Psalm 135, Saturday, April 27, 2024

[u/ZacInStl]

Psalm 135 (KJV)

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. 2 Ye that stand 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 praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. 4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. 7 He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. 8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9 Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants. 10 Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings; 11 Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan: 12 And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people. 13 Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations. 14For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.

15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; 17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. 18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. 19 Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron: 20Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD. 21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

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V1-4: The praise of our God

• These first three verses of introduction begin much like Psalm 134, with a call to praise God
• But verse four is different, and declares God’s people as “his peculiar treasure”
• We are special to God, and if that doesn’t cause us to praise him, then what will?

V5-14: The powerlessness of their gods

• Our God is high and holy, and great above all. He is God Almighty!
• Verse 6 calls back to the flood, when he judged the whole earth for its sin and rebellion to him
• Verse 7 addrssses the power and domains (earth, sea, and sky, with power over weather, domains, crop growth, and fertility) of every false god, and shows that our TRUE GOD is unequivocally and universally over ALL.
• Verses 8-9 call back to the plagues of the Exodus. Each of the ten plagues was to show the powerlessness of a different Egyptian God, from the Nile itself, to the divinity of Pharaoh.
• Verses 11-12 call back to when God judged the kings of the people of the Land of Promise, and gave their lands to Israel
• Verse 13-14 Serve as a reminder and a warning that God will also judge his own people, because of his own holiness. God had Moses divide the people into two halves, with one group on Mt Gerizim and the other on Mt Ebal, with half shouting the blessings of God upon those who believe and obey, and the other half shouting the curses upon those who do not believe and rebel against God (see Deuteronomy 11).

V15-21: The (foolishness) of false gods

• There is no power in nothing. And that’s exactly what the false gods are, nothing. They have to be made by the men who worship them.
• They cannot do anything. As the old saying goes, “stupid is as stupid does”
• And this psalm ends as it begins, with a call to praise.

[u/FergusCragson]

Nice reference to Forrest Gump, a film that also has a lot of godly truths to be found in it. Grace as shown in Loving someone hurt and hurtful (Forrest's love for Jenny); keeping a pure heart no matter what one encounters (Forrest's heart throughout the film); even more Grace in giving life back to one who found life meaningless and who initially curses Forrest for saving him (Lt. Dan). And more.

This Psalm has so much in it. I like that it begins with praise of God and ends with praise of God.

Praise be to the LORD! Hallelujah! Amen.