Psalm 137 — 139
prayed that the day would come when all the kings of the earth would hear God's Word and praise the Lord for His promises to Israel. Beginning with Egypt, every nation that has opposed and persecuted Israel has gone down in defeat, as God promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3). (See 68:29–32; 72:8–11; 96:1, 3, 7–8; 102:15–17.) The messianic hope of Israel is their only hope and the only hope of the world. Jesus has come; He is "the ruler of the kings of the earth" (Rev. 1:5) and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16). What a great day that will be when the kings of the earth join together with God's people in praising the Lord!
Babylon's future, see Isa. 13, noting especially v. 16; Jer. 50–51.) The psalmist knew these Scriptures and asked the Lord to fulfill them in His own time. "For the Lord is a God of recompense, He will surely repay" (Jer. 51:56 nkjv). Finally, the word blessed as used in verses 8–9 does not mean "happy" in the sense of Psalm 32:1, or even "favored by God" as in Psalm 1:1. It carries the meaning of "morally justified," as in Psalm 106:3— "Blessed are those who keep justice" (nkjv). It was not the Jewish people individually who punished Babylon but the God of Israel who answered their prayers and vindicated His people (Rom. 12:17–21). One day, He will vindicate His church and punish those who have persecuted and slain His servants (Rev. 6:9–17).
Answered Prayer Accomplishes God's Purposes in Our Lives (vv. 6–8) Jehovah is the Highest of the high and the Greatest of the great, but He is also willing to become the Lowest of the low and stoop down to meet our needs. To "look upon the lowly" means to pay attention to them and regard them with favor (11:4; 113:5–9; Isa. 57:15; 66:2; Luke 1:47–55). The ultimate proof of this is the incarnation of Jesus Christ, for He became poor that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9) and became a servant that we might be set free (Phil. 2:1–12). He was lowly in His life and also in His death, for He who is perfect was treated like a criminal and nailed to a cross, and on that cross, He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). David gave thanks that the Lord knew his need and came to his aid. In His covenant with David (2 Sam. 7), God revealed that He had a great purpose to fulfill through David's life, and He would not allow the enemy to thwart that purpose. This is true of believers today (Phil. 1:6; 2:13; Eph. 2:10; 3:20; Col. 1:29), and He will not forsake us. It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven but to get God's will done on earth, and this was demonstrated in David's life.