THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXXXVII. The Godly Response To A National Tragedy

(Psalm 137:1-9)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Last Tuesday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said, “‘The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy’” (Jesse Bedayn, Hannah Schoenbaum and John Seewer, “Suspect in Kirk killing charged with aggravated murder,” Republican-American, September 17, 2025, p. A9) and the September 10^th assassination still concerns many people:

(1) Anthony Branciforte of the Republican-American, in his September 12^th editorial, “Charlie Kirk, reckless rhetoric, and America’s future,” p. A6, noted that it has been left-wing shooters who have targeted both right-wing and left-wing notables in the last eight years, that though “(i)rresponsible rhetoric exists on both sides” of the divide, “why does . . . politically motivated shootings . . . keep happening in one direction? The answer was . . . obvious. On MSNBC, anchor Katy Tur implied the real threat would be Trump’s reaction to the assassination. Left-wing pundit Matthew Dowd indicated Kirk was to blame for his own assassination. Countless users of Bluesky and Reddit . . . of online left-wing discourse celebrated Kirk’s killing. Democratic members of Congress on the House floor furiously rejected the idea that they . . . hold a prayer in his honor. The message was . . . Democratic . . . officials and major media personalities will offer . . . hollow condolences” and keep “painting their perceived enemies as fascists, Nazis, dictators,” etc., “knowing . . . if the public . . . believes what they are saying, more assassinations are likely to occur.”

Mr. Branciforte then asked, “If one side can’t engage in the debate without fearing a sniper’s bullet, what happens then? Where does our politics go, how can our republic be sustained?” (Ibid.)

(2) Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of National Review, in his piece, “The siren song of despair” (Ibid., September 13, 2025, p. A6) wrote, “Charlie Kirk was a one-man answer to . . . illiberalism . . . when university administrators and progressive students effectively banned them from faculties. They didn’t invite them on campus, or . . . they were liable to disinvite . . . them . . . (T)hey did everything they could to render the opposing point of view illegitimate and indefensible. (Still,) Kirk . . . created a . . . movement that . . . he mobilized to vote . . . to great political effect . . . (His) murder will long be . . . a symbol of irrationality and hatred of this era, with, one fears, worse to come.”

(3) Fallout over the Kirk killing has been great: (a) “(E)mployees . . . have faced firings and discipline over online posts mocking or celebrating his death” (Mirna Alsharif, “Charlie Kirk’s killing sparks firings and outrage as reactions expose deep divide,” September 14, 2025; nbcnews.com). (b) Congress is affected: “‘People are scared to death in this building,’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said’” (Meredith Lee Hill, “Charlie Kirk’s killing could send Congress into a tailspin. Mike Johnson is trying to avoid that,” September 11, 2025; politico.com).

Need: So we ask, “What does God want our response to be to the national tragedy of the Charlie Kirk killing?”

I. Psalm 137:1-9 is a song of the Hebrew exiles from Judah after the national tragedy of Judah’s being invaded, defeated, and taken captive to Babylon by the Babylonians (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 890).

A. Verses 1-4 expressed the mourning of the Hebrew captives over their plight:

1. Upon reaching Babylon as Babylonian captives, Judah’s people sat and wept in remembering Zion, v. 1.

2. Their tormenting captors asked Judah’s people for songs of joy, songs of Zion, but Judah’s people hung their harps on the trees in Babylon without singing because they were in a foreign land, v. 2-4.

B. Psalm 137:5-6 is the psalmist’s expressed intense love for Judah’s capitol city of Jerusalem: The psalmist addressed his beloved, but distant city of Jerusalem, saying that if he forgot her, he would wish that his right hand might forget its skill, and that his tongue might cling to the roof of his mouth.

C. In Psalm 137:7-9, the psalmist called on God to exact vengeance on Judah’s afflicters:

1. The psalmist asked God to remember what the Edomites did when Jerusalem fell as they cried our, “Tear it down, tear it down to its foundations!” (Psalm 137:7 with Obadiah 11-14)

2. As for the Babylonian army’s brutality against Judah, the psalmist hoped in God’s destruction of Babylon as punishment for seizing and dashing Judah’s infants against the rocks to kill them, Psalm 137:8-9.

II. However, Scripture elsewhere reveals that God allowed the Babylonian invasion and captivity to occur to punish Judah’s idolatry and to get her people to return to the Lord (as follows):

A. 2 Chronicles 36:14-21 reported that for the idolatry of Judah’s people regardless if God’s prophets had long warned the nation to repent, the Lord brought upon Judah the Babylonians to kill Judah’s people without mercy, to desecrate and destroy its temple of the Lord and to carry Judah’s survivors to Babylon as captives.

B. The prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:10-14 predicted that this captivity would last for seventy years, after which the people of Judah would be released to return to their land.

C. Psalm 137:1-6 reveals that even as Judah’s captive first arrived in Babylon, they were longing for Jerusalem and the songs of God’s temple in Zion, their first step in abandoning pagan idolatry and returning to the Lord.

Lesson: God allows national tragedies like the assassination of Charlie Kirk to occur to gain the attention primarily of God’s people that they might evaluate their beliefs and actions and adjust to God’s Biblical will.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we turn to Scripture to discern God’s will for us to handle the national calamity of the shooting of Charlie Kirk (as explained in the Conclusion section below).

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

Scripture provides insight on God’s will to handle the national tragedy of the Charlie Kirk killing (as follows):

(1) First, Charlie was a believer in Christ who adopted the “Seven Mountain Mandate” belief that is taught by Charismatic leaders who are reconstructionists (Taylor Seely, Arizona Republic, “Charlie Kirk wanted Christian faith to be his legacy. What did he believe?”, September 14, 2025; msn.com). That belief interprets Revelation 17:8-10 where the seven mountains on which the future Tribulation Period’s world false religion of “Babylon the Great” sits as the mountains of religion, family, government, education, media, arts/entertainment and business that the Church is to dominate to gain control of the world’s governments. Actually, those seven mountains are where the city of Rome sits and where the future false world religion will be based (Justin N. Poythress, “How Evangelicals Lose Will Make All the Difference,” July 10, 2023; thegospelcoalition.org). Thus, Charlie had adopted a very errant belief system!

(2) Second, reconstructionists try to get the general public to adopt not only politically conservative ideals but also God’s spiritual truths behind them in gaining control of world governments. However, unbelievers cannot accept spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:14-15), so Charlie’s effort to push spiritual truths on unbelievers fueled hatred in a number of them against him. He would have been more effective long term, lived in greater safety and been more correct to have heeded Jesus’ Matthew 7:6 NIV call, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under feet and turn and tear you to pieces.” The only hope for the unsaved is that they believe the Gospel of Christ and become indwelt by the Holy Spirit so they can accept Biblical beliefs!

(3) Third, we must avoid reconstructionist theology because it arose by the non-literal, amillennial handling of Scripture that began in the ancient Christian School of Alexandria and was later developed by Bishop Augustine. Reconstructionism holds that the Church must gain control of the world’s governments before Jesus can return (John F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, 1976, p. 12-14; Brannon Howse, Religious Trojan Horse, 2012, p. 483, 106). Conversely, Scripture teaches that only with Christ’s return will He make the world holy by His establishment of His Millennial Kingdom, the literal and hence dispensational view of Scripture. Thus, we are to disciple people for Christ and not try to force the establishment of a Christian empire onto a secular world!

(4) Fourth, we must understand and correctly adjust to the spiritual war that exists between God and Satan. In Matthew 13:1-25, Jesus informed us on this war that would occur between the time of His withdrawal of his offer of His Messianic Kingdom in His earthly ministry and His Second Coming to the earth to set up that Kingdom. The Matthew 13 parables teach that in this war, people who hear God’s Word will respond to it in varying ways, with only a minority having a positive long term attitude toward it due to sin in them, sin in the world and due to Satan’s activities (Parable of the Sower). Satan will try to block God’s discipling work by secretly inserting unsaved people into groups of believers (Parable of the Tares with 1 Corinthians 3:1-2). Satan will thus spur these groups of believers mixed with unbelievers to grow into huge institutions where even Satan’s ministers will feel comfortable (Parable of the Mustard Seed) and work to corrupt the groups with errant beliefs (Parable of the Leaven). Satan’s goal is to get God’s messengers distracted or discouraged from ministering God’s Word, and thus to curb the discipleship process.

In response to Satan’s efforts, God’s messengers must not to try to remove Satan’s agents in groups of believers since such an effort will harm weak believers (Parable of the Tares, Matthew 13:27-30). Rather, God’s servants must trust God to sort believers from unbelievers in the final judgment (Matthew 13:30, 47-50). Meanwhile, God’s servants must acquire insight on Old and New Testament truths of God’s kingdom (Matthew 13:44, 45-46, 51-52) and teach them to hearers, for some hearers will greatly respond to such teaching (Matthew 13:23, Parable of the Sower). God greatly values discipleship so He will reward faithful teachers in eternity (Matthew 13:43; Daniel 12:3).

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we respond to the Charlie Kirk slaying by checking Scripture and adjusting as needed.