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how does jeremiah’s advice to 'seek the welfare of the city' (jeremiah 29:7) compare to this psalm's despair?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Psalm 137:1-6

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows in its midst, we hung up our harps. For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who plundered us demanded mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I don’t remember you, if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

This psalm is a lament from the community of Judah, exiled in Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 586 BCE. It captures their profound sorrow, their longing for their homeland, and their refusal to entertain their captors with songs of their sacred tradition.

How does deep grief for what is lost shape our ability or willingness to engage with our present circumstances?

Then — the setting

Psalm 137 belongs to the exilic period, sometime after Jerusalem's destruction in 586 BCE and before the return in 538 BCE. It reflects the deep trauma and displacement felt by the Judean community forcibly removed from their homeland and temple. The rivers of Babylon (e.g., the Euphrates and its canals) would have been the sites where exiles lived and worked. The demand for 'songs of Zion' from their captors is understood as a form of psychological oppression, forcing the conquered to perform their sacred traditions for the amusement of their oppressors, thus desecrating them. The psalmist's refusal is a powerful act of resistance and preservation of identity.

Across the Testaments

This psalm, rooted in the Old Testament experience of exile and trauma, presents a profound lament. The New Testament, while not dealing with national exile in the same way, often echoes themes of suffering and longing for a 'heavenly city' (e.g., Hebrews 11:13-16). While Psalm 137 refuses to sing in a foreign land due to grief, the New Testament often encourages singing praises even in times of persecution or hardship (e.g., Acts 16:25 where Paul and Silas sing hymns in prison). This highlights a tension: grief can make worship impossible, yet faith can also transform suffering into an occasion for worship, depending on the context and the nature of the 'foreign land' or captivity.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Jeremiah 29:4-7
This passage offers a direct contrast, advising the exiles to settle down, build, plant, and seek the welfare of Babylon.
Lamentations 1:1-3
Another raw expression of grief and desolation over Jerusalem's destruction and exile.
Psalm 42:1-4
Expresses a similar longing for God and Zion from a place of distress and separation.

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