JUNE 27 PSALMS 135-139

BLOG June 27, 2014

Psalms 135-139

After the 15 psalms called: “Song of Ascents,” (Psalm 120-134) I imagine that the pilgrims have arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Most of the rest of the psalms have the feel of corporate (together) praise and worship! And there it is in Psalm 135: “Praise the Lord…you servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord!” (vv. 1-2)

Psalm 135 praises the name of the Lord.  What does that mean?  I would rather praise the Lord, than praise His “name.”  But understand, that the name of the Lord represents all He is and all He has done, beginning with the first time He made His name known to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  Note too, in v. 13, that the Lord’s name is equivalent to his fame!
Psalm 136 is the most obviously liturgical of all the psalms; that means it was meant for public worship. Just imagine the people responding: “For His steadfast love endures forever!” over and over!  We’ll try it in church sometime!

Psalm 137 is a heart-wrenchingly sad addition to these worship psalms, for it was added to the psalter after the people of God were taken into exile, after the temple was destroyed. “How do we sing the Temple songs in a foreign land?” (v. 4) the psalmist asks. We can understand their bitterness at the end.

Psalm 138 is my favorite psalm of them all. Through this psalm, when I was offered my first position in ministry 40 years ago, God spoke to me. I was agonizing over whether or not to take the youth pastor position at Jacksonville Grace UMC in 1974, and very immaturely played “Bible roulette,” opening mine randomly and asking God for a word. He graciously bent down to me, and allowed my finger to land on Psalm 138:8 in my King James Bible: “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” I wept with gratitude, knowing that God would guide and perfect the work. Since then, I have found help in every word of this wonderful song!

Psalm 139 is a close second to Psalm 138 in my list of favorites (It was Bishop Woodie White’s absolute favorite!); I cannot read it without being washed again in God’s awesome knowledge of me. There is nowhere to run that He has not already staked out. There is no secret in my life that He does not already know. There is no feature of my life that He has not lovingly charted out ahead of time. Oh how awesome and humbling is the sovereign knowledge of God!

Over the weekend, we’ll look at Psalms 140-145!

Your fellow traveler through the Word,
Pastor Gary