Psalms Reading – 5.5.2022
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.
5 I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever, your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord; house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord; you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.
Psalm 135 begins and ends with the command to “praise the Lord.” It has six sections: the outer two sections frame the psalm in praise while the four sections in the middle magnify the Lord’s greatness.
The psalmist calls on the leaders at the temple to give praise to the Lord for the He is good and to do so is a pleasant thing. We saw the words good and pleasant used Psalm 133 to describe the beauty of unity. This indicates there is an important link between unity and praise. It is impossible for the people of God to offer praise to God when they are not united together.
The Lord is greater than the other so-called gods because He alone has the ability to work His magnificent power through creation. He demonstrated His superiority when He led Israel and brought judgment upon Egypt. God used the Israelites as His instruments to defeat and bring judgment upon the nations and kings who were vastly evil.
It is the name of this one true Lord alone that will endure through all generations. He alone brings about justice and compassion for those who belong to Him.
In contrast to the Lord are the many man-made idols of the nations who are formed with eyes, ears, hands, and mouths but absolutely have no life within them. There will come a time when their makers and their worshipers will no longer have life but will experience God’s judgment.
However, the people of God who trust in Him are to live and breathe continual praise to the Lord because they know their God is alive and accomplishing great works in the world.
Memory Verse: Psalm 133:1, How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
Question(s) to Consider: What is your reason for offering praise to the Lord today?