General Remarks. - This Psalm has no title. It is mainly made up of selections from other Scriptures. It has been called a mosaic, and compared to a tessellated pavement. At the outset, its Psalm 135:1-2 are taken from Psalm 134:1-3; while the latter part of Psalm 135:2 and the commencement of Psalm 135:3 put us in mind of Psalm 116:19; and Psalm 135:4 suggests Deuteronomy 7:6. Does not Psalm 135:5 remind us of Psalm 95:3? As for Psalm 135:7, it is almost identical with Jeremiah 10:13, which may have been taken from it. The passage contained in Psalm 135:13 is to be found in Exodus 3:15, and Psalm 135:14 in Deuteronomy 32:36. The closing verses, Psalm 135:8-12, are in Psalm 136 From Psalm 135:15-21 the strain is a repetition of Psalm 115. This process of tracing the expressions to other sources might be pushed further without straining the quotations; the whole Psalm is a compound of many choice extracts, and yet it has all the continuity and freshness of an original poem. The Holy Spirit occasionally repeats himself; not because he has any lack of thoughts or words, but because it is expedient for us that we hear the same things in the same form. Yet, when our great Teacher uses repetition, it is usually with instructive variations, which deserve our careful attention.

Division. - Psalm 135:1-14 contain an exhortation to praise Jehovah for his goodness (Psalm 135:3), for his electing love (Psalm 135:4), his greatness (Psalm 135:5-7), his judgments (Psalm 135:8-12), his unchanging character (Psalm 135:13), and his love towards his people. This is followed by a denunciation of idols (Psalm 135:15-18), and a further exhortation to bless the name of the Lord. It is a song full of life, vigour, variety, and devotion.

Hints to Preachers

Psalm 135:1-4. -

I. The Employment. Praise three times commended, and in three respects.

1. With respect to God: not his works merely, but himself.

2. With respect to ourselves: it is pleasant and profitable.

3. With respect to others: it best recommends our religion to all who hear it. All others are religions of fear, ours of joy and praise.

II. The Persons' servants in attendance at his house, who stand there by appointment, ready to hear, ready to obey.

III. The Motives.

1. In general. It is due to God, because he is good; and it is pleasant to us: Psalm 135:3.

2. In particular. Those who are specially privileged by God should specially praise him: Psalm 135:4. "This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise." - G. R.

Psalm 135:1. - "Praise ye the Lord."

I. The Lord ought to be praised.

II. He ought to be praised by you.

III. He ought to be praised now: let us remember his present favours.

IV. He ought to be praised in everything for ever.

Psalm 135:1. - "Praise him, O ye servants of the Lord."

I. Praise him for the privilege of serving him.

II. Praise him for the power to serve him.

III. Praise him for the acceptance of your service.

IV. Praise him as the chief part of your service.

V. Praise him that others may be induced to engage in his service. - W. H. J. P.

Psalm 135:2. - What is at this day "the house of the Lord"? Who may be said to stand in it? What special reasons have they for praise?

Psalm 135:2. - The nearer to God, the dearer to God; and the better our place, the sweeter our praise. - W. B. H.

Psalm 135:2-5. - "Our God," "Our Lord." Sweet subject. See our Exposition.

Psalm 135:3. - Praise the Lord,

I. For the excellence of his nature.

II. For the revelation of his name.

III. For the pleasantness of his worship.

Psalm 135:4. - It is a song of praise, and therefore election is mentioned because it is a motive for song.

I. The Choice - "The Lord hath chosen." Divine. Sovereign. Gracious. Immutable.

II. The Consecration - "Chosen Jacob to himself." To know him. To preserve his truth. To maintain his worship. To manifest his grace. To keep alive the hope of the Coming One.

III. The Separation - implied in the special choice. By being taken into covenant: Abraham and his seed. By receiving the covenant inheritance: Canaan. By redemption. By power and by blood out of Egypt. Wilderness separation. Settled establishment in their own land.

IV. The Elevation. In name - from Jacob to Israel. In value - from worthless to precious. In purpose and use - crown jewels. In preservation - kept as treasures. In delight - God rejoices in his people as his heritage.

Psalm 135:5. - "I know that the Lord is great."

I. By observing nature and providence.

II. By reading his word.

III. By my own conversion, comfort. and regeneration.

IV. By my after-experience.

V. By my overpowering communion with him.

Psalm 135:5. - Delicious dogmatism. "I know," etc.

I. What Iknow.

1. The Lord.

2. That he is great.

3. That he is above all.

II. Why I know it.

1. Because he is "our Lord."

2. By his operations in nature, providence, and grace (Psalm 135:6-13)

III. My incorrigible obstinacy in this regard is proof against worshippers of all other gods: which gods are effeminate; without sovereignty; no god, or any god. - W. B. H.

Psalm 135:6. - "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he." God's good pleasure in the work of grace. Seen, not in the death of the wicked, Ezekiel 33:11; but in the election of his people, 1 Samuel 12:22; in the infliction of suffering on the substitute, Isaiah 53:10; in the provision of all fulness for his people in Christ, Colossians 1:19, in the arrangement of salvation by faith in Christ, John 6:39; in instituting preaching as the means of salvation, 1 Corinthians 1:21; in the adoption of believers as his children, Ephesians 1:5; in their sanctification, 1 Thessalonians 4:3; in their ultimate triumph and reign, Luke 12:32. - C. A. D.

Psalm 135:6 (last words). - The power of God in places of trouble, change, and danger - seas; and in conditions of sin, weakness, despair, perplexity - in all deep places.

Psalm 135:6-12. - The Resistless Pleasure of Jehovah.

I. Behold it as here exemplified:

1. Ruling all nature.

2. Overturning a rebellious nation.

3. Making sport of kings and crowns.

4. Laying a fertile country at the feet of the chosen.

II. Be wise in view thereof.

1. Submit to it, it sweeps the seas, and lays hands on earth and heaven.

2. Think not to hide from it, the "ends of the earth" and "all deep places" are open to it; it is swifter than its own lightnings.

3. Be awed by its majesty, God's way is strewn with crowns and the bones of kings.

4. Seek its protection: its mightiest efforts are in defence of those it favours.

5. Let the Lord's people fear not with so great a God, and so exhaustless an armoury. - W. B. H.

Psalm 135:13. - "Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever."

I. As the embodiment of perfection, God's attributes and glory.

II. As the object of veneration, "Holy and reverend is his name."

III. As the cause of salvation: "For my name's sake," etc.

IV. As the centre of attraction: "In his name shall the Gentiles trust." "Our desire is to the remembrance of thy name." "Where two or three are gathered in my name," etc.

V. As a plea in supplication: "For thy name's sake, pardon," etc. "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name."

VI. As a warrant for action: "Whatsoever ye do, do all in the name," etc.

VII. As a refuge in tribulation: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." "I have kept them in thy name."

VIII. As a mark of glorification: "I will write upon him the name of my God."

IX. As a terror to transgressors: "My name is dreadful among the heathen." - W. J.

Psalm 135:14. - "The Lord will judge his people." Others would like to do it, but must not. The world has seven judgment-days in every week, but shall not be able to condemn the saints. He himself will judge. How will he judge them?

I. Their persons, as to whether they are in or out of Christ.

II. Their principles, as to whether they are genuine or spurious.

III. Their prayers, as to whether they are availing or useless.

IV. Their profession, as to whether it is true or false.

V. Their procedure, as to whether it is good or bad. - W. J.

Psalm 135:14. -

I. The position of believers - "his people, his servants."

II. The discipline of God's family.

III. The tenderness of the Lord to them.

IV. The safety of believers: they are still the Lord's.

Psalm 135:15. - "Silver and gold." These are idols in our own land, among worldlings, and with some professors. Show the folly and wickedness of loving riches. and the evils which come of it.

Psalm 135:16, Psalm 135:17. - The Portrait of many.

I. "Mouths, but they speak not." No prayer, praise, confession.

II. "Eyes, but they see not." Discern not, understand not, take no warning; do not look to Christ.

III. "Ears, but they hear not." Attend no ministry, or are present but unaffected; hear not God.

IV. "Neither is there any breath in their mouths." No life, no tokens of life, no prayer and praise which are the breath of spiritual life.

Psalm 135:18. -

I. Men make idols like themselves.

II. The idols make their makers like themselves. Describe both processes.

Psalm 135:19. - "House of Israel." The Lord's great goodness to all his people, perceived and proclaimed, and the Lord praised for it.

Psalm 135:19. - "House of Aaron." God's blessing on Aaron's house typical of his grace to those who are priests unto God.

Psalm 135:19-21. -

I. The Exhortation.

1. To bless the Lord.

2. To bless him in his own house.

II. To whom it is addressed.

1. To the house of Israel, or the whole church.

2. To the house of Aaron, or ministers of the sanctuary.

3. To the house of Levi, or the attendants upon ministers, and assistants in the services.

4. To all who fear God, wherever they may be. Even they who fear God are invited to praise him, which is a sure sign that he delighteth in mercy. - G. R.

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.

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.

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.

continued...

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.

Psalm 135:15

"The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands." Their essential material is dead metal, their attributes are but the qualities of senseless substances, and what of form and fashion they exhibit they derive from the skill and labour of those who worship them. It is the height of insanity to worship metallic manufactures. Though silver and gold are useful to us when we rightly employ them, there is nothing about them which can entitle them to reverence and worship. If we did not know the sorrowful fact to be indisputable, it would seem to be impossible that intelligent beings could bow down before substances which they must themselves refine from the ore, and fashion into form. One would think it less absurd to worship one's own hands than to adore that which those hands have made. What great works can these mock deities perform for man when they are themselves the works of man? Idols are fitter to be played with, like dolls by babes, than to be adored by grown-up men. Hands are better used in breaking than in making objects which can be put to such an idiotic use. Yet the heathen love their abominable deities better than silver and gold: it were well if we could say that some professed believers in the Lord had as much love for him.

Psalm 135:16

"They have mouths." For their makers fashioned them like themselves. An opening is made where the mouth should be, and yet it is no mouth, for they eat not, they speak not. They cannot communicate with their worshippers; they are dumb as death. If they cannot even speak, they are not even so worthy of worship as our children at school. Jehovah speaks, and it is done; but these images utter never a word. Surely, if they could speak, they would rebuke their rotaries. Is not their silence a still more powerful rebuke? When our philosophical teachers deny that God has made any verbal revelation of himself they also confess that their god is dumb.

"Eyes have they, but they see not." Who would adore a blind man - how can the heathen be so mad as to bow themselves before a blind image? The eyes of idols have frequently been very costly; diamonds have been used for that purpose; but of what avail is the expense, since they see nothing? If they cannot even see us, how can they know our wants, appreciate our sacrifices, or spy out for us the means of help? What a wretched thing, that a man who can see should bow down before an image which is blind! The worshipper is certainly physically in advance of his god, and yet mentally he is on a level with it; for assuredly his foolish heart is darkened, or he would not so absurdly play the fool.

Psalm 135:17

"They have ears," and very large ones too, if we remember certain of the Hindoo idols. "But they hear not." Useless are their ears; in fact, they are mere counterfeits and deceits. Ears which men make are always deaf the secret of hearing is wrapped up with the mystery of life, and both are in the unsearchable mind of the Lord. It seems that these heathen gods are dumb, and blind, and deaf - a pretty bundle of infirmities to be found in a deity! "Neither is there any breath in their mouths;" they are dead, no sign of life is perceptible; and breathing, which is of the essence of animal life, they never know. Shall a man waste his breath in crying to an idol which has no breath? Shall life offer up petitions to death? Verily, this is a turning of things upside down.

Psalm 135:18

"They that make them are like unto them:" they are as blockish, as senseless, as stupid as the gods they have made, and, like them they are the objects of divine abhorrence, and shall be broken in pieces in due time. "So is every one that trusteth in them." The idol-worshippers are as bad as the idol-makers; for if there were none to worship, there would be no market for the degrading manufacture. Idolaters are spiritually dead, they are the mere images of men, their best being is gone, they are not what they seem. Their mouths do not really pray, their eyes see not the truth, their ears hear not the voice of the Lord, and the life of God is not in them. Those who believe in their own inventions in religion betray great folly, and an utter absence of the quickening Spirit. Gracious men can see the absurdity of forsaking the true God and setting up rivals in his place; but those who perpetrate this crime think not so, on the contrary, they pride themselves upon their great wisdom, and boast of "advanced thought" and "modern culture." Others there are who believe in a baptismal regeneration which does not renew the nature, and they make members of Christ and children of God who have none of the spirit of Christ, or the signs of adoption, May we be saved from such mimicry of divine work lest we also become like our idols.

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.

Psalm 135:19

"Bless the Lord, O house of Israel." All of you, in all your tribes, praise the one Jehovah. Each tribe, from Reuben to Benjamin, has its own special cause for blessing the Lord, and the nation as a whole has substantial reasons for pouring out benedictions upon his name. Those whom God has named "the house of Israel," a family of prevailing princes, ought to show their loyalty by thankfully bowing before their sovereign Lord. "Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron." These were elected to high office and permitted to draw very near to the divine presence; therefore they beyond all others were bound to bless the Lord. Those who are favoured to be leaders in the church should be foremost in adoration. In God's house the house of Aaron should feel bound to speak well of his name before all the house of Israel.

Psalm 135:20

"Bless the Lord, O house of Levi." These helped the priests in other things, let them aid them in this also. The house of Israel comprehends all the chosen seed; then we come down to the smaller but more central ring of the house of Aaron, and now we widen out to the whole tribe of Levi. Let reverence and adoration spread from man to man until the whole lump of humanity shall be leavened. The house of Levi had choice reasons for blessing God, read the Levite story and see. Remember that the whole of the Levites were set apart for holy service, and supported by the tribes allotted to them; therefore they were in honour bound above all others to worship Jehovah with cheerfulness.

"Ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord." These are the choicer spirits, the truly spiritual: they are not the Lord's in name only, but in heart and spirit. The Father seeketh such to worship him. If Aaron and Levi both forget and fail, these will not. It may be that this verse is intended to bring in God-fearing men who were not included under Israel, Aaron, and Levi. They were Gentile proselytes, and this verse opens the door and bids them enter. Those who fear God need not wait for any other qualification for sacred service; godly fear proves us to be in the covenant with Israel, in the priesthood with Aaron, and in the service of the Lord with Levi. Filial fear, such as saints feel towards the Lord, does not hinder their praise; nay, it is the main source and fountain of their adoration.

Psalm 135:21

"Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem." Let him be most praised at home. Where he blesses most, let him be blessed most. Let the beloved mount of Zion, and the chosen city of Jerusalem echo his praises. He remains among his people: he is their dwelling-place, and they are his dwelling-place, let this intimate communion ensure intense gratitude on the part of his chosen. The temple of holy solemnities which is Christ, and the city of the Great King, which is the church, may fitly be regarded as the head-quarters of the praises of Jehovah, the God of Israel. "Praise ye the Lord." Hallelujah. Amen, and Amen.