Psalms 135:1

The Bible says in Psalm 135:1-3, “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.” These verses tell us to praise the Lord. They also tell us who is going to praise the Lord. The lost people of the world are not going to praise Him. The carnal Christians and the back-sliding Christians are not going to praise Him. Only the “servants of the Lord” will be able to praise God. If you go into the congregation of believers, one thing to do there is to praise God. These verses give us two reasons to praise Him. We are told to praise the “name of the Lord.” The name of the Lord is Jehovah in the Old Testament and in verse one here. Jehovah means the ever-living One. God is life. He has given to us the life that we have, and therefore we owe it to Him to praise Him. Of course, God also gives eternal spiritual life to everyone who comes to Jesus. And we only have that because Jesus died for us. The second reason given in the above verses to praise the Lord is found in verse three that says, “for the LORD is good.” He certainly is. That is why there is goodness everywhere. God is everywhere and God is good. Every good thing that you have is from God because He is also the source of all goodness. Count your blessings. Be thankful for all things. Praise God.

The Bible says in Psalm 135:4-7, “ 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.” Another reason to praise God is what He did with Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. That is because Jacob came to know the Lord, and once you come to know the Lord you are changed. The word “Israel” means “prince of God.” God had a great plan for Jacob: God decided to make a great nation out of Jacob because of the promise that God made to Abraham. God can do whatever He wants to do because He is God, the Almighty. That is why verse six says, “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” We can look at anything in nature and in the world around us, and just as the Psalmist did in verse seven, we can see what God decided to do when He created the world. God made the rain and the wind and everything else because it pleased. Do not fear the world. Enjoy it. The world is exactly the way God intended it to be.

The Bible says in Psalm 135:8-12, “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.” In these verses the Psalmist returns to the theme of what God had done for Israel. Israel started with just a family of twelve sons, but they grew. God made something out of a very small beginning. As they became larger in number, the kings of the earth saw them as competitors. These human governments have a lot of power, but God has all power. God can protect His children in any situation and in any nation, if God so chooses. The tenth of the plagues on Egypt was the smiting of “the firstborn of Egypt.” God knew how to make Pharaoh let the children of Israel go free. God defeated the king of Bashan and the king of the Amorites who opposed Israel. God took the land of the Canaanites (because of their great wickedness) and God gave that land to Israel. God loves His people. God keeps His promises. God punishes evil. God has a plan for the world, and no one can stop that plan. Praise God. The plan will be fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Psalm 135:13-14, “Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations.[14] For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.” The reason that God made human beings was so that we would know Him, and serve Him, and love Him. He has His ways of making that happen. He created Israel for that purpose. He sent Jesus for that purpose. And He will fix the world and come again for that purpose. He wants us to know who He is and what He is like. In other words, He wants us to know Him. That is why “the LORD will judge his people.” But He will not destroy us. He will use His judgments of His people to teach us. He loves us and therefore, “he will repent himself concerning his servants.”

The Bible says in Psalm 135:15-18, “ 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.” These verses show the contrast between the one true God and false gods. Notice that verse eighteen says that those who make false gods become just like the false gods: no knowledge, no ability, no power, no life at all. If you do not trust in the one true God whose name is Jesus Christ, then you are trusting in a false god and you have no strength at all.

The Bible says in Psalm 135:19-21, “Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron:[20] Bless 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.” This Psalm started by telling us three times to praise the Lord, and now it tells us three times in verses nineteen and twenty to bless the Lord. And then the Psalmist takes his own advice and he blesses the Lord in verse twenty-one. He blesses the Lord because he knows the Lord is in Jerusalem in the temple. We bless the Lord because we know that the Lord is in us. It is a wonderful blessing to have the presence of the Lord always with us. Jesus promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. Believe, enjoy, and praise Him.

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