His Love Never Fails

Commentary

Reflecting on the period of exile, Psalm 137 may have been written toward the end of the Babylonian Captivity. So great was the exiles’ grief that even the singers were silent. It is about two cities: Babylon and Jerusalem, and Edom, Israel’s the next-door neighbor. The Israelites suffered under the hands of the heartless Babylonians. They were sad as they remembered friends who had died when Jerusalem was destroyed. In their grief, they made a vow to honor and pray for Jerusalem. His self-imposed penalty for failure to do this would be the loss of his right hand and the use of his tongue. It ends with some vindictive statements against their Babylonian captors. In discouragement the Jews had hung their harps on a willow tree. Trying to mock them, the captors demanded that they sing and play the songs of Zion to them. However, no matter how hard they tried, happiness could not be artificially generated so far from Jerusalem. They were more concerned about their circumstances than their relationships.

Psalm 138 was written by David when he was surrounded by enemies, possibly during Absalom’s rebellion. David had an inner compulsion to Worship when he says, “I will praise Thee with my whole heart” (v. 1). This was a true characteristic of David that when he was in deep trouble, his life threatened, he didn’t know which way to turn and had no idea of where his next meal was coming from, he was praising God. This is a Psalm of Thanksgiving. He empha­sizes how important the words of God are. Like a mag­nifying glass the Word of God is made large. When he prays, God answers and there is no proof as convincing as that of experience. God is no respecter of persons. The high and noble as well as the down and out are the recipients of His mercy. God is not deceived by the proud but knows the truth about them and has no fellowship with them. He has no respect for a Cain’s sacrifice, a Pharaoh’s promise or the Phari­see’s prayer.

Application

A magnifying glass makes the words on a page seem larger. What has God magnified for you in today’s passage? How can I magnify and praise Jesus today?