◄ Psalm 137:5 ►
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.
Study Bible
If I forget you
The phrase "If I forget you" is a solemn vow, expressing the deep emotional and spiritual connection the psalmist has with Jerusalem. In Hebrew, the word for "forget" is "שָׁכַח" (shakach), which implies not just a lapse in memory but a willful neglect or abandonment. This highlights the importance of Jerusalem as not just a physical city but a symbol of God's presence and promises. The psalmist's commitment to remember Jerusalem reflects a broader call for believers to remain steadfast in their faith and devotion to God, even in times of exile or hardship.

O Jerusalem
Jerusalem, or "יְרוּשָׁלַיִם" (Yerushalayim) in Hebrew, is more than a geographical location; it is the spiritual heart of Israel. Historically, Jerusalem was the site of the Temple, the center of Jewish worship, and the place where God's presence dwelt among His people. For the exiled Israelites, Jerusalem represented hope, identity, and the fulfillment of God's covenant. In a broader Christian context, Jerusalem symbolizes the heavenly city, the ultimate destination for believers, and the place where God's eternal kingdom will be fully realized.

may my right hand forget its skill
The right hand is traditionally associated with strength, skill, and blessing. In Hebrew culture, the right hand was often used to symbolize power and capability. The phrase "forget its skill" suggests a loss of ability or purpose. By invoking this imagery, the psalmist is making a profound statement about the centrality of Jerusalem in their life. To forget Jerusalem would be akin to losing one's very essence or purpose. This reflects the idea that a life disconnected from God's promises and presence is incomplete and lacking in true fulfillment. For Christians, this serves as a reminder to prioritize their spiritual commitments and to keep their focus on God's eternal promises.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jerusalem
The central city of Jewish worship and identity, representing the heart of the Israelites' spiritual and national life. It is the city where the Temple stood, symbolizing God's presence among His people.

2. Babylonian Exile
The historical context of Psalm 137, where the Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonians. This period was marked by longing and lament for their homeland and the Temple.

3. The Psalmist
Likely a Levite or a member of the Jewish community in exile, expressing deep sorrow and a vow of remembrance for Jerusalem.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Spiritual Remembrance
Just as the psalmist vows never to forget Jerusalem, Christians are called to remember their spiritual heritage and the centrality of Christ in their lives.

The Role of Worship in Exile
Even in times of spiritual exile or hardship, maintaining a focus on worship and God's promises is crucial.

Commitment to God's Promises
The psalmist's vow reflects a deep commitment to God's promises and His chosen city, encouraging believers to hold fast to God's Word.

The Power of Lament
Lament is a valid and powerful form of prayer that can lead to deeper trust and reliance on God.

The Significance of Jerusalem in Biblical Theology
Understanding Jerusalem's role in biblical history helps believers appreciate its symbolic representation of God's eternal kingdom.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the psalmist's vow to remember Jerusalem challenge us to prioritize our spiritual commitments today?

2. In what ways can we practice spiritual remembrance in our daily lives, especially during times of hardship or "exile"?

3. How does the longing for Jerusalem in Psalm 137:5 relate to the Christian hope for the New Jerusalem described in Revelation?

4. What role does lament play in your personal prayer life, and how can it deepen your relationship with God?

5. How can the historical context of the Babylonian Exile inform our understanding of perseverance and faithfulness in difficult times?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah's prayer and mourning for Jerusalem, showing a similar heart of longing and commitment to the city.

Isaiah 49:15-16
God's promise to never forget Zion, paralleling the psalmist's vow to remember Jerusalem.

Lamentations 1
The lament over Jerusalem's destruction, echoing the sorrow and remembrance found in Psalm 137.
Sermons
By the Rivers of Babylon, EtcC. Short Psalm 137:1-6
Fruits of Exile from GodS. Conway Psalm 137:1-9
Injurious RetrospectionW. E. Barnes, D. D.Psalm 137:1-9
The Patriot's PsalmA. Whyte, D. D.Psalm 137:1-9
The Tears of Memory and the Cry for VengeanceHomilistPsalm 137:1-9
How to Preserve and Increase PatriotismHomiletic ReviewPsalm 137:5-6
PatriotismJ. Beaumont, M. D.Psalm 137:5-6
Recollection and Preference of the Church of ChristP. J. Wright.Psalm 137:5-6
Religious AttachmentsJ. Parker, D. D.Psalm 137:5-6
Religious Public-SpiritednessD. Young, D. D.Psalm 137:5-6
Sanctified PatriotismR. Tuck Psalm 137:5, 6
People
David, Edomites, Psalmist
Places
Babylon
Topics
Cunning, Forget, Forgetteth, Jerusalem, Memory, O, Skill, Wither
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 137:1-6

     5339   home

Psalm 137:1-9

     4215   Babylon
     5945   self-pity

Psalm 137:4-5

     8437   giving, of talents

Psalm 137:5-6

     8300   love, and the world

Library
Letter xxii (Circa A. D. 1129) to Simon, Abbot of S. Nicholas
To Simon, Abbot of S. Nicholas Bernard consoles him under the persecution of which he is the object. The most pious endeavours do not always have the desired success. What line of conduct ought to be followed towards his inferiors by a prelate who is desirous of stricter discipline. 1. I have learned with much pain by your letter the persecution that you are enduring for the sake of righteousness, and although the consolation given you by Christ in the promise of His kingdom may suffice amply for …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Captivity.
"Is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?"--Larn. ii. 15. Manasseh's son, Amon, undid all the reformation of his latter years, and brought back idolatry; and indeed, the whole Jewish people had become so corrupt, that even when Amon was murdered in 642, after only reigning two years, and better days came back with the good Josiah, it was with almost all of them only a change of the outside, and not of the heart. Josiah was but eight years old when he …
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Third Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 11-20. 11 Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; 14 or unto governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Thou Shalt not Commit Adultery.
In this Commandment too a good work is commanded, which includes much and drives away much vice; it is called purity, or chastity, of which much is written and preached, and it is well known to every one, only that it is not as carefully observed and practised as other works which are not commanded. So ready are we to do what is not commanded and to leave undone what is commanded. We see that the world is full of shameful works of unchastity, indecent words, tales and ditties, temptation to which …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

In Judaea
If Galilee could boast of the beauty of its scenery and the fruitfulness of its soil; of being the mart of a busy life, and the highway of intercourse with the great world outside Palestine, Judaea would neither covet nor envy such advantages. Hers was quite another and a peculiar claim. Galilee might be the outer court, but Judaea was like the inner sanctuary of Israel. True, its landscapes were comparatively barren, its hills bare and rocky, its wilderness lonely; but around those grey limestone …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Concerning the Sacrament of Penance
In this third part I shall speak of the sacrament of penance. By the tracts and disputations which I have published on this subject I have given offence to very many, and have amply expressed my own opinions. I must now briefly repeat these statements, in order to unveil the tyranny which attacks us on this point as unsparingly as in the sacrament of the bread. In these two sacraments gain and lucre find a place, and therefore the avarice of the shepherds has raged to an incredible extent against …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

The Iranian Conquest
Drawn by Boudier, from the engraving in Coste and Flandin. The vignette, drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a statuette in terra-cotta, found in Southern Russia, represents a young Scythian. The Iranian religions--Cyrus in Lydia and at Babylon: Cambyses in Egypt --Darius and the organisation of the empire. The Median empire is the least known of all those which held sway for a time over the destinies of a portion of Western Asia. The reason of this is not to be ascribed to the shortness of its duration: …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 9

The History of the Psalter
[Sidenote: Nature of the Psalter] Corresponding to the book of Proverbs, itself a select library containing Israel's best gnomic literature, is the Psalter, the compendium of the nation's lyrical songs and hymns and prayers. It is the record of the soul experiences of the race. Its language is that of the heart, and its thoughts of common interest to worshipful humanity. It reflects almost every phase of religious feeling: penitence, doubt, remorse, confession, fear, faith, hope, adoration, and …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Letters of St. Bernard
I To Malachy. 1141.[924] (Epistle 341.) To the venerable lord and most blessed father, Malachy, by the grace of God archbishop of the Irish, legate of the Apostolic See, Brother Bernard called to be abbot of Clairvaux, [desiring] to find grace with the Lord. 1. Amid the manifold anxieties and cares of my heart,[925] by the multitude of which my soul is sore vexed,[926] the brothers coming from a far country[927] that they may serve the Lord,[928] thy letter, and thy staff, they comfort …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Questions.
LESSON I. 1. In what state was the Earth when first created? 2. To what trial was man subjected? 3. What punishment did the Fall bring on man? 4. How alone could his guilt be atoned for? A. By his punishment being borne by one who was innocent. 5. What was the first promise that there should be such an atonement?--Gen. iii. 15. 6. What were the sacrifices to foreshow? 7. Why was Abel's offering the more acceptable? 8. From which son of Adam was the Seed of the woman to spring? 9. How did Seth's …
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Introduction. Chapter i. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the greatest, yet least studied, of the Fathers of the Western Church. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple …
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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