Psalm 135
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 135
God is so high above anything that we know or experience.
He is so much higher than us, we do not have any hope of knowing who God is, or what He is like unless He reveals it to us.
Man cannot see the spiritual — it is all around us — everywhere around us there are spiritual forces warring against each other.
If we saw, we would probably be terrified.
If we saw it, we may also take our walk with God much more seriously.
God has chosen to blind humankind from seeing with our physical eyes beyond the veil into the spiritual world.
But God wanted us to know Him.
He longed for us to have a relationship with Him.
So He chose to reveal himself to us.
He starting with individuals, the Patriarchs.
Then through prophets of old, who spoke the revealed words of God to His people.
Then through the written Word of God, as God revealed Himself, His Plan, His Love, His Will to us.
Then He revealed Himself perfectly through His Son, when God Himself came and made Himself one of us.
God lived a human life as one of us, with us, experiencing everything we experience.
And He revealed His plan through Him.
Then God the Son went back to Heaven, and gave us His Holy Spirit that He can use God’s revelation in His Word, and show us, and teach us, and mold us to be more like His revelation.
One day, we will see Him face to face.
I believe that the veil between the Spiritual world and the Physical world will be removed, and we will see God, even though He is Spirit.
That’s just me, you may disagree with that.
But with all that God has done to reveal Himself to us, to reveal His plan for us, to reveal His will for us, and to reveal His power so that we can fulfill His Plan and His Will, Oh how we need to Praise Him!
Psalm 135 is a compilation of quotations from other Scriptures.
It is a call to worship and praise our God!
Verse(s) Scripture Taken from …
1 Ps. 113:1
2 Ps. 134:1–2
3 Ps. 147:1
4 Ex. 19:5; De. 7:6; 14:2
5 Ex. 18:11; Ps. 95:3
6 Ps. 115:3
7 Je. 10:13; 51:16
8 Ps. 136:10
9 Ps. 136:15
10–12 Ps. 136:17–22
12 De. 4:38
13–18 Is. 44:12–20
13 Ex. 3:15; Ps. 102:12
14 De. 32:36
15–18 Ps. 115:4–8
19–21 Ps. 115:9–11; 118:2–4
When we need Him, He hears us, and speaks to us through His Word, through nature, through other people…and many other ways.
We need to look no where else for help - just go to God, and Praise Him for his goodness and help.
I. Praise Him for His Mercy
I. Praise Him for His Mercy
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.
In these verses there is a command to praise the Lord given five times in four verses.
We can see the importance of Praising God.
Verses 1-3, give the commands and verse 4 gives four gives the reason.
For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
Out of His vast mercy and grace, the Lord chose the house of Jacob for Himself.
He could have chosen from any one in history of man, but He has chosen Israel.
In the same way God has chosen Israel to be His chosen people, the Lord has also chosen us to be the recipients of His great grace.
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
We are His chosen, his precious treasure.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
He has chosen us, the Christians, to serve Him.
A privilege reserved only for one family previously - the House of Levi.
But we now have been chosen to serve Him, to stand in the house of our God, to stand in the courts of His house.
He has chosen us, now to be his royal priesthood — Let’s not take that for granted!
We are not chosen just to receive when we come to His house, we are chosen to give out, to give of ourselves as a living sacrifice, to give our selves to each other, and to give of our praise to God.
Now we have been given the privilege to come into the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God…a privilege reserved only for one man under the Old Covenant.
But now the doors to the throne room are wide open to us.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
More than anyone in the history of mankind, we have experienced his goodness.
We have been given the privilege to know Him personally as our Father.
To them He was their God, Jehovah..to us He is Abba, Father.
Oh Praise the Lord for His mercy!
II. Praise the Lord for His Power
II. Praise the Lord for His Power
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.
The Lord is much greater than all so called gods.
How do we know?
Because He is the creator of heaven and earth, and the seas and all that is therein!
He has established the water cycle on the earth, to give the blessing of rain on the earth and all that comes with it.
We have food, we have meat, and we have shelter all aided and sustained by the water cycle that He has created.
His power is seen in His creation through the power of the lightnings, and the power of the winds.
Oh how much greater is the Lord our God, than any other false God that is out there!
The only thing that those gods, or the demons behind them, can create is confusion and chaos.
Oh but my God is a God of order and beauty!
Praise Him for His Mercy
Praise Him for His Power!
III. Praise the Lord for His Judgments
III. Praise the Lord for His Judgments
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.
14 For the Lord will judge his people, And he will repent himself concerning his servants.
Not only is He powerful enough to create, but He is powerful enough to judge righteously among the men of the earth.
Here we see Israel reminded from previous scriptures how God worked in their lives:
He smote the firstborn both man and beast.
He showed signs and wonders before Egypt, each of the 10 plagues was a direct judgment and attack against the various gods that the Egyptians worshiped.
God wanted to make sure that the Egyptians knew who was in control, and He now wanted to remind the Israelites who won, and remind them to praise Him for their victories.
I can make copies of this chart if anyone is interested in it, I know you don’t have time to read it all.
But not just in Egypt.
Verse 11 mentions Sihon, king of the Amorites.
We find this in Numbers 21:21-24
21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders.
23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
Then He smote Og king of Bahan in that same chapter, but in verses 33-35
33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
Then in general, he praises God for the defeat of all the kingdoms of Canaan, which as a result gave the Israelites their promised land. 11-12
God is a God of mercy, but He is also a God of Judgement!
He is their great God, and He is our great God that loves them, that created for them, that showed forth His mighty power, that judges those who will stand against us.
Is it any wonder the psalmist turns now in verse 13, and praises Him again.
13 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 very name of the Lord will always endure, many come and go in this life, their name lasting as long as their families remember them, or their tombstones sit…but God’s name endureth for ever!
His memorial is seen throughout all generations!
Aren’t you glad that this is the God who judges His people.
The word judge here, is not just to bring judgement…it is a verb meaning to bring justice, to plead the cause for.
The words will repent himself concerning his servants is not a repenting of wrong or sin..He can do no sin.
Although it can mean to be sorry, or change ones mind, in the Hebrew, this word has a feeling of compassion for someone or something - to feel sorry for that person, or to avenge a person because of compassion.
What a wonderful God, and worthy of all praise!
The Psalmist reminds us to praise the Lord for His Mercy
We ought to Praise Him for His Power
We ought to Praise Him for His Judgements
IV. Praise the Lord for His Superiority
IV. Praise the Lord for His Superiority
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.
He is far superior than any of the idols or false gods that the heathen have.
They are made of temporal, earthly materials, even if they are silver or gold…they are the works of men.
I don’t want a god that I create - I want a God who created me!
I want to worship something greater than my handiwork can make.
These idols have mouths but cannot speak
My God has no mouth (other than Jesus’ - He is Spirit) and yet He speaks.
These idols have eyes, but they cannot see
My God has no eyes, and yet he sees every where, and in every place at all times.
Even the deep recesses of my heart.
Thes Idols have ears but the cannot hear.
Our God has no ears, but He can hear me cry even in the darkest, most remote place on the earth.
He can hear my whispers, and my hearts cry when I cannot even speak.
These idols have nostrils and mouths, but they cannot breathe.
My God does not have nostrils or mouth, yet he can breathe life into Man.
His very Spirit, Pneuma (breathe) breathed out the very Scriptures we hold in our hands.
These Idols are made like unto these men that worshiped them.
But our God created us in His image and likeness!
Oh He is far superior to any other false God!
Those who trust in these false Gods, the Bibles says…so is every one that trusteth in them.
They are limited, they are bound so that they can not really speak, they cannot really see, they cannot really hear, they cannot really breathe!
Oh how different are we who serve the Lord than those who worship idols!
Our God speaks to us through His Word
He watches over us and sees everything we do
He hears us when we cry to Him in prayer
He breathes on us through His Holy Spirit!
The worshipers of idols are powerless, but we have Power from on High day after day!
We are more than conquerors!
God’s Spirit moves in us to produce His fruit in us that we may have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and control of the Holy Spirit Himself.
Oh, never lose the importance of praising our God!
For His mercy is great
His power is immense
His judgments are always right
And His superiority is without a doubt!
The Psalmist now turns to God’s people, and encourages everyone to praise the Lord!
19 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.
He speaks to All of Israel
He speaks to the house of Aaron, the priests of the temple
He speaks to all of hte Levites, who work in and around the temple.
He speaks to all who fear Him - All believers
Bless the Lord - Praise the Lord all His people.
if we just stop and think about the fact that we know God, have a relationship with God, the only true and living God.
The creator of the universe around us...
we cannot help but praise the Lord!
God is with us every day, He comforts and guides us, He is our Helper and He will never leave us nor forsake us!
We have His help, He will give us the strength that we need
He will give us the patience that we need
He will give us the grace that we need
He will give us the wisdom that we need
Anything that we need, He will provide!
Let us Praise the Lord!
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.