Psalm 137 Prayed

Psalm 137 Prayed Praying for strength to forgive    By the rivers of Babylon ancient Israel sat and               wept               when they remembered Zion.    There on the poplars               they hung their harps,    for there their captors asked them for songs,               their tormentors demanded songs of joy;               they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”    In their pain,               they poured out their bitterness before you:    “How can we sing the songs of the LORD               while in a foreign land?    If I forget you, O Jerusalem,               may my right hand forget its skill.    May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth               if I do not remember you,    if I do not consider Jerusalem               my highest joy.    Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did               on the day Jerusalem fell.    “Tear it down,” they cried,               “tear it down to its foundations!”    O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,               happy is he who repays you               for what you have done to us—    he who seizes your infants               and dashes them against the rocks.”    Yet through your prophet Jeremiah               you told the very same people:    “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of               Israel,               says to all those I carried into exile from               Jerusalem to Babylon:    “Build houses and settle down;               plant gardens and eat what they produce.     Marry and have sons and daughters;               find wives for your sons and give your               daughters in marriage,               so that they too may have sons and daughters.    Increase in number there;               do not decrease.     Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city               to which I have carried you into exile.    Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers,               you too will prosper.    Do not let the prophets and diviners among you               deceive you.               Do not listen to the dreams you encourage               them to have.     They are prophesying lies to you in my name.               I have not sent them,”    Yes, this is what you said,                O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel.    Holy Spirit, help me in my weakness:               When I do not know what I ought to pray for,               intercede for me with groans that words cannot               express    O Lord, help me to get rid of all bitterness,               rage and anger, brawling and slander,               along with every form of malice.    Help me to be kind and compassionate to others,                forgiving others,               just as in Christ, you forgave me.    Make me an imitator of you, O God,               as a dearly loved child.    Help me to live a life of love,               just as Christ loved me    and gave himself up for me               as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to you,                 O God.    Therefore help me to love my enemies               and pray for those who persecute me.    Help me to seek the peace and prosperity               of the society in which I now live.    I pray  for your blessing on it, O Lord,               because if it prospers, I too will prosper. Psalm 137  1   By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept               when we remembered Zion. 2   There on the poplars               we hung our harps, 3   for there our captors asked us for songs,               our tormentors demanded songs of joy;               they said, “Sing us one of the songs of               Zion!” 4   How can we sing the songs of the LORD               while in a foreign land? 5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,               may my right hand forget [its skill]. 6   May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth               if I do not remember you,      if I do not consider Jerusalem               my highest joy. 7   Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did               on the day Jerusalem fell.    “Tear it down,” they cried,               “tear it down to its foundations!” 8   O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to               destruction,               happy is he who repays you               for what you have done to us— 9   he who seizes your infants                and dashes them against the rocks. Jer. 29:4  This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.  6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”     Rom. 8:26                  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Eph. 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Matt. 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Jer. 29:7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”