Neville Goddard on Psalms 137:1-9 - 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?

5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

7Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

8O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

9Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Psalms 137:1-9

Biblical Context

Psalm 137 describes the exiles by the rivers of Babylon, mourning Zion and resisting the demand to sing in a strange land; it ends with a vow to remember Jerusalem and a fierce sentiment toward Babylon.

Neville's Inner Vision

To Neville, exile is not a geographic place but a state of consciousness. By the rivers of Babylon you sit under the sway of circumstance, yet the memory of Zion is the seed of your true I AM. The hanging of harps on willows symbolizes gifts awaiting the right alignment of mind. When captors demand a song, the instruction is not to pretend happiness but to withdraw attention from externals and awaken the inner note of Zion—the consciousness that God is within you here and now. To sing in a strange land becomes the act of choosing the present Jerusalem as your chief joy, revoking any old identity tied to lack, fear, or separation. The lines about remembering Jerusalem and the cry against Edom and Babylon reveal the inner dialogue: you must refuse the voice that condemns, and instead affirm unity and justice within your own mind. Real change comes from imagining the end—the restored city within—as your present experience. You do not seek deliverance; you assume the state of Zion and let the outer conditions align with it.

Practice This Now

Assume the feeling of Jerusalem now: close your eyes, repeat, 'I am in Zion now,' and let the inner sense of return fill you until the metaphorical rivers no longer bind you.