This guide gives you questions and leader’s notes for studying Psalm 137 in a small group, a Sunday class, or on your own. Psalm 137 is a lament written by Israelites exiled in Babylon who remember Jerusalem and cannot bring themselves to sing. The questions below move from what the text says, to what it means, to how it shapes daily life, so a leader can use them without preparing a separate summary.
Psalm 137 at a Glance
The psalm opens with the exiles sitting by the rivers of Babylon, weeping as they remember Zion. Their captors mock them with a demand for a song, and the exiles refuse, hanging their harps on the willows instead. The middle section is a vow of loyalty to Jerusalem, followed by a prayer that God would remember what Edom did when the city fell.
The psalm ends with a hard, startling turn: a pronouncement of blessing on whoever repays Babylon for its cruelty. Read the whole poem as grief that has not yet learned to forgive, and let the questions below help the group sit honestly with that tension.
Observation Questions
Use this set first to slow the group down and anchor everyone in the actual words of the psalm before anyone offers an opinion. Ask people to point to specific phrases in the text when they answer.
Psalm 137:1-2
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.
(WEB)
Read this opening aloud to set the scene. Hearing the image of sitting and weeping by the rivers helps the group feel the grief before any analysis begins.
Psalm 137:3
For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
(WEB)
This verse captures the mocking demand that drives the psalm. Reading it aloud lets the group hear the cruelty in the request before discussing how the exiles responded.
Psalm 137:4
How can we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?
(WEB)
The exiles’ question is the heart of the psalm’s theology of worship. Pausing here gives the group space to consider what makes worship meaningful when circumstances change.
Psalm 137:5-6
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. 6 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.
(WEB)
These vows show the depth of the speaker’s loyalty to Jerusalem. Reading them slowly helps the group hear the strength of commitment expressed in such physical, personal terms.
Psalm 137:8-9
8 Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who rewards you, as you have served us. 9 Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.
(WEB)
Read the closing verses last, and give the group a moment of quiet afterward. Their difficulty is part of why this psalm is worth studying honestly, rather than avoiding.
Memory Verse for Psalm 137
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have sometimes sat weeping, unable to sing and unsure what to say. Thank you that you welcome our grief and our honest questions, and that the psalms give us words when we have none. Help us remember you in every season, especially the seasons that feel like exile. Teach us to bring our anger to you rather than letting it shape our hands. Give us compassion for those who suffer, and courage to pray for justice. Keep us faithful in this group and in our daily lives. Amen.
