5 Feb, 2017 Remember Psalm 137

Introduction
Now, sometimes when I have a difficult or stressful day, when I get home, I will often have a long conversation with
Rani, then I will go for a long jog, have a long shower, and climb into bed. But once I'm in bed - and maybe you've
had this experience - I will begin to remember the difficult things about the day, maybe it was something wrong I
said or did, or maybe someone said or did something wrong to me. Now, often when we remember things that have
gone wrong: bad things, hard things, awkward things. It's not that we don't remember good things as well. But it
seems when things don't go the way we think they should, they cause us a lot of stress and stick around in our
memory making them are hard to forget.

Maybe you have a memory that - when it comes into your mind - brings you grief. Maybe it's just a moment of guilt,
regret, or disappointment about a bad life decision. Or maybe it's an overwhelming flood of different thoughts,
feelings, and images from a painful experience in your life that leaves you unable to move on. But maybe you have a
painful memory that you absolutely refuse to forget, a memory that you hold onto because its really important.
Maybe it's a memory of a loved one who is no longer with you, or of the country or town you can no longer visit, or
maybe it's an experience that you will never again have. Even though it's painful you hold onto to the memory
because it is part of who you are. Or maybe you hold tightly onto a hard memory for a completely different reason,
maybe you want someone to get what they deserve. You remember it in the hope that the person who did you wrong
might be punished, and justice might be done. You remember it because you fear that no one will remember it for
you, or bring them to justice on your behalf.

Now, remembering can be a bad thing: our grief can cripple us, our loyalties can be misplaced, and the wrongs
committed against us may be no wrongs at all, or at least not ones worth mentioning. But for those of us who follow
Jesus remembering - and remembering difficult things - is one of the ways in which we cling onto who God is and who we
are. And that's what the Psalmist - our teacher - would like to show us this morning.

Reading the Psalms

Now, you'll remember that a few weeks ago we thought a little bit about what the Psalms are actually trying to do.
And this morning I'd like us to pause and go over a few of these things which will help us to read our Psalm this
morning, and - I hope - help you to read the Psalms for yourself.

First, a helpful way of thinking about the Psalms is like a compass, thorough 150 different poems and songs, divided
into five books, the Psalmist - our teacher - guides us through every aspect of our life, by helping us to experience what
life with God and his King is like. (Book 1) introduces us to life with God and his King (Book 2) the difficulties we
experience while living with God and his King. (Book 3) the despair we feel when God's King is absent. (Book 4), the
hope we can still have in God when we look to creation. (Book 5) the joy we can have when we know God's King will
return.

Now, our Psalm this morning is part of that fifth book. That is, it's part of a group of Psalms that are meant to help
us experience the joy that we can have in God. But this Psalm is not joyful - its ugly, its sad, it's depressing; and I think
that's the Psalmists way of saying what you and I both know, that in times of joy, painful memories often resurface
which we need to address in an appropriate way.

Second, each individual Psalm is like a compass as well. That is, through each individual song or poem the Psalmist
shapes our beliefs, attitudes, and feelings toward life using three different things: parallel lines, word pictures, and an
emotional journey. (One) the Psalmist begins with parallel lines. Which just means, he will make a statement, and then he'll
make a similar statement, to really lock it in your mind. (Two) by putting together a bunch of parallel lines, the psalmist
will create a word picture, which will capture a truth, a feeling, or an experience from life. (Three) By putting these word
pictures together, the Psalmist takes us on an emotional journey that will shape our beliefs and attitudes toward: God,
his king, and the world.

And if you look down at our Psalm this morning, it has nine sets of parallel lines, three word pictures, all of which takes
us on one emotional journey. So now, with these things in mind, we're going to walk through our Psalm, and then after
that we're going to think carefully about what this means for us today.

Walk through the Psalm

Now, if you look down at our Psalm this morning, you'll see the Psalmist - our teacher - uses the word remember three
times, each time in a different word picture. In the first word picture we have weeping, in the second word picture we have
an oath, and in the third word picture we have a plea. And through each of these word pictures the Psalmist shows us
that remembering - and remembering difficult things - is one of the ways in which we cling onto who God is, and
who we are. Now, the first word picture, weeping, verses 1 to 4. Now, you'll notice in verse 3 the Psalmists mentions 'the
song of Zion'. Zion is the name of the mountain on which the city of Jerusalem sat, and a 'song of Zion' was a song about
how - when God is with you and for you - there was no chance that you could fall, and in particular when God was with
and for Jerusalem, there was no chance that the city could fall. Psalm 34, which we looked at two weeks ago, is very
much like a 'song of Zion'. But if you look at our Psalm this morning, the Psalmist is not in Jerusalem, but verse 1,
he's 'by the rivers of Babylon' - he's in the wrong place. And there in verse 3, the people who have captured the Psalmist
and destroyed the city that was impossible to be destroyed mock him by saying, 'Sing to us from the song of Zion!', that is,
'Sing us a song about how God will never let Jerusalem fall'. But when the Psalmist remembers Jerusalem, verse 2, he
hangs up his lyre and, verse 1, sits down and just weeps. When the Psalmist remembers his home, Jerusalem, which
has been destroyed; when he remembers the Zion songs about how it would never fall, when he remembers how this
makes God look, weak, incompetent, defeated; he is utterly overcome with grief. In other words, when God looks
weak, when his kingdom looks like an utter mess, it causes painful emotional distress for those who trust in him.
Now, the second word picture, the oath, verses 5 to 6.

Now, you'll notice that verses 5 and 6 begin with the phrases 'If I forget' and 'If I do not remember' which is a classic way
to begin, what we call, an oath. An oath is a special set of words we use when we want to show we're serious about
keeping a promise. In particular, an oath will often involve saying what we hope will happen to us if we break our
promise. In English, children will often swear an oath by saying 'I swear I didn't do it, cross my heart, hope to die'. In
this word picture the Psalmist swears an oath to remember. That is, he promises to remember Jerusalem, he promises
to remember God, as the most important thing in his life. In his words, verse 6, he promises to 'lift up Jerusalem above
[his] highest joy'. And he swears that if he fails to do this, verse 5, his right hand should 'forget its skill' and his tongue
'cling' to the top of his mouth. That is, as a musician, if he forgets Jerusalem, if he forgets God, he hopes he will
forget how to sing joyfully about anything else.

Now, I'm sure you know that when a project or a relationship falls apart, often people will give you the advice, that
you need to 'move on'. You need to stop focusing on the past, and look instead to the future, to something new and
different. But here the Psalmist expresses his loyalty to God, and his trust in God, and his belief that God is powerful
enough to reverse this situation, by absolutely refusing to move on. 'May I never move on from God and his
Kingdom!', he declares. Finally, the third word picture, the plea, verses 7 to 9.

Now, you'll notice that in these verses the Psalmist cries out to God for him to judge certain nations. This is what we
call plea, a plea is when we earnestly ask someone - perhaps a judge, or the government, or a person in power - to
right a wrong on our behalf. When we make a plea to God, we remember before God our anger and our frustration
at what has happened, and we say to him, 'This is too big for me, but I know that you have the wisdom and the
power to make it right.' In this word picture the Psalmists remembers before God two nations that participated in
destroying God's city of Jerusalem. He remembers the Edomites, verse 7, who encouraged the Babylonians on in
their violent destruction of the city, shouting 'Strip her! Strip her! Down to her foundations!' And he remembers the
Babylonians who, verses 8 and 9, didn't merely capture the city, but slaughtered even the innocent children (can you
get more evil than that?), and so he asks for justice, for straight-forward justice, what they have done, may it be done
to them, and not an inch more. Now, what is the Psalmist saying? He takes the principle of justice, what you have
done to me, should be done to you. He's bitterly angry, so he spells out clearly what that means, you killed my
children, so someone should kill your children. And this is where we freeze, "I know your innocent children were
killed, but obviously we can't kill their innocent children in return, so I guess we can't offer you any justice, sorry".
But the Psalmist isn't talking to us, he's talking to God, because he knows that God can offer justice in a bigger and
more profound way than we can possibly imagine.

Theological Reflection
Now, we began this sermon by thinking a little bit about the way in which we often remember painful and difficult
memories. We noticed that remembering these memories brings us grief, and we also noticed that we often
remember these memories out of loyalty to a person or place, and also out of a desire for justice. And now I would
like us to think a little bit about what the Psalmist - our teacher - has shown about how remembering - and
remembering difficult things - can help us cling onto who God is, and to who we are. And we will touch on 3 things.
First, when we remember what God's people have suffered and are suffering, the right response is grief. Every now
and then you will meet some Christians who think there is something good about suffering. There isn't, it's suffering.
Yes, it is an honour to suffer for Jesus, yes, we have hope in suffering, yes, hardship and suffering builds character
and trust (if it doesn't tear them down), but that does not make it good, it's suffering. When you remember Jesus'
suffering on the cross, when you remember your persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, the right
response is grief.
Second, when we suffer we need to remember who God is, if we are to hold onto who we are. When our brothers
and sisters in Christ across the world suffer for following Jesus. And when the world mocks God and says he is weak,
incompetent, and unable to protect his people. And when they suggest that we should 'move on' from Christianity
because it has lost - either because its outlawed, outdated, or both. And when they suggest that instead we should be
just like the world around us. It is then that we need to remember. Remembering is the gift God gives us. Remember
who God is, remember his promises, remember how they enabled his people to stand in suffering unto to very end,
and you will hold on to who you are.

Third, when we remember God's people who have suffered and are suffering, the justice we seek for them will often
be beyond our power, something that as weak humans we are not able to offer them. But all is not lost, because if we
remember before God, those who have suffered, and those who are suffering, and if we give our desire for justice to
the one who has the power to judge completely and fully, then justice will be done. Human justice will always be
incomplete, it will only ever be in part, riddled with faults, but when we give our desire for justice up to God - like
the Psalmists we won't always get the justice we ask for - but he will give us complete, total, and fair justice in Jesus
Christ.