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Psalms 137:4
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2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who aplundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my atongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy. 
7 Remember, O Lord, against athe sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said,1 “Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!” 
8 O daughter of Babylon, awho are to be destroyed,
Happy the one bwho repays you as you have served us! 
Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
<< Psalms 137:3   Psalms 137:5 >>


Psalms 137:4

How shall we sing the Lord' s song - The song designed to celebrate his praise; that is, appropriate to the worship of Yahweh.

In a strange land - Far from our home; far from the temple; exiles; captives: how can we find spirit in such circumstances to sing? How can we do that which would be indicative of what we do not feel, and cannot feel - joy and happiness! The idea is not that those psalms or songs would be profaned by being sung there, or that there would be anything improper in itself in singing them, but that it would be misplaced and incongruous to sing them in their circumstances. It would be doing violence to their own feelings; their feelings would not allow them to do it. There are states of mind when the language of joy is appropriate and natural; there are states where the heart is so sad that it cannot sing.


 
<< Psalms 137:3   Psalms 137:5 >>

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