We have finished the psalms of ascent and now move on to a variety of praise psalms.
Psalm 135:1-5, Good and pleasant
Praise the LORD.
Praise the name of the LORD;
praise him, you servants of the LORD,
you who minister in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.
I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
There are some beautiful Hebrew words in this stanza. In verse 3, singing (zammeru, זַמְּרוּ) to God is good (towb, טוֹב) and pleasant (na'iym (נָעִים.) And the people of Israel are YHWH's "treasured possession" (segullah, סְגֻלָּה), a word one might use to describe a set of valuable jewels, saved to wear on a special occasion.
Psalm 135:6-7, Whatever pleases him
The LORD does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
God does as He wishes. When He speaks, it is done (Isaiah 55:10-11.) As in the book of Job (38:22), it is assumed that weather sits in storehouses, ready for God to use.
Psalm 135:8-12, Defeating Pharaoh, Sihon, Og, ...
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn of men and animals.
He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings--
Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan
and all the kings of Canaan--
and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
Egypt and the kings of Canaan (including Sihon and Og) were all defeated by God in support of His people. The defeat of Sihon and Og is recorded in Numbers 21:21-35; see also Deuteronomy 3:1-11.
Psalm 135:13-14, Forever
Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
your renown, O LORD, through all generations.
For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
YHWH (whose name is repeated three times here) has compassion on his people and will continue to protect them. The last two lines are probably from the first half of Deuteronomy 32:26.
Psalm 135:15-18, Silly idols, foolish idolaters
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
The Old Testament prophets were always shocked at the absurdity of worshiping something that one has just made. (See, for example, Isaiah 44:9-20.) Here the psalmist mocks the enemy who worships idols with fake mouths, eyes and ears and calls for God to make those people like the very idols that they worship. An almost identical passage occurs in Psalm 115:4-8.
Psalm 135:19-21, Israel, Levi, Aaron
O house of Israel, praise the LORD;
O house of Aaron, praise the LORD;
house of Levi, praise the LORD;
you who fear him, praise the LORD.
Praise be to the LORD from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD
The people of Israel, and those that lead worship in the sanctuary, should all praise YHWH. (The house of Aaron is the family of priests; the house of Levi is the larger tribe from which those priests come.)
First published November 19, 2025; updated November 19, 2025
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