Remember, O LORD!
Psalm 137:7 – Remember, O LORD…the day of Jerusalem….
Reading: Psalm 137
“Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock” (v. 9)! Are you disgusted by the call for judgement in the last stanza of Psalm 137 and wonder how anyone dare say that?
The “day of Jerusalem” (v. 7) had been a terrible day. The Babylonians had destroyed the city and had committed many horrors of war, with the Edomites gloating over the destruction. But it wasn’t just about military warfare, it was about spiritual warfare. This was a hostility with the ancient antithesis at its root – the distinction between the followers of God and the followers of Satan (Gen. 3:15). God and his people had been attacked!
It’s because of this spiritual dimension that the Psalmist says, “Remember, O LORD…the day of Jerusalem…” (v. 7)! This is not about personal revenge, but about God paying back evildoers according to his divine justice. Graphic terms are used reflecting the warfare of those days as the Psalmist calls for the 
punishment of the Babylonians and the Edomites. But those graphic terms also convey the deeply spiritual truth that God’s eternal judgment of his spiritual enemies is a terrible reality.
The New Testament also calls for God’s judgment against the ungodly who oppress the church. We read of those slain for the gospel calling out in heaven, “‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth’” (Rev. 6:9,10)? As Psalm 137 is gruesome in its portrayal of the punishment, so the New Testament describes hell as a gruesome place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 8:12) and “…where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mk. 9:48). Christ himself will cast the ungodly into the eternal fire (Mt. 25:41; Rev. 19:20,21).
There is a spiritual battle raging today. Many people live in hostility toward God. Many Christians throughout the world are being persecuted severely for the faith. We may pray for the downfall of the forces arrayed against God and his people. And we may pray for the return of Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead.
Photo by Mike Sinko 
Photo by Mike Sinko