Saturday 12 April 2025

Psalm 144

Background
Our passage today directly addresses God’s people who had been in exile in Babylon and gives them the good news that their time of captivity is drawing to a close. This section of Isaiah (40:1-55:13) dates from the years of the Babylonian Captivity, after Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed in 597 BC and the leaders of the people were forced from their homes. This was a time of great suffering and soul searching for the Israelites but in three separate sayings, they are here assured that they will soon return to Jerusalem and Judea.

In the first section (vs 1-2), the writer address a personification of the city of Jerusalem (Zion). The city had been almost destroyed by the Babylonians (see Psalm 74, for example) and it would take centuries to restore it to anything like its former size and glory. One aspect of the promised renewal that may strike Christian readers of this passage is the assurance that the city will seemingly be purified of all foreign, non-Jewish elements (v. 1). This seems to contrast with the promise that God’s salvation “may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6) found earlier in these chapters.

The second section (vs 3-6) slips from poetry (in which most of the book is written) into prose, and is perhaps the hardest part for modern readers to understand. It speaks about the succession of empires that have dominated the Israelites and oppressed them: the Egyptians, the Assyrians and the Babylonians (although the latter are not mentioned by name). Why God has allowed these nations to oppress the people is not made clear, especially as this causes their rulers to mock the name of the Lord (v. 5). The promise is firm, though, that God will now act and they will be redeemed from exile. The theme of God’s ‘redemption’ – the act of being freed from sin, evil or some sort of slavery or imprisonment, usually at a cost – is one that runs through the entire Bible.

The third and final section (vs 7-10) is probably the most familiar to modern readers. It imagines a messenger coming from Babylon to Jerusalem announcing the good news (the ‘gospel’) that the exile was over (v. 7). Like all ancient cities, the walls would have been guarded, with watchmen passing on news about visitors and potential danger. These sentinels see the messenger and even the desolate ruins of the Temple sing out for joy.

To Ponder:

• How do you respond to the promise that “the uncircumcised and the unclean” (v. 1) shall not be allowed to enter the renewed holy city?
• Who are those in need of redemption today?
• How can we be like that messenger, bringing good news to our neighbours today?

Prayer
Redeeming God, ever faithful, ever true, release those in bondage and bring back the exiles from captivity, that all may sing your praises and know your truth; in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Geoffrey Farrar
The Revd Geoffrey Farrar is the Superintendent Minister of the Richmond & Hounslow Circuit in south-west London. He has pastoral charge of Barnes, Putney and Roehampton churches. He is currently studying part-time for a PhD at the nearby University of Roehampton, looking at the impact of the Maccabean Revolt on responses to Jesus. He lives in Putney with his partner and their adopted son.