Psalm 134
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
These psalms of ascent began in Psalm 120 in foreign places like Meshech and Kedar but end in Psalm 134 in the temple with God’s servants lifting praises and prayers to him morning and night.
We might imagine Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem for one of the annual festivals, having used these psalms of ascent as they traveled on the way, as they worshipped during the festival, and using this last psalm of ascent as they depart.
Perhaps the used this psalm as a call and response between the priests and the people.
In vv. 1-2, the people call to the priests…
1 Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord, Who serve by night in the house of the Lord! 2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the Lord.
And the priests respond to the people in v. 3…
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.
Praise
Praise
1 Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord, Who serve by night in the house of the Lord!
‘Behold’ is an emphatic call to attention. Synonyms include see, come now, take heed. We might use the word ‘look’ in this same way, as in “Look, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.”
‘Servants of the Lord’ sometimes refers to all creatures, sometimes all Israel, sometimes God’s obedient people, but the original readers of this psalm would have understood it as referring to those officially serving in the temple.
The word ‘serve’ is literally ‘stand.’ Of course, they weren’t just standing; the Levites stood in the temple to serve God by praising him in song both day and night.
33 Now these are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free from other service; for they were engaged in their work day and night.
26 “Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.”
30 They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening,
Sacred fire was kept burning in the temple ‘day and night’; lamps also burned in the temple all night; and songs were sung at night, but in this case ‘day and night’ doesn’t necessarily mean around the clock.
Anna…
37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
Paul…
7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.
Prayer
Prayer
They also stood in the temple to serve God in prayer.
2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the Lord.
The ‘lifting up of hands’ is a reference to prayer. Prayer is most comprehensively adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, which is, as one brother put it, “filling our mouths with pleas and arguments and intercession for others,” (Plumer, 1142).
2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
One writer said the “lifting up of the hands and eyes teaches us that we should lift our minds and hearts to God,” (Plumer, 1142).
The sanctuary likely refers to the Holy of Holies, which was the place of God’s presence on earth. Solomon asked God to hear his people as they prayed toward this place.
30 “Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive.
His place represents his presence.
Does this ultimately refer to the heavenly sanctuary?
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Benediction
Benediction
Having called on the servants of the Lord to around-the-clock praise and prayer, Psalm 134 ends with a divine blessing prayed onto his servants.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.
The Levites were the servants who were called to bless God and who in turn will be blessed by God.
It is the Lord who will have to give the blessing for only he can. Man may say, “May the Lord bless you,” but it’s the Lord himself who has to actually do it.
This blessing will come from the Lord by way of Zion (i.e., from the temple in Jerusalem). The Levites served in the temple, but their lives may have found them in other places at other times. The Lord’s blessing would follow through all of life—in the temple and out.
There can be no doubt that God has the power to bless because is the Creator of heaven and earth.
2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He who possesses and has exercised the power to create all things has the power and willingness to bless his servants wherever they may be.
If we think v. 2 refers to the heavenly sanctuary, then do we thing that v. 3 refers to the heavenly Zion (i.e., the heavenly temple)?
God surely has the power and willingness to bless us from his heavenly temple wherever we are.
There is a difference between our blessing God and God’s blessing us.
When we bless God, we make known our desires and hope they are fitting so that God may grant our desires so that he will honor himself and others be led to honor him too.
But when God blesses us, it is not a hope but a certainty. As one commentator wrote...
“…when God blesses (a man) he not only speaks good concerning him, but that good is sure to be accomplished. Man’s blessing is optative; God’s authoritative,” (Plummer, 87).
Optative is wishful or hopeful.
Authoritative is definite.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The Lord who made heaven and earth had provided a place to meet with sinful man. In Zion’s temple, the Lord could be found and forgiveness had.
Of course, the temple and the forgiveness it offered by way of animal sacrifices pointed to the greater temple and the permanent forgiveness offered through the better sacrifice of Jesus Christ.