Psalm 135

 ¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord;

Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!

²You who stand in the house of the Lord,

In the courts of the house of our God,

³Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.

⁴For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,

Israel for His special treasure.

⁵For I know that the Lord is great,

And our Lord is above all gods.

⁶Whatever the Lord pleases He does,

In heaven and in earth,

In the seas and in all deep places.

⁷He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;

He makes lightning for the rain;

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

⁸He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,

Both of man and beast.

⁹He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you,

O Egypt,

Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰He defeated many nations

And slew mighty kings—

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,

Og king of Bashan,

And all the kingdoms of Canaan—

¹²And gave their land as a heritage,

A heritage to Israel His people.

¹³Your name, O Lord, endures forever,

Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.

¹⁴For the Lord will judge His people,

And He will have compassion on His servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak;

Eyes they have, but they do not see;

¹⁷They have ears, but they do not hear;

Nor is there any breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make them are like them;

So is everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!

Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!

²⁰Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!

You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

²¹Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,

Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!

Commentary

Vs. 1 “Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord;

Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!”

Psalm 135 begins with an invocation to to praise the Lord, for us all of us who believe in Him, His servants, to Praise the Name of the Lord. For we do not worship some generic “god”,  rather we worship the Lord God of Israel and His Son Jesus Christ whom He sent to us.

Vs. 2-3 “You who stand in the house of the Lord,

In the courts of the house of our God,

³Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.”

From the general assembly to now those who were assigned to the Lord’s duties in His House, i.e. the priests and Levites, the call is for one and for all to praise Him. A minister of the Gospel then is not fully in tune with the Lord unless he is engaged as an active worshipper of our Lord and Savior. For the church Pastor should be not just be a leader, but a worshiper of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with all the congregation. For it is good to worship the Lord; good for our soul, mind, and body, as well it is good for other others, as collective worship strengthens the whole congregation in our faith. Again, singing to the Lord His praises is most pleasant, for it is most soul filling and invigorating for one and for all. 

Vs. 4 “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,

Israel for His special treasure.”

The reason for the priests and Levites (and all of Israel) to bring forth their praise to the Lord is now given, because He has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel  as His special treasure. For the Lord choose Jacob over Esau, and in doing so He sanctified (set apart) all of Israel to Himself, For He has made them His people through which He would bring forth His Word into this world, all then who believe in the God of Jacob now belong to Him, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, we then who belong to Christ share in this special standing with our God and Savior (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Vs. 5 “For I know that the Lord is great,

And our Lord is above all gods.”

When anyone comes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then they will know and that the Lord is great, that our Lord Jesus Christ is above all gods. For He brings to life; to new and everlasting life; all who believe in Him, all who were once dead in their sins and transgressions (John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:17).

Vs. 6-12 ⁶Whatever the Lord pleases He does,

In heaven and in earth,

In the seas and in all deep places.

⁷He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;

He makes lightning for the rain;

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

⁸He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,

Both of man and beast.

⁹He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you,

O Egypt,

Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰He defeated many nations

And slew mighty kings—

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,

Og king of Bashan,

And all the kingdoms of Canaan—

¹²And gave their land as a heritage,

A heritage to Israel His people.

The Lord is Sovereign, He can choose whoever He wants, and do whatever He pleases, for He is above all “gods”, for He alone exercises Sovereign Power over all of creation, whether in heaven or on earth. Therefore people know and understand that it is He who controls all the forces of nature, whether for blessing or for judgment (vs. 6-7|). This is clearly seen in His deliverance of Israel, when He exercised His Mighty Power over Pharoah and the Egyptians and all their “gods.” For the Lord our God destroyed all the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast, thus bringing the strength of Ham to nothing (vs. 9). But before He did this He gave them many occasions to repent, by sending His mighty sings and wonders amongst them (vs. 9), but instead of repenting, they only hardened their hearts, and thus they all rightly reaped His judgment and wrath. From Egypt then He brought Israel out into the midst of the nations, but these nations were only hostile towards them, therefore the Lord our God defeated them all, and all of their mighty warrior kings He slew, from Sihon king of the Amorites, to Og king of Bashan, the Lord our God brought them all down and laid them low in the dust before His people. For He gave His people Israel all of their land, all of Canaan as a heritage, an inheritance from Him.

Vs. 13 “Your name, O Lord, endures forever,

Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.”

Most accordingly then it is now stated that only the Lord and His Name endures forever; for all of the nations and all their leaders and all their god’s will be forgotten. But the Lord our God’s Name and His fame will be from generation to generation.

Vs. 14 “For the Lord will judge His people,

And He will have compassion on His servants.”

How glorious then will it be when the Lord judges His people, for He having dealt with all the nations, He will have compassion on His servants (see Deut. 32:36; Jeremiah 31:20; Isaiah 61:1-9; Micah 7:18 etc.).

Vs. 15-18 ¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak;

Eyes they have, but they do not see;

¹⁷They have ears, but they do not hear;

Nor is there any breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make them are like them;

So is everyone who trusts in them.

 What are the nations idols? Nothing but a representation of a false belief and religious system that cannot save or deliver or profit anyone who prays to them. And so though they make them out of precious metals like silver and gold and fashion them in the shape of a man or woman they are powerless to save anyone. Indeed, they can do neither good nor evil, for though they have mouths they do not speak, and though they have eyes they do not see, and though they have ears they do not hear the prayers of anyone. Indeed, there is no breath in them (i.e. no life). They then are only mute and deaf and blind with absolutely no life in them. Those then who make them, and those then who trust in them are just like them, spiritually deaf, mute, blind and dead to the Lord.

Vs. 19-21 ¹⁹Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!

Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!

²⁰Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!

You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

²¹Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,

Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!

Therefore let all who see, hear, and believe, all who fear the Lord, now bless the Lord! Starting with the house of Israel, all of Jacobs descendants, to the priests, all the descendants of Aaron, who ministered His Word to Him, to the Levites who were the Lord’s servants in His worship and service in His Tabernacle and then Temple. To all Of God's people when they receive Christ and He rules over us all from Zion. For then it will be heard from all mouths, “Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.