,720
of the Chaldeans' pride will be as when I overthrew Sodom

891
00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:02,400
and Gomorrah.

892
00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:07,920
How ironic is it that Babylon fell so hard and never

893
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:08,420
recovered?

894
00:43:08,420 --> 00:43:11,480
If you go to ancient Babylon today and look at it,

895
00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:13,280
there's almost nothing to see.

896
00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:16,400
This glorious city, nothing to see.

897
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:22,000
Just as Habakkuk had said, disgrace will cover your glory.

898
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:26,880
But Jerusalem was not only rebuilt,

899
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:31,280
it was made more glorious by the coming of Christ.

900
00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:34,000
Not only does it still stand today,

901
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:36,400
2,600 years after the Babylonians

902
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:40,080
tried to scrape it from the earth,

903
00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:43,520
but the Babylonian people are no more,

904
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:46,600
and the Jewish people live on.

905
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:48,480
And their nation is reestablished now.

906
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,040
Amazing, right?

907
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:51,000
Amazing.

908
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:56,080
You never would have predicted it in 586 BC, what we see today.

909
00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:58,000
But God knew.

910
00:43:58,000 --> 00:43:59,320
Amazing prophecy.

911
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,600
OK, I just have a quick bullet point list

912
00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:02,560
of five other things.

913
00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:04,120
I know.

914
00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:07,320
I know, as if it's not been enough.

915
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:09,280
Five quick practical things I want

916
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:13,280
you to think about that come out of this historical setting.

917
00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:17,200
Number one, I want you to take note of the symbolism

918
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:18,640
that you see in this song.

919
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:22,720
Three kingdoms which symbolize spiritual realities.

920
00:44:22,720 --> 00:44:26,400
You have Zion or Jerusalem, the city that God loves.

921
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:28,840
Really the symbol of the future eternal state

922
00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:30,440
that we're longing for, right?

923
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:32,760
The new Jerusalem.

924
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:34,200
On the other hand, you have Babylon,

925
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:36,400
the city that would not acknowledge

926
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:38,160
the lordship of Yahweh.

927
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:41,200
And when you open up Revelation 17 to 19,

928
00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:45,120
it represents everything that stands opposed to Christ.

929
00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:47,640
Two completely different poles, right?

930
00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:49,440
And then in the middle, you have Edom.

931
00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,800
And Edom is an interesting character to look at.

932
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:56,920
It represents those who are close by to God's people,

933
00:44:56,920 --> 00:45:00,280
close by the church, just as Esau was once

934
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:02,800
close to his brother Jacob.

935
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:07,760
But in reality, this Edom is a sworn enemy of the church.

936
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:11,440
And when push comes to shove, he will side with the world

937
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,120
over believers.

938
00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:16,400
So we're talking about counterfeit liberal

939
00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:17,320
Christianity.

940
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:20,280
We're talking about those who teach a false gospel.

941
00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:22,040
We're talking about deconstructors

942
00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:24,440
who turn against the body of Christ

943
00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:27,600
and stir up others to mock her.

944
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:31,400
God will not forget them on the day of judgment.

945
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:32,080
That's number one.

946
00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:33,920
The symbolism is powerful in this Psalm.

947
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:36,160
Number two, we've got to recognize

948
00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:38,880
the sinfulness of sin.

949
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:40,960
I know that's redundant, right?

950
00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:43,720
But the way the psalmist writes is designed to shock us.

951
00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:47,000
It forces us to see the evil in this world,

952
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:48,480
that it's a reality.

953
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:50,640
This is what the world doesn't get.

954
00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:52,760
Have you noticed that so many people in the world

955
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:54,480
they don't even want to talk about evil,

956
00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:57,440
but it is so pervasive?

957
00:45:57,440 --> 00:45:59,720
And to see the awful consequences of sin,

958
00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:02,720
how it spreads out like ripples and touches

959
00:46:02,720 --> 00:46:06,160
every human being on Earth.

960
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:08,760
It's possible to read this Psalm and conclude that,

961
00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:11,680
you know what, maybe God's just being too severe towards Edom

962
00:46:11,680 --> 00:46:12,760
and Babylon.

963
00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:15,120
But if that's where you go in your heart and your mind,

964
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,840
honestly, you really have not wrestled

965
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:20,640
with just how wicked human nature is

966
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:22,960
and what we actually deserve.

967
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:27,440
And so I would just exhort you to take a second look at this,

968
00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:31,520
at how wicked human beings are and what we actually deserve.

969
00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:33,720
And yet even this is part of God's plan,

970
00:46:33,720 --> 00:46:34,920
because what does it do?

971
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:38,360
The more we go deep into that concept, what do we see?

972
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:42,080
A need for a Savior, a need for forgiveness.

973
00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:45,160
All of these things is what God uses to point us

974
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:48,680
to the cross and the mercy that we find there.

975
00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:51,040
And so those of us who are evangelizing,

976
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:52,360
these are the types of things.

977
00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:53,960
If you're going to talk about the cross,

978
00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:55,320
you've got to talk about evil.

979
00:46:55,320 --> 00:47:00,000
You've got to talk about the devastating effects of sin

980
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:01,560
before you get to the remedy.

981
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:03,520
Amen?

982
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:05,920
Number three, we have to guard our hearts

983
00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:08,800
against vengeance and hatred.

984
00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:11,440
And I know it's getting more difficult every day, isn't it?

985
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:14,280
Because we look out at how replete the world

986
00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:15,440
is with wickedness.

987
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:17,720
We could spend all of our days shooting up

988
00:47:17,720 --> 00:47:23,720
in precatory prayers towards everybody that we see.

989
00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:26,840
But know this, in both the Old and New Testaments,

990
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:28,600
we are called to love our enemies

991
00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:31,560
and pray for their salvation.

992
00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:35,160
Yet there is also a time for us to ask God

993
00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:37,080
to do what He's promised to do, to judge

994
00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:38,480
those who oppose His kingdom.

995
00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:41,160
It is a very difficult balance.

996
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:42,640
But Jesus did both, didn't He?

997
00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:44,800
He talked about love and mercy and grace.

998
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:47,080
But He also called down curses on cities.

999
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:48,720
He called down curses on the spirit

1000
00:47:48,720 --> 00:47:50,560
of the scribes and Pharisees.

1001
00:47:50,560 --> 00:47:51,520
Paul did both.

1002
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:55,320
He said, pray for those who persecute you.

1003
00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:57,720
But He also called down a curse upon those

1004
00:47:57,720 --> 00:48:00,400
who preach a false gospel.

1005
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:02,120
So it's a very difficult balance.

1006
00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:03,120
Here's the point.

1007
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:05,880
We have to pray that God gives us wisdom in this.

1008
00:48:05,880 --> 00:48:08,720
We have to pray that God would keep our motives pure

1009
00:48:08,720 --> 00:48:10,840
and our hearts aligned with His.

1010
00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:13,760
To be able to distinguish those two things.

1011
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:15,840
Pray that we would not become angry about what's

1012
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:17,320
happening in the world around us.

1013
00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:20,680
Bitter or vindictive, because it's easy to get that way.

1014
00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:23,120
Instead, ask the Lord to give you a greater

1015
00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:25,120
heart for reaching the loss.

1016
00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:28,480
Ask God to bring your enemies to a place of repentance

1017
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:32,520
before it's too late, because we know how the story ends.

1018
00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:35,680
It ends with judgment and wrath.

1019
00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:36,600
It's a tough balance.

1020
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:38,560
Number four.

1021
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:41,400
We ought to value what we've received from God's gracious

1022
00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:42,040
hand.

1023
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:43,920
This is an interesting one.

1024
00:48:43,920 --> 00:48:47,400
The exiles wept when they remembered Zion.

1025
00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:48,360
But catch this now.

1026
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:53,840
In their days of comfort, the people of Judea

1027
00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:55,320
had taken Zion for granted.

1028
00:48:58,160 --> 00:49:01,280
And it was taken from them.

1029
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:04,640
They didn't acknowledge the blessings of the Lord

1030
00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:07,280
until they were lost.

1031
00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:08,520
One scholar puts it this way.

1032
00:49:08,520 --> 00:49:11,560
Those who do not esteem the privileges of Zion

1033
00:49:11,560 --> 00:49:13,680
when they have them will be forced

1034
00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:18,360
to acknowledge their worth when they don't have them.

1035
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:20,120
What an important warning this is for us.

1036
00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:22,680
We are a truly blessed people.

1037
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:25,080
We are so blessed to live in this country,

1038
00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:28,160
so blessed to live in this town, so blessed

1039
00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:31,120
to be a part of this church family.

1040
00:49:31,120 --> 00:49:35,360
But it can all be taken away in an instant.

1041
00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,720
So value what you have right now so you

1042
00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:41,560
don't have to remember.

1043
00:49:41,560 --> 00:49:44,920
Value what you have right now and worship accordingly.

1044
00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:46,160
Amen.

1045
00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:47,400
Last thing.

1046
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:50,560
We should foster a passion for the kingdom of God.

1047
00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:54,360
Just as the exiles in this Psalm had an unrelenting hunger

1048
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:56,480
for Zion.

1049
00:49:56,480 --> 00:49:59,680
Listen, they could have just assimilated

1050
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:01,280
into Babylonian culture.

1051
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:03,200
Most of the Jews did that, by the way.

1052
00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:05,360
Most of them did not come back.

1053
00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:08,520
They could have assimilated, but their intense longing

1054
00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:12,960
for Yahweh and for Zion would not allow for it.

1055
00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:16,040
So for us today, it's about the affections of our hearts,

1056
00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:17,880
not being distracted or drawn away

1057
00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:21,120
by all the shiny objects out there in the world.

1058
00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:23,120
It's about refusing to forget Christ

1059
00:50:23,120 --> 00:50:24,480
and His sacrificial death.

1060
00:50:24,480 --> 00:50:27,120
It's about meditating on the truths of the gospel,

1061
00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:29,840
not letting them fade from our hearts and minds,

1062
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:34,600
but instead stoking the flames of faith each and every day

1063
00:50:34,600 --> 00:50:37,000
as we stir up one another to love and good deeds.

1064
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,200
Do you exalt Christ overall?

1065
00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:43,840
Is His church your greatest joy?

1066
00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:48,600
Never forget where your true citizenship lies, friends.

1067
00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:52,600
Your true citizenship is in the heavenly Jerusalem.

1068
00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:56,480
Ultimately, that's where our hearts need to be directed.

1069
00:50:56,480 --> 00:50:59,480
So we'll take the advice in the New Testament authors.

1070
00:50:59,480 --> 00:51:05,600
Set your mind on things above and turn your eyes to Jesus.

1071
00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:07,000
Amen?

1072
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:07,880
Let's bow our heads.

1073
00:51:12,120 --> 00:51:16,800
Father, this is a tough word for us this morning.

1074
00:51:16,800 --> 00:51:21,440
Tough for us to put ourselves back in the sixth century BC.

1075
00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:24,360
Tough on our modern sensibilities, Lord,

1076
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:27,480
because we do have it so good right now.

1077
00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:31,200
We are so comfortable compared to previous generations,

1078
00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:32,740
compared to other parts of the world.

1079
00:51:32,740 --> 00:51:34,160
We are so comfortable.

1080
00:51:34,160 --> 00:51:38,320
Even as we complain, we are so comfortable.

1081
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:41,360
And so it's hard for us to recognize

1082
00:51:41,360 --> 00:51:44,120
the absolute sinfulness of sin.

1083
00:51:44,120 --> 00:51:47,480
It is hard for us sometimes to look dead in the eye

1084
00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:50,200
of the depravity of mankind.

1085
00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:52,840
So I pray, God, that you would seal these things to our hearts.

1086
00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:55,160
I pray that you will show us more and more

1087
00:51:55,160 --> 00:52:00,480
about what holiness looks like, what righteousness looks like.

1088
00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:04,040
And also show us, Lord, about the depravity of man.

1089
00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:06,920
And we're so grateful this morning as we look at this Psalm

1090
00:52:06,920 --> 00:52:09,400
that we have been shown the remedy, Lord,

1091
00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:12,120
that you sent your one and only Son to this earth

1092
00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:15,160
to show us who you are and to provide us with mercy

1093
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:17,760
and a sacrifice for our sins.

1094
00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:21,600
So God, this morning, even as we were in the sixth century BC

1095
00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:25,000
and we're in the Old Testament, help us now to bridge that gap

1096
00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:28,760
and to look to the cross and to turn our eyes to you

1097
00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:32,120
and to worship you for who you are and what you've done.

1098
00:52:32,120 --> 00:52:37,520
Jesus, we are forever grateful, forever grateful.

1099
00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:39,280
We praise you this morning.

1100
00:52:39,280 --> 00:52:41,200
Lord, may our praise be not just from our lips

1101
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:43,240
but from our hearts for your glory.

1102
00:52:43,240 --> 00:52:58,240
Amen.