Psalms 137:9

Happy [shall he be] that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones - (Isaiah 13:16; Kin. 8:12.) Prideaux, 'Connection' B.

As thou didst use our little ones. So this was but a just retaliation foretold here, as also .

Psalms 137:9 Happy [shall he be], that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.Ver. 9. That taketh and dasheth thy little ones] So at the destruction of Troy (Horat. l. iv. Od. 6). Sed palam captis gravis (heu nefas, heu) Nescios fari pueros, Achivis Ureret flammis, etiam latentes Matris in alvo.

(9) Little ones.—Literally, sucklings.Stones.—Better, cliff or rock.For this feature of barbarous cruelty with which ancient war was cursed see 2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 10:14, &c; and comp. Homer, Iliad, xxii. 63: “My bleeding infants dashed against the floor.”

Verse 9. Happy - that taketh and dasheth thy little ones] That is, So oppressive hast thou been to all under thy domination, as to become universally hated and detested; so that those who may have the last hand in thy destruction, and the total extermination of thy inhabitants, shall be reputed happy - shall be celebrated and extolled as those who have rid the world of a curse so grievous. These prophetic declarations contain no excitement to any person or persons to commit acts of cruelty and barbarity; but are simply declarative of what would take place in the order of the retributive providence and justice of God, and the general opinion that should in consequence be expressed on the subject; therefore praying for the destruction of our enemies is totally out of the question. It should not be omitted that the Chaldee considers this Psalm a dialogue, which it thus divides: - The three first verses are supposed to have been spoken by the psalmist, By the rivers, c. The Levites answer from the porch of the temple, in Psalms 137:4, How shall we sing, c. The voice of the Holy Spirit responds in Psalms 137:5-6, If I forget thee, c. Michael, the prince of Jerusalem, answers in Psalms 137:7, Remember, O Lord, &c. Gabriel, the prince of Zion, then addresses the destroyer of the Babylonish nation, in Psalms 137:8-9, Happy shall be he that rewardeth thee, c. To slay all when a city was sacked, both male and female, old and young, was a common practice in ancient times. Homer describes this in words almost similar to those of the psalmist: - Υἱαςτ' ολλυμενους, ἑλκυσθεισαςτεθυγατρας, Καιθαλαμουςκεραΐζομενους, καινηπιατεκνα Βαλλομεναπροτιγαιῃεναινῃδηΐοτητι, ἙλκομεναςτενυουςολοηςὑποχερσινΑχαιων. Il. lib. xxii., ver. 62. My heroes slain, my bridal bed o'erturned My daughters ravished, and my city burned: My bleeding infants dashed against the floor These I have yet to see; perhaps yet more. POPE. These excesses were common in all barbarous nations, and are only prophetically declared here. He shall be reputed happy, prosperous, and highly commendable, who shall destroy Babylon. ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVENTH PSALM When this Psalm was composed, the Jews were in captivity in Babylon, far from their own country, the temple, and the public exercises of religion; and the scoff and scorn of their enemies; and they contrast what they were with what they are. This Psalm has two parts: - I. The complaint of Israel. Because of the insults of the Babylonians, they deplore their sad condition, long for the temple, and their return to Jerusalem, Psalms 137:1-7. II. An imprecation or prayer for vengeance, on their persecutors, Psalms 137:7-9. I. Their complaint arises from their captivity, and it is aggravated. - 1. From the place, Babylon: "By the rivers of Babylon." A place far from their country; who were aliens from the covenant made by God with Abraham, scorners of their religion, had laid waste their city and forced them to base and servile labour. 2.

9. The barbarous customs of Oriental warfare spared neither women nor children in a war of extermination. Cp. Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 10:14; Hosea 13:16; Nahum 3:10; 2 Kings 8:12; Hom. Il. xxii. 63. The stern law of retaliation demanded that Babylon should be treated as she had treated Jerusalem. Cp. Isaiah 47:1-9; Jeremiah 51:24; Jeremiah 51:56. the stones] The rock or crag.

Happy shall he be that taketh ... - Margin, as in Hebrew, rock.

9. Dasheth thy little ones—The barbarity of this expression, which, however, is to be understood as predictive, must be considered in connexion with the customs of war in there ages, and the fact