Daily Devotional For Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Good morning! Can you believe we are already into September? Our daily devotional for today comes from Psalms 137. This is a depressing psalm and a shocking one also:
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. (2) Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. (3) For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” (4) How can we sing the Lord’s song, In a foreign land? (5) If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. (6) May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem, Above my chief joy. (7) Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it To its very foundation.” (8) O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. (9) How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones, Against the rock” (NLT).
We really do not know who wrote this psalm, but it seems to have been written by a Jew after he had returned home from living in exile in 537 BC. If you have read our previous devotionals, God had warned His people to forsake their sin, rebellion, idolatry and infanticide. If they did not, He would allow them to be conquered, destroyed and hauled away to live in slavery for 70 years. They were told to even build homes because several generations would live in exile in Babylon. As the exiles returned home, they had never seen Jerusalem or Judah. But what they found was devastation, destruction, disease, despair and disappointment.
So, as they make the long pilgrimage home and arrive, they are shocked by what they saw. This psalm is a harsh reminder how the Babylonians teased and taunted them in exile to sing and play their merry Jewish songs. It would be the same as if you lost someone you loved and then family or friends or co-workers said to you, “It’s all good. You’ll be fine. Just put your mind to other responsibilities or focus on their good. You’ve got to pull yourself together here.” That is unfair and unrealistic sarcasm. The natural and normal response of anyone to death is to grieve.
The problem with remembering is that it can bring back painful memories as well. Memory can open up old wounds. Babylon was a city of river canals and it was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. It had two major rivers that ran through it: the Euphrates and the Tigris. It is possible that the Jews living in exile used the canals or these rivers to not only draw water, but to have their Jewish worship services and celebrate their Jewish festivals (Acts 16:13).
Whatever else they may have left back in Judah, they brought their harps with them probably because even in exile music was important to their worship of the Lord (Ps. 81:1-3). Music was also one way of expressing their grief and seeking the help of the Lord “is the One who gives songs in the night” (Job 35:10). These former exiles remembered the times their guards demanded that they entertain them by singing one of the “songs of Zion.” What biting and bitter sarcasm! The Babylonians knew how the Jews honored Mount Zion and the city of Jerusalem, and how they boasted of Zion’s strength and security (Ps. 47:5, 7, 10-11; Ps. 48; Ps. 76:1-3; and Ps. 87). With the city and temple in ruins, in their sarcasm, the guards were asking, “Where is your God? Why didn't He deliver you?” (See Ps. 42:3, 10; Ps. 79:10; & Ps. 115:2.)
- Memories can bring pain and regret, which is probably the tone of Psalm 137. Trying to ignore or deny the pain and regret will not make it go away. Sadly, sometimes we have to lose what matters to us the most to appreciate what we had when we had it (ex. Marriage, health, money, church, an obedient walk of faith with the Lord). In this psalm, the writer invoked the wrath of God on the Babylonians. In the grand order of things, Psalms 135 and Psalms 136 come before Psalm 137. These two praise God for who He is and what He has done. It seems that in the lives of these exiles returning home, praising the Lord must be done in remembrance of pain and suffering.
- Memories can be painful, but they also can build character. As these exiles returned, at least the writer of this Psalm decided to make sure to remind himself to ask, “Did we really appreciate what the Lord had given us – the land, the Temple, the wall around Jerusalem, Jerusalem, our freedom and His covenant to us through Abraham?" This is the point of Romans 5:3-5.
- Memories can build faith. The Babylonians had been teasing and taunting these exiles to sing jubilant and joyful songs about their God who had saved them. But for the writer of Psalm 137, this was no longer a matter of politics or personal vendetta. It was a matter of theology. This is the point of Hebrews 12:25-29 and Job 13:15. It is not up to us to seek or bring about vengeance. This is God’s responsibility only (see Rom. 12:19).
Reflection Assignment: Think over who has hurt you or someone you love. In every action and attitude, are you leaving vengeance to the Lord or does your sarcasm come out to put down that person? Is there anything bad in your life that has come from the discipling hand of the Lord that you now wish to move beyond regret to maturity, character and faith? What is it? How will you do that?
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 5:3-5, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. (4) And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. (5) And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, help me to accept Your discipline so as to get better, not bitter. Help me to grow in maturity, faith and character as I endure through it. Even if You bring this through the hands of others, I will not seek vengeance or lower myself to character assassination. I will trust You and thank You that You love me that much. I love You Lord, In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly