Neville Goddard on Psalms 137:1-4 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Psalms 137 in context

Scripture Focus

1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

4How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?

Psalms 137:1-4

Biblical Context

The psalm depicts the sorrow of exile by the rivers, remembering Zion, and the mounting ache that makes singing feel impossible. It expresses the tension between remembered Zion and present captivity.

Neville's Inner Vision

Imagine that the rivers of Babylon are not a geographic river but a current of discord in your own mind, a state of consciousness in which you have momentarily forgotten your home in Zion, the I AM within. Exile arises when you identify with fear, lack, or limitation, and the cry to sing becomes a demand the outer world cannot meet. Yet Zion remains within you as the quiet, knowing presence that can hear and feel the truth in any land. The demand that you sing for others is simply old habit, not your true nature. The work is to shift from reaction to assumption: assume that I AM Zion now, and feel the truth of that awareness carrying a new mood through you. When you remember Zion in imagination, you re-harmonize the inner atmosphere, and the outer scene softens to permit a new song to arise from within. The outer condition is the last to change; the inner note is always present and your true home. By dwelling in the I AM, you return to the original melody that never left.

Practice This Now

In a quiet moment, assume the feeling I AM Zion now, breathe it in, and hear your inner song. Persist for five minutes, letting the I AM re-embody the singer until the sense of exile dissolves into home.