In the destruction of Babylon related in the Old Testament, as well as in the New, all who sought God are warned to flee from her before she was dashed in pieces. All who chose Babylon, its pride and power, rather than God, were dashed to pieces with her. Just as Jerusalem’s children, turning from Christ, were dashed to pieces with her, while those who turned to Christ escaped from her coming ruin.

What, then, does “Blessed shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy children by the cliff” mean? Since it was God who was to dash Babylon and her progeny to pieces, and this verse is part of a prayer to God, it means blessed shall every one be whom God shall use to destroy to the uttermost Babylon and her children that chose and followed in her sins. She was the mountain-high corrupting power of the world, defiant of God and the oppressor of all who loved God and righteousness and holiness. In her was found the blood of the saints and the prophets, Rev. xvii. 6, xviii. 24.

While the author of Ps. cxxxvii is unknown, we know well the circle of lofty, faithful souls to which he belonged. Were Ezekiel or Daniel a poet, this Psalm might well ahve come from the pen of either, for they were in full accord with its words and spirit. But this is sure that out of those few in captivity whose faith in and love for Jehovah and His words were victorious over every trial, this pure song of God’s own words arose, and found its echo in the tenderest heart and holiest mind this world has ever known, as he wept over Jerusalem and pronounced her doom.

Howard Osgood, “Dashing the Little Ones Against the Rock,” 36-37 (The Princeton Theological Review : Armstrong, William Park, 1874- comp : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive).