Psalm 137
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV, Common Worship Psalter, ASB Psalter, and BCP Psalter) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Hebrew Interlinear Bible, WLCv, WLC5, CHES, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- VII.XXII, Against Celsus, Origen. (c.246)
- From Exposition on the Psalms. Augustine (354-430).
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- From the Geneva Notes (c. 1599)
- From Matthew Henry's Commentary.(c. 1700)
- From Wesley's Notes. John Wesley (1703-1791).
- From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
-
"The
Babylonian Shitstem," Debbie Blue, The Hardest Question,
2010.
- "And for those of us who enjoy the privileges of Empire, how might we participate in its undoing?"
-
"Free to
Grieve," commentary by Kate Huey, ucc.org: Sermon
Seeds, lectionary citations, weekly theme, lectionary texts, bulletin
back page, 2010.
- "If we approach this text as a poem expressing the human experience of deep longing, grief, and even rage, we might listen again to the poetry of people who suffer today, whether it?s sung (or perhaps rapped) in music, or scrawled on posters, or chanted in demonstrations."
-
Commentary, Psalm 137, Brad R. Braxton,
The African American Lectionary, 2008.
- "Let us be honest about the pain of oppression and ask if we are the oppressed, the oppressor, or both at the same time."
-
The Old Testament Readings:
Psalm 137, Pentecost 19C. Weekly Comments on the Revised Common
Lectionary, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church,
Melbourne, Australia.
- "The psalm is clearly speaking about the exile, coming either from the very time of captivity in Babylon, or shortly after. The pain of the experience of exile in Babylon is not forgotten; it is very sharp indeed. We feel the pain of the psalmist through the words of the song."
- "Psalm 137: A Prayer," Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light, 2010.
-
Psalm 137,
Joel Smeby, Lutheran Community of Grace,
Hopkins, MN, 2010.
- "No singing, but hope is alive by the waters of Babylon."
- "Surviving the Tough Times," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
-
"The
Babylonian Shitstem," Debbie Blue, The Hardest Question,
2010.
- Articles & Background:
-
"Conversations Among Exiles," by Walter Brueggemann. Reprinted from
The Christian Century at
Religion Online.
- "The bitterness directed in our society against humanists, Muslims, homosexuals, communists and so forth is in the Old Testament addressed to the God from whom no secret can be kept. Such cathartic utterances are also an honest and courageous practice of prayer."
- "Enemies in the Psalms," Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light, 2010.
-
"Pilgrims
Lost in an Alien Land," Brett Webb-Mitchell. Theology Today,
1992.
- "Young people who have been diagnosed as having some kind of "behavior disorders" are pilgrims lost in an alien land. It is important to note that they are not new to God's story, since they are able to describe God and God's nature in ways that reveal a living faith."
-
"The
Lord's Song in a Strange Land," James I. McCord. Theology
Today, 1964.
- "We are tempted today to inner emigration from the urban culture that has developed in a technological age."
-
"Conversations Among Exiles," by Walter Brueggemann. Reprinted from
The Christian Century at
Religion Online.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Ahn, John, "Psalm 137: Complex Communal Laments,"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Brueggemann, Walter, "Conversations Among Exiles,"
The Christian Century, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Day, John N.,
"The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics," Bibliotheca Sacra,
2002. (Section on "Psalm 137:Curse against a National or Community Enemy"
begins on p. 173.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Halle, Morris, and John J. McCarthy, "The Metrical
Structure of Psalm 137," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1981.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lessing, Reed, "Broken Teeth, Bloody Baths, And Baby
Bashing: Is There Any Place in the Church for Imprecatory Psalms?"
Concordia Journal, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lowry, James S., "By the Waters of
Babylon," Journal for Preachers, 1992.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lyons, William John, "A Man of Honour, A Man of
Strength, A Man of Will? A Canonical Approach to Psalm 137,"
Didaskalia, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McCord, James I., "The Lord's Song in a Strange
Land," Theology Today, 1964.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Murrell, Nathaniel Samuel, "Tuning Hebrew Psalms to
Reggae Rhythms: Rastas' Revolutionary Lamentations for Social Change,"
Cross Currents, 2000/01.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ogden, Graham S., "Prophetic Oracles against Foreign
Nations and Psalms of Communal Lament: The Relationship of Psalm 137 to
Jeremiah 49:7-22 and Obadiah," Journal for the Study of the Old
Testament, 1982.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Patton, John, PhD., "Pastoral Ministry in a Fractured
World," Journal of Pastoral Care, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Steussy, Marti J., "The Enemy in the
Psalms," Word & World, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Webb-Mitchell, Brett, "Pilgrims Lost in an Alien
Land," Theology Today, 1992.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Ahn, John, "Psalm 137: Complex Communal Laments,"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2008.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- "Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land," The Rev. Dr. Steve A. Martin, Day 1, 2006.
- With Children:
- Drama:
- Liturgy:
- Responsive Liturgical Paraphrase at The Billabong by Rev Jeff Shrowder, Uniting Church in Australia:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Psalm 137. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Hymn Selections, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
- "Song of Exile," lyrics, midi, sheet music, mp3. Stephen J. Pearson, The Psalmistry. See Terms of Use.
- Psalm 137, two settings by Dale A. Schoening, Metrical Psalms.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Psalms
