Psalm 137

Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

#32B Solemnities B Context (4th Sunday of Lent B)

#375 Weekday Year II Context (Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time)

#457 Weekday Year I Context (Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time)

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
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Commentary on Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

The sadness that drove Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild is reflected in this communal lament. The people of God, dispersed throughout the region, recall the joys of being in God’s presence in Zion (Jerusalem). We feel in this hymn our own anticipation of being together in God’s presence as a community of faith.

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Fin