Psalm 135

Story Snapshot

The psalm calls the servants of the LORD standing in His house to praise Him because He is good and chose Israel as His own. It declares that God does whatever pleases Him in heaven and earth, raising clouds and lightning and wind. It recalls the striking of Egypt and the defeat of kings, then contrasts God with idols of silver and gold that cannot speak, see, hear, or breathe, and calls the house of Israel to bless the LORD.

Main Characters

Story Summary

The psalm opens with a triple call to praise addressed to the servants of the LORD who stand in His house and in the courts of God's house, giving as reasons that the LORD is good and that singing to His name is pleasant, and that He chose Jacob for Himself and Israel as His own possession. Its central theological claim follows: the LORD is great, above all gods, and whatever the LORD pleases He does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. That sovereignty is illustrated first in nature, He causes clouds to rise from the ends of the earth, makes lightning for the rain, and brings wind out of His storehouses. Then in history: He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and his servants, struck many nations and killed mighty kings, naming Sihon of the Amorites and Og of Bashan and the kingdoms of Canaan, and gave their land as a heritage to Israel His people. The psalm affirms that God's name endures forever and His renown to all generations, and that He will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants. Then comes the idol section, closely paralleling Psalm 115: the idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands, with mouths that do not speak, eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and no breath in their mouths, and those who make them become like them, as does everyone who trusts them. The psalm closes with a fourfold call, house of Israel, house of Aaron, house of Levi, and all who fear the LORD, to bless the LORD, with a final blessing on the LORD from Zion.

Timeline

• Praise the LORDServants in His house called to sing.
• He Chose JacobIsrael taken as His own possession.
• Whatever He PleasesSovereign in heaven, earth, seas, and deeps.
• Weather and StorehousesClouds, lightning, and wind at His command.
• Egypt and the KingsFirstborn struck, Sihon and Og defeated.
• The IdolsMouths, eyes, ears, and no breath.
• Fourfold BlessingIsrael, Aaron, Levi, and all who fear Him.

Themes

What This Story Means

Psalm 135 shares its idol catalogue with Psalm 115, but its emphasis differs. Where 115 answers the taunt where is your God, this psalm builds a case from God's freedom to act. The line that governs it is that whatever the LORD pleases, He does, and the psalm then walks through spheres to show it, sky, sea, weather, empire, and battlefield. Set against that, the idols are not merely weaker gods; they are objects, the work of human hands, and the psalm lingers on their non-functioning senses to make the point unmistakable. The observation that those who make them become like them appears in both psalms and is the sharpest line in either, we are shaped by what we worship, so worshiping something unresponsive makes us unresponsive. The fourfold closing call gathers everyone, from priests to ordinary God-fearers, into the same response.

Bringing It Home

• The difference between God and idols is acting versus being made.
• We are shaped into the likeness of whatever we worship.
• God's freedom to act is demonstrated across nature and history alike.
• Worship gathers every rank of person into the same response.

Key Verse

Did You Know?

• The idol section closely parallels Psalm 115:4-8.
• Sihon and Og were kings defeated during Israel's approach to Canaan.
• 'Storehouses' pictures wind kept in reserve and released at God's command.
• The closing call names four groups, from priests to all who fear the LORD.

Read Next

What This Shows Us About God

• God acts freely in every sphere of creation.
• God chose a people for Himself as His own possession.
• God's name and renown endure across all generations.

What This Shows Us About People

• We make gods and then depend on them.
• We become like what we trust.
• We need our history retold to see God's hand in it.

A Question to Sit With

What do I trust that cannot act, and in what ways am I already becoming like it?

Prayer

LORD, You do whatever pleases You in heaven and earth, while the things I am tempted to trust can do nothing at all. Keep me from serving what I have made with my own hands. I do not want to become like something that cannot see or hear. Let me bless You with everything I am. Amen.