Praying the Truth by William A. Barry
Author:William A. Barry [Barry, William A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL010000, REL012040, REL012000, RELIGION / Christianity/Catholic, RELIGION / Christian Life/Inspirational, RELIGION / Christian Life/General
ISBN: 978-0-8294-3657-0
Publisher: Loyola Press
Published: 2012-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
By the rivers of Babylonâ
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
âv. 1
It ends with these frightful lines:
O daughter Babylon, you devastator!
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
âvv. 8â9
The whole psalm is a lovely lament of a people in exile who feel unable to sing their songs in a foreign land, even though their Babylonian captors ask them to do so. Most of us, however, cringe at the last lines of this psalm. In the Liturgy of the Hours, when this psalm is used, the last stanza is removed, an indication of how uncomfortable the ending makes people. We have qualms, but clearly the psalmist had no qualms about saying what he felt to God. I wonder what happened after he said these last lines to God.
Notice that the psalmist tells God to take vengeance. Perhaps that prayer kept him from taking matters into his own hands and acting violently against his enemies. Another answer can be gleaned from Psalm 13. The psalmist complains angrily to God, demanding to know how long he must suffer, but then ends with these words: âBut I trusted in your steadfast love; / my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. / I will sing to the Lord, / because he has dealt bountifully with meâ (Psalm 13:5â6). Apparently telling God how angry he is has been helpful and led him to greater trust in God.
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