Psalm 135

“Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant. For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure. For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods.” Psalm 135:1-5 (NKJV)

Today’s psalm is a call for the Israelites to give themselves wholly to worship by prompting their memories of how God’s deliverance (of Israel) from the hands of idolaters was also a judgment of idolatry itself.  God accomplished two goals (delivering His people and judging foreign gods) with one motion.

The first half of Psalm 135 focuses on why Israel should worship the Lord passionately.  It is not enough to simply tell people that God is great and worthy of our praise.  We humans have no capacity to measure the greatness and holiness of God.  We must experience desperation and deliverance before we can value the worth of grace and relish in the reality of salvation.  That is why any gospel presentation must also contain the reality of our sin and the certainty of Hell.  What makes the “Good News” so good is that the "bad news” is so bad!  Jesus made this exact point to a self-righteous religious leader, in contrast to a woman who was aware of the greatness of her sin and the urgency of her needing forgiveness.

“Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.’” Luke 7:44-47 (NKJV)

After recounting God’s judgment of Egypt’s gods (leading up to the Passover) and the gods of the Amorites and Canaanites, the psalmist expands the concept to include ALL other gods.  It brings context to Jesus’ statements about “seeing and hearing.”

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.” Psalm 135:15-18 (NKJV)

“Then He charged them, saying, ‘Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, ‘Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?” Mark 8:15-18 (NKJV)