Killing Babies! Really?

Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our hearts upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who cried, who carried us away captive, asked us for a song. And those who plundered us requested Mir sing, sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth. If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy, remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, Raise it, raise it to its very foundation.
O daughter of Babylon, who are destroyed, happy the one who repays you as you have served us. Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rocks. It's a hard psalm. Just be honest with it. Let's just face it. That is a hard psalm, especially the last verse. Especially the last verse. Notice what this psalm comes after. We missed devotions together yesterday, but don't forget what Psalm 136 is about. For his mercy endures forever. For his mercy endures forever. For his mercy endures forever. We read that together, let's see, 26 times on Thursday. Because God is sovereign. He's the one who does all things.
And then in the very next Psalm, we didn't even flip a page. We're in the exile. See, not all life is puppy dogs and kittens and rainbows and butterflies. Not everything's a birthday party. Not everything's the last day of VBS. Some days are hard. Pain is real. Persecution is real. Suffering is real.
And here we find that by the rivers of Babylon, the people have been taken out of Jerusalem. Remember that Nebuchadnezzar had come and he had destroyed Jerusalem. He had completely annihilated the city. He had surrounded it with his troops. I mean, it was a bloodbath. And he had ripped the people out of their land. He had put them in fetters. He had chained them up and he had taken them away to a foreign land.
And there the people are mocking them now. Play us one of your songs. Go ahead, come on, come on, pick up your harp. Play us one of those songs that you play at the temple, right? And they're treating them with scorn. What are the songs of Zion? What are those songs of Jerusalem? We've been reading them in the Psalms. These were the words that they would have sung with joy. I was glad to hear them saying to the Lord's house, let us go. And they're saying, yeah, go ahead. Sing about going up to the Lord's house now.
Why don't you? And they're saying, how can we pick up our harps? No, we can't. We're sitting by the Euphrates and there's a tree and we've hung up our harps. We can't sing. Our souls are sorrowful. And they're heavy. And in that point of sorrow, distress, despair, what's the only thing that they can look to?
But to God's justice. Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, who said, raise it, raise it to its very foundation, O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed. Happy the one who repays you as you have saved us. Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rocks. That's hard. Happy the ones who takes and dashes your little ones against the rocks.
That's hard. but they're crying out for true justice. They're crying out to the God who knows the wrong that has been done to them as they've seen their children murdered, as they've seen people. I mean, the stories in the prophets and in the chronicles are so graphic that I mean, people are literally cannibalizing their own children to survive. And here they cry out.
God, have justice. Remember this day. Remember those who wanted your kingdom to come. And we have a hard time with this theologically, emotionally, because we sit here and we go, well, Jesus told us to love our enemies. How can we like a psalm like this? How can we sing a psalm like this? Let me tell you, every single time you pray the Lord's Prayer, Father, your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. If you've ever prayed for the downfall of a tyrant, if you have ever prayed that the enemies of God might be destroyed, we're finding ourselves in that same place, aren't we? Crying out for the justice of God.
We know that when Jesus Christ returns, he's not just coming and going to give blanket salvation and love to everyone, but Jesus Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, is coming and his robe is going to be dipped in blood. His sword will be wet with the blood of his enemies. We know that when Jesus Christ returns, he will make all things right. Perfect justice will be meted out whoever does not trust in Jesus Christ.
And more than that, Jesus knows what it's like to be mocked by his enemies. Jesus knew what it was like to be mocked by the Roman centurions. Jesus knew what it was like to be mocked by the Gentiles and by those Jews who hated God and his anointed one. Brothers and sisters, we have those who are family in the faith, who are in prison tonight, who are suffering persecution tonight, May they remember that the mercy of the Lord endures forever, and may they find comfort in God's justice, knowing that the book of Romans is true.
Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Jesus Christ will return. Judgment will come. We were objects of his wrath. but by grace he has saved us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the grace you have shown us in Jesus Christ. We thank you for giving us a righteous and perfect high priest and king. Lord, we pray, knowing that we were once those enemies mocking you, and we should have been dashed against the rocks. But Father, you have taken us and no longer considered us your enemies, but have made us your family, your children. We pray that we might trust in you. Lord, we do pray that