Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 134:1
A Song of degrees. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all [ye] servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
1. all ye servants of the Lord ] Not Israelite worshippers in general, but, as the following clause shews, ministrants in the Temple.
which by night stand in the house of the Lord ] ‘To stand before Jehovah’ was the regular term for priestly or Levitical ministration. Cp. Deu 10:8 &c.; Heb 10:11.
The words imply that services of praise and thanksgiving were held in the Temple at night; possibly a reference to such services is to be found in 1Ch 9:33.
The addition even in the courts of the house of our God in the P.B.V. is derived through the Vulg. from the LXX, and comes from Psa 135:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold – As if calling attention to the fact that they were there, or had come.
Bless ye the Lord – Praise Yahweh. Making known their desire that God should be praised, and calling on those who presided over the public worship of the sanctuary to engage now in that service as expressive of their feelings.
All ye servants of the Lord – The priests or ministers of religion, appointed especially to this service.
Which by night stand in the house of the Lord – There was a class of singers in the temple who devoted the night, or a part of the night, to praise; and it is possible that this service may have been, as it was subsequently in some of the monasteries, continued by succeeding choirs, during the entire night. Thus in 1Ch 9:33, it is said, And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free, for they were employed in that work day and night. This class is particularly addressed in this psalm, as if they were especially favored, or as if they especially possessed the ear of God in the silence of the night, and when the world slumbered around them. There is something favorable to devotion in the silence of the night; when the world sleeps; when we are alone with God; when it seems as if God would more particularly attend to our cry since the rest of the world is still, and does not (as it were) need his care. All this may be fancy; but the effect may be to make the mind more solemn, and better suited for devotion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 134:1-3
Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord.
Man blessing the Lord and the Lord blessing man
The two first verses of this psalm–the last of the Pilgrim Psalms–are addressed by the congregation to the priests and Levites who had charge of the temple during the night (1Ch 9:27-33). The last verse seems to be the answer of the priests in dismissing the people with a blessing.
I. Man is here represented as blessing the Lord. Bless ye the Lord. That is, praise ye the Lord–worship Him, worship Him in spirit and in truth.
II. The Lord is here represented as blessing man (verse 3). This is the usual form of priestly benediction (Num 6:24).
1. The Author of the blessing. The Lord that made heaven and earth. What a condescension in Him, what an honour for us!
2. The condition of the blessing. He will bless us on the condition that we bless Him or worship Him. So it ever is, there is a Divine blessing in worship. (Homilist.)
Pastors and people
It seems unnecessary, and is perhaps impossible, to determine whether this last of the fifteen Songs of Degrees was meant for the pilgrims on their arrival at the temple, or when they appeared within its courts, or on their departure from its sacred threshold. Adapted to particular occasions, yet it was not unfit for repetition anywhere, outside or within Jehovahs dwelling-place, on the road to or from Jerusalem, with the lips or only in the mind. It includes a greeting and a reply. An exhortation to ministerial duty, expressing encouragement and approval, is answered by an affectionate benediction. As the two commandments of our Lord condense the law, this brief dramatic song is a summary of worship.
1. It is to be expected of ministers that with humble gladness they deem themselves, and show that they wish to be considered servants of the Lord. They are also servants of the Church (2Co 4:5). But they may no more follow the will of men, as if blind slaves to the congregation, than their own independent will, as being lords over Gods heritage (1Pe 5:3). It must be their great concern to ascertain, obey and teach the will of their Supreme Master. Having received Divine instruction, they must, in a becoming spirit and manner, fearless of consequences, speak and act accordingly (1Co 4:1-4; 2Ti 2:3; 1Pe 4:10). The address in the psalm implies a call upon ministers to speak in their lives what they say with their lips, and be themselves the blessing they pronounce. The margin reads, Lift up your hands in holiness. Cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, etc. (Luk 6:42). Be thou an example of the believers, etc. (1Ti 4:12). Merit the title we give you of servants of the Lord. Deserve, as far as possible, to praise Jehovah for the congregation, and in His name to bless His people.
2. What the people of God require their pastors to be and do they aim at for themselves in prayer and practice. Language like this in the psalm, addressed to the Lords servants in the place where prayer is wont to be made, implies the possession of a praying spirit, and an engagement to offer prayer. We cannot turn our wishes and counsels into prayer without also, in our relation and degree, turning them into practice. The psalm implies that all who use it, in the spirit of it, people as well as pastors, are servants of the Lord; and in nearly every respect the duty of ministers of religion exhibits that of their fellow-worshippers. And not only in the worship of the temple and the reading of the sacred volume, but in the cleanness of your hands, in the purity of your hearts, in the holiness of your lives be as consistent as you would have your ministers. (E. J. Robinson.)
The pilgrims farewell to Zion
The pilgrims are going home, and are singing the last song in their Psalter. They leave early in the morning, before the day has fully commenced, for the journey is long for many of them. While yet the night lingers they are on the move. As soon as they are outside the gates they see the guards upon the temple wall, and the lamps shining from the windows of the chambers which surround the sanctuary; therefore, moved by the sight, they chant a farewell to the perpetual attendants upon the holy shrine. Their parting exhortation arouses the priests to pronounce upon them a blessing out of the holy place: this benediction is contained in the third verse. The priests as good as say, You have desired us to bless the Lord, and now we pray the Lord to bless you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Which by night stand in the house of the Lord.—
The charge to thy watchers in the temple
This psalm, the shortest but one in the whole Psalter, will be more intelligible if we observe that in the first part of it more than one person is addressed, and in the last verse a single person. No doubt, when used in the temple service, the first part was chanted by one half of the choir, and the other part by the other. Who are the persons addressed in the first portion? The answer stands plain in verse 1. They are the priests or Levites whose charge it was to patrol the temple through the hours of night and darkness, to see that all was safe and right there, and to do such other priestly and ministerial work as was needful; they are called upon to lift up their hands in–or rather towards–the sanctuary, and to bless the Lord. The charge is given to these watching priests, these nightly warders, by some single person–we know not whom. Perhaps by the High Priest, perhaps by the captain of their band. They listen to the exhortation to praise, and answer, in the last words of this little psalm, by invoking a blessing on the head of the unnamed speaker who gave the charge.
I. The charge to the watchers. Bless ye the Lord. It is because they are the servants of the Lord that, therefore, it is their business to bless the Lord. It is because they stand in the house of the Lord that it is theirs to bless the Lord. So for us Christians. We are servants of the Lord–His priests. That we stand in the house of the Lord expresses not only the fact of our great privilege of confiding approach to Him and communion with Him, whereby we may ever abide in the very Holy of Holies, and be in the secret place of the Most High, even while we are busy in the world, but it also points to our duty of ministering; for the word stand is employed to designate the attendance of the priests in their office, and is almost equivalent to serve. To bless the Lord, then, is the work to which we are especially called. And then there is another lesson here, and that is that all times are times for blessing God. Although no sacrifice was smoking on the altar, and no choral songs went up from the company of praising priests in the ritual service; and although the nightfall had silenced the worship and scattered the worshippers, yet some low murmur of praise would be echoing through the empty halls all the night long, and the voice of thanksgiving and of blessing would blend with the clank of the priests feet on the marble pavements as they went their patrolling rounds; and their torches would send up a smoke not less acceptable than the wreathing columns of the incense that had filled the day. And so as in some convents you will find a monk kneeling on the steps of the altar at each hour of the four-and-twenty, adoring the sacrament exposed upon it, so in the Christian heart there should be a perpetual adoration and a continual praise–a prayer without ceasing. What is it that comes first of all into your minds when you wake in the middle of the night? Yesterdays business, to-morrows vanities, or Gods present love and your dependence upon Him? In the night of sorrow, too, do our songs go up, and do we hear and obey the charge which commands not only perpetual adoration, but bids us fill the night with music and with praise? Well for us if it be anticipating the time when they rest not day nor night saying Holy! Holy! Holy!
II. The answering blessing (verse 3). May we venture to draw from this interchange of counsel and benediction a simple lesson as to the best form in which mutual goodwill and friendship may express itself? It is by the interchange of stimulus to Gods service and praise, and of grateful prayer. He is my best friend who stirs me up to make my whole life a strong sweet song of thanksgiving to God for all His numberless mercies to me. Even if the exhortation becomes rebuke, faithful are such wounds. It is but a shallow affection which can be eloquent on other subjects of common interests, but is dumb on this, the deepest of all; which can counsel wisely and rebuke gently in regard to other matters, but has never a word to say to its dearest concerning duty to the God of all mercies. And the true response to any loving exhortation to bless God, or any religious impulse which we receive from one another, is to invoke Gods blessing on faithful lips that have given us counsel. But observe, further, the two kinds of blessing which answer to one another–Gods blessing of man, and mans blessing of God. The one is communicative, the other receptive and responsive. The one is the great stream which pours itself over the precipice; the other is the basin into which it falls, and the showers of spray which rise from its surface, rainbowed in the sunshine, as the cataract of Divine mercies comes down upon it. God blesses us when He gives. We bless God when we thankfully take, and praise the Giver. Gods blessing, then, must ever come first. Ours is but the echo of His, but the acknowledgment of the Divine act, which must precede our recognition of it as the dawn, must come in order that the birds may wake to sing. Our highest service is to take the gifts of God and with glad hearts to praise the Giver. Our blessings are but words. Gods blessings are realities. We wish good to one another when we bless each other. But He does good to men when He blesses them. Observe, too, the channel through which Gods blessings come–out of Zion. For the Jew the fulness of the Divine glory dwelt between the cherubim, and the richest of the Divine blessings were bestowed on the waiting worshippers there. And no doubt it is still true that God dwells in Zion, and blesses men from thence. The New Testament analogue to the Old Testament temple is no outward building. A material type must have a spiritual fulfilment. In the true sense, Jesus Christ is the Temple. In Him God dwelt; in Him man meets God; in Him was the place of Revelation; in Him the place of Sacrifice. In this piece is one greater than the temple, and the abiding of Jehovah above the mercy-seat was but a material symbol, shadowing and foretelling the true indwelling of all the fulness of the Godhead bodily in that true tabernacle which the Lord hath pitched and not man. So the great Fountain of all possible good and benediction, which was opened for the believing Jew in Zion, is opened for us in Jesus Christ who stood in the very court of the temple, and called in tones of clear, loud invitation: If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink. There is another application of the temple symbol in the New Testament–a derivative and secondary one–to the Church, that is, to the aggregate of believers. In it God dwells through Christ. Receiving His Spirit, instinct with His life it is His Body, and as in His earthly life He spake of the temple of His literal body, so now that Church becomes the temple of God, being builded through the ages. In that Zion all Gods best blessings are possessed and stored, that the Church may by faithful service impart them to the world. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Watchers by night
Who are these night watchers, and to whom does the psalmist refer? Probably there were guards or sentinels set to pace the sacred courts and to trim the lamps which burned dim within that holy place, which was the presence-chamber of the great King. The gloom must have been oppressive, and sometimes they must have trembled as they paced the long corridors and looked up at the vast vault overhead, through which a dim lamp or two shot a feeble ray like a star seen through the rack of clouds on a stormy night. To cheer these watchers, and to impress on them that solitude is not awful if Gods presence be there, this psalm was probably written. It was written for us, too, who have to pass through the same solitude, and to stand by night in the house of the Lord. There is, then, a night-time of sorrow and suffering here on earth, during which we may be said to be like watchers in the outer courts of Gods temple. But there is a completer sense of the passage than this, and it is to this second sense that I wish to turn your attention. It is well to take the calm expression of the psalmist, and apply it in this way, Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord. In this temple there is an inner shrine, where all is dark, and yet amid the solemn gloom Gods presence is felt to be inexpressibly near. No conception of the middle or waiting state between death and the general resurrection is so near the mark as this. Suspended activity, but not suspended consciousness–this sets us thinking what can be the occupation of those who are set to stand as watchers by night in the house of the Lord. May it not be that this is the very counteraction necessary for the undue activities of our too busy, bustling existence on earth? Now, are we willing to be watchers by night in the house of the Lord? I use the term night in two senses. There is a night-time of sorrow here, and of separation hereafter from those we love on earth. We have to pass through these two seasons of watching–an evening and a midnight watch, as I may describe them by way of contrast. It is the faithful watcher on earth who will stand by night and watch in the house of the Lord during the interval between death and the Resurrection morning. Season of solitude here, in which we get spiritual strength through loneliness and isolation from our fellow-men, will prepare us for that midnight watch when we are called within the veil and there stand and wait for the full morning of Resurrection blessedness. What hours of weariness under pain and privation of the usual outlets for activity in the affairs of life many of us are to pass through God only knows. Some have had to pass through long years of such watching. Our soul, then, waits for the Lord–in the pathetic language of the psalmist, more, I say, than they that wait for the morning. But such discipline has its uses. Silent suffering is a school, and hours of loneliness are also a school quite as much or even more than racking pain or positive privation. It disciplines us in faith and patience. It strengthens the character by forcing us to see that all our fresh springs must be in God and in Him alone. In all this Christ was our example, and, more than this, our forerunner. (J. B. Heard, M. A.)
Hours of watching need not be lost
They may by prayer and praise become times of spiritual power. All earth is the temple of the Lord. Many have to keep night watches. Some, through sleeplessness, wait anxiously for the morning. Some have to sit in the sad sick-chamber by the side of the fevered, restless sleeper in disease. Some on the ships deck look out on the black, hissing waters and watch the stars roll by. To them comes the exhortation, Lift up your hands in prayer and bless the Lord. Let a spirit of devotion engage your thought and feeling. Amidst the forces that affect men, who can estimate the influence of holy night watchers who call on God in prayer? The Lord blesses out of Zion. The refreshing showers which cleanse the plants and bedew the flowers, which fill the watercourses and cause the rivers to roll, take their rise in quiet uprising mists often by night. So the showers of blessing the Lord God pours out on His people spring from the quiet mists of prayer ever uprising to the heavens from holy souls in retirement. It is the Divine plan. For the blessings of His grace He will be sought. More things are done by prayer than this world dreams of. Hear a mythic tale. One night Rabbi Ben Israel sat through the dark hours in anxious thought, desiring to know the forces at work in the nation, lie would trace effects to their cause. When an aged beggar knocked at his door and asked for food, the rabbi rose from his meditations and gave him his own supper, which he had not touched. Then the stranger told him he was an angel in disguise, and bid him come forth, as he was about to visit the man of greatest power in the city. First they took their way towards the palace, and the rabbi said to himself, Surely it is the king, but the stranger led him past the royal entrance. Then they turned and went to the quarter where the general of the army lived, and the rabbi thought, Surely it is the captain of the host, but they passed his door. They passed the abodes of men of wealth, great councillors, and that of the high priest, but visited none of these. At length they came to the gate of the temple, which opened at the touch of the angel. They passed the outer court. The angel pointed out to the rabbi the Levite in charge, who was lifting up his hands in earnest prayer for the people. Then the rabbi learned that, as the Lord is the most powerful of all, and has all the hosts of earth and heaven under His control, the man who can prevail with Him must be the mightiest on earth. Prayer can do more than the merchants gold, the soldiers sword, or the kings sceptre. (J. H. Cooke.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
PSALM CXXXIV
An exhortation to praise God in his sanctuary, 1-3.
NOTES ON PSALM CXXXIV
This is the last of the fifteen Psalms called Psalms of degrees. Who was the author is uncertain; it is attributed to David only by the Syriac; it is intimately connected with the two preceding Psalms, and is an exhortation to the priests and Levites who kept nightly watch in the temple, to the assiduous in praising the Lord. It seems to consist of two parts: 1. An exhortation, probably from the high priest, to those priests and Levites who kept watch in the temple by night, to spend their time profitably, and duly celebrate the praises of God, Ps 134:1-2. The second part, which is contained in the third verse, Ps 134:3 is the prayer of the priests and Levites for the high priest, who seems now to be going to his rest.
Verse 1. Behold, bless ye the Lord] I believe hinneh should be taken here in the sense of take heed! Be upon your guard; you serve a jealous God; provoke him not.
Which by night stand] Who minister during the night.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Behold, bless ye the Lord; do not stand there like statues, dumb and idle, but employ your hearts and tongues in singing forth the praises of the Lord.
Ye servants of the Lord; peculiarly so called, priests and Levites, who are set apart to the service of God and of the sanctuary, as the next clause restrains this general expression. By night; not only by day, but also and especially by night, when their watch was more necessary. See Exo 27:21; Lev 8:35; 1Sa 3:3. As you watch by night when others sleep, so do you utter the praises of God when others are silent.
Stand, i.e. serve or minister, as this word is used, Deu 10:8; 18:7, and oft elsewhere. House; which word includes both the temple and courts belonging to it, as hath been noted before.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Behold, bless ye the Lord, all [ye] servants of the Lord,…. All men are of right the servants of God being his creatures; and are under obligation, through his providential goodness, to bless and praise him; though they are not all in fact so: but all good men are, being made so by the power of divine grace; which frees them from the servitude of sin, Satan, and the world, and makes them willing to serve the Lord; as they do in righteousness and holiness, with reverence and godly fear, heartily and willingly, and with great pleasure; and yet have no dependence on any service they perform: and as these are under the highest obligations to bless the Lord; the is, to ascribe greatness to him, to give him the glory of his works, and thanks for his mercies, temporal and spiritual; so they do in this way, and for those things, bless and praise him, to which they are here excited;
which by night stand in the house of the Lord: according to Kimchi, these were the wise and holy men, that rose from their beds in the night, and went to pray in the temple, and to praise the Lord; and such a holy person was Anna, Lu 2:37; according to R. Obadiah and Arama, they were such who continued in the chambers of the temple in the night season to study in the law and in the expositions of it: but it is generally interpreted of the priests and Levites, who watched in the temple by night, that it might not be profaned nor plundered; and they were obliged to stand, for none might sit in the temple but a king of the house of David d. The priests watched in three places, and the Levites in twenty one, according to the Jewish Misnah e. The Targum is,
“who stand in the watch house of the sanctuary of the Lord, and praise in the nights;”
which was one part of their service, 1Ch 9:33. Under the Gospel dispensation all the saints are priests, and they have a place in the house of the Lord; where they wait upon him in his ordinances, and serve him, and which they do continually. Some understand, by “nights”, times of affliction, darkness, and desertion.
d Maimon. Beth Habbechirah, c. 7. s. 6. e Middot, c. 1. s. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Psalm begins, like its predecessor, with ; there is directs attention to an attractive phenomenon, here to a duty which springs from the office. For that it is not the persons frequenting the Temple who are addressed is at once clear from the fact that the tarrying of these in the Temple through the night, when such a thing did actually occur (Luk 2:37), was only an exception. And then, however, from the fact that is the customary word for the service of the priests and Levites, Deu 10:8; Deu 18:7; 1Ch 23:30; 2Ch 29:11 (cf. on Isa 61:10, and Psa 110:4), which is also continued in the night, 1Ch 9:33. Even the Targum refers Psa 134:1 to the Temple-watch. In the second Temple the matter was arranged thus. After midnight the chief over the gate-keepers took the keys of the inner Temple and went with some of the priests through the little wicket of the Fire Gate ( ). In the inner court this patrol divided into two companies, each with a burning torch; one company turned west, the other east, and so they compassed the court to see whether everything was in readiness for the service of the dawning day. At the bakers’ chamber, in which the Mincha of the high priest was baked ( ), they met with the cry: All is well. In the meanwhile the rest of the priests also arose, bathed, and put on their garments. Then they went into the stone chamber (one half of which was the place of session of the Sanhedrim), where, under the superintendence of the chief over the drawing of the lots and of a judge, around whom stood all the priests in their robes of office, the functions of the priests in the service of the coming day were assigned to them by lot (Luk 1:9). Accordingly Tholuck, with Kster, regards Psa 134:1. and Psa 134:3 as the antiphon of the Temple-watch going off duty and those coming on. It might also be the call and counter-call with which the watchmen greeted one another when they met. But according to the general keeping of the Psalm, Psa 134:1. have rather to be regarded as a call to devotion and intercession, which the congregation addresses to the priests and Levites entrusted with the night-service in the Temple. It is an error to suppose that “in the nights” can be equivalent to “early and late.” If the Psalter contains Morning Psalms (Psa 3:1-8, Psa 63:1-11) and Evening Psalms (Psa 4:1-8, Psa 141:1-10), why should it then not contain a vigil Psalm? On this very ground Venema’s idea too, that is syncopated from , “with Hallels, i.e., praises,” is useless. Nor is there any reason for drawing , as the lxx does, to Psa 134:2,
(Note: The lxx adjusts the shortening of Psa 134:1 arising from this, by reading after Psa 135:2.)
or, what would be more natural, to the that opens the Psalm, since it is surely not strange that, so long as the sanctuary was standing, a portion of the servants of God who ministered in it had to remain up at night to guard it, and to see to it that nothing was wanting in the preparations for the early service. That this ministering watching should be combined with devotional praying is the purport of the admonition in Psa 134:2. Raising suppliant hands ( , negligently written for ) towards the Most Holy Place ( ), they are to bless Jahve. (according to B. Sota 39a, the accusative of definition: in holiness, i.e., after washing of hands), in view of Psa 28:2; Psa 5:8; Psa 138:2 (cf. in Hab 3:10), has to be regarded as the accusative of the direction.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| A Call to Bless God. | |
A song of degrees.
1 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. 3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
This psalm instructs us concerning a two-fold blessing:–
I. Our blessing God, that is, speaking well of him, which here we are taught to do, Psa 134:1; Psa 134:2. 1. It is a call to the Levites to do it. They were the servants of the Lord by office, appointed to minister in holy things; they attended the sanctuary, and kept the charge of the house of the Lord, Num. iii. 6, c. Some of them did by night stand in the house of the Lord, to guard the holy things of the temple, that they might not be profaned, and the rich things of the temple, that they might not be plundered. While the ark was in curtains there was the more need of guards upon it. They attended likewise to see that neither the fire on the altar nor the lamps in the candlestick went out. Probably it was usual for some devout and pious Israelites to sit up with them we read of one that departed not from the temple night or day, Luke ii. 37. Now these are here called upon to bless the Lord. Thus they must keep themselves awake by keeping themselves employed. Thus they must redeem time for holy exercises; and how can we spend our time better than in praising God? It would be an excellent piece of husbandry to fill up the vacancies of time with pious meditations and ejaculations; and surely it is a very modest and reasonable to converse with God when we have nothing else to do. Those who stood in the house of the Lord must remember where they were, and that holiness and holy work became that house. Let them therefore bless the Lord; let them all do it in concert, or each by himself; let them lift up their hands in the doing of it, in token of the lifting up of their hearts. Let them lift up their hands in holiness (so Dr. Hammond reads it) or in sanctification, as it is fit when they lift them up in the sanctuary; and let them remember that when they were appointed to wash before they went in to minister they were thereby taught to lift up holy hands in prayer and praise. 2. It is a call to us to do it, who, as Christians, are made priests to our God, and Levites, Isa. lxvi. 21. We are the servants of the Lord; we have a place and a name in his house, in his sanctuary; we stand before him to minister to him. Even by night we are under his eye and have access to him. Let us therefore bless the Lord, and again bless him; think and speak of his glory and goodness. Let us lift up our hands in prayer, in praise, in vows; let us do our work with diligence and cheerfulness, and an elevation of mind. This exhortation is ushered in with Behold! a note commanding attention. Look about you, Sirs, when you are in God’s presence, and conduct yourselves accordingly.
II. God’s blessing us, and that is doing well for us, which we are here taught to desire, v. 3. Whether it is the watchmen’s blessing their captain, or the Levites’ blessing the high priest, or whoever was their chief (as many take it, because it is in the singular number, The Lord bless thee), or whether the blessing is pronounced by one upon many (“The Lord bless thee, each of you in particular, thee and thee; you that are blessing God, the Lord bless you”), is not material. We may learn, 1. That we need desire no more to make us happy than to be blessed of the Lord, for those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. 2. That blessings out of Zion, spiritual blessings, the blessings of the covenant, and of communion with God, are the best blessings, which we should be most earnest for. 3. It is a great encouragement to us, when we come to God for a blessing, that it is he who made heaven and earth, and therefore has all the blessings of both at his disposal, the upper and nether springs. 4. We ought to beg these blessings, not only for ourselves, but for others also; not only, The Lord bless me, but, The Lord bless thee, thus testifying our belief of the fulness of divine blessings, that there is enough for others as well as for us, and our good-will also to others. We must pray for those that exhort us. Though the less is blessed of the greater (Heb. vii. 7), yet the greater must be prayed for by the less.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Psalms 134
A Benediction Psalm
Scripture v. 1-3:
Verse 1 calls on the “servants of the Lord,” the priests, who ministered sacrifices and offered blessings of praise and thanksgiving to God, to go do it on behalf of all Israel; They are described as “which by night (to the time of evening sacrifice) stand in the house of the Lord.” They did not stay up all night but served Through the evening sacrifice, here referred to, Psa 92:2. Though watches were kept in the temple by night, neither the priests not Levite singers engaged in all night services, 1Ch 9:33; See also Lev 8:35; Psa 130:6; Luk 2:37; Rev 7:15.
Verse 2 exhorts “lift up your hands in the sanctuary (in holiness), and bless the lord,” or offer prayer, praise, gratitude, thanksgiving, and intercession to Him for all Israel. The lifting of the hands in gesture signified the lifting of the heart or affections to God on high, in earnest prayer or praise, Psa 28:2; Psa 141:2; La 2:19; 3:41; 1Ti 2:8.
Verse 3 concludes with a psalmist benediction upon the priestly servants of God, “The Lord that made heaven and earth, bless thee out of Zion,” in return for their blessing or praising the Lord in intercession of the people of Israel; God has all power and universal reasons to bless His people, an occasion and just ground for them to do so, Psa 124:8; Psa 128:5. See also Num 6:24; Psa 121:2; The Lord bless you in return for your blessing Him, v. 1,2. This is the last of the Psalms of degrees.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. Behold! bless ye Jehovah. Some interpreters think, that others besides the Levites are here intended, and it must be granted, at least, that some of the more zealous of the people remained over night in the Temple, as we read (Luk 2:37) of Anna, a widow, “who served God constantly with prayers night and day.” (150) But it is evident, from the close of the Psalm, that the inspired penman addresses priests only, since he prescribes the form of benediction which they were to offer up for the people, and this was a duty belonging exclusively to the Priests. It would appear then, that the Levites are here called servants of God, from the functions they discharged, being specially appointed, and that by turns, to watch by night in the Temple, as we read in the inspired history. (151) (Lev 8:35.) The Psalm begins with the demonstrative adverb Behold! setting the matter of their duty before their eyes, for they were to be stimulated to devotion by looking constantly to the Temple. We are to notice the Psalmist’s design in urging the duty of praise so earnestly upon them. Many of the Levites, through the tendency which there is in all men to abuse ceremonies, considered that nothing more was necessary than standing idly in the Temple, and thus overlooked the principal part of their duty. The Psalmist would show that merely to keep nightly watch over the Temple, kindle the lamps, and superintend the sacrifices, was of no importance, unless they served God spiritually, and referred all outward ceremonies to that which must be considered the main sacrifice the celebration of God’s praises. You may think it a very laborious service, as if he had said, to stand at watch in the Temple, while others sleep in their own houses; but the worship which God requires is something more excellent than this, and demands of you to sing his praises before all the people. In the second verse he reminds them in addition, of the form observed in calling upon the name of the Lord. For why do men lift their hands when they pray? Is it not that their hearts may be raised at the same time to God? (152) It is thus that the Psalmist takes occasion to reprehend their carelessness in either standing idle in the Temple, or trifling and indulging in vain conversation, and thus failing to worship God in a proper manner.
(150) “We know generally,” says Fry, “that there was a nightly service in the Temple, (2Ch 21:0 🙂 and Kimchi, a Jewish writer, represents those who by night stand in the house of the Lord, as holy men who rose from their beds in the night and went to pray in the Temple.” After referring to the case of “Anna, a Prophetess,” he adds, “And St. Paul, before Agrippa, speaking ‘of the hope of the promise made unto the fathers,’ gives us this remarkable description: ‘unto which our’ twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. There was public service in the Temple at Jerusalem not only by day but by night; which latter service many of the Jews, for whose special use this and the next Psalm seem to have been composed, were in the habit of attending.” Cresswell.
(151) Ye servants off the Lord, etc., i.e., ye Levites, whose duty it was, according to the Talmudists, to keep watch by night, standing in the Temple: the High Priest was the only one who sat in the Temple. Compare Lev 8:35; 1Ch 9:33 Psa 92:2; Psa 119:147; Luk 2:37.” Cresswell.
(152) “ Car a quel propos les hommes eslevent ils les mains en priant, sinon afin qu’ils eslevent aussi leurs esprits a Dieu ?” Ft.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
INTRODUCTION
Three things, says Delitzsch, are clear with regard to this Psalm. First, that it consists of a greeting, Psa. 134:1-2, and a reply, Psa. 134:3. Next, that the greeting is addressed to those priests and Levites who had the night-watch in the Temple. Lastly, that this Psalm is purposely placed at the end of the collection of Pilgrim Songs in order to take the place of a final blessing. The words of Psa. 134:1-2 were probably addressed by the people to the priests and Levites, and those of Psa. 134:3 by the priests to the people. Both the author of the Psalm and the occasion of its composition are unknown.
DOXOLOGY AND BENEDICTION
I. Doxology. In Psa. 134:1-2 the people exhort the priests and Levites to praise the Lord. Consider
1. The offering to be presented. Behold, bless ye the Lord. The ministers of the Temple are called to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord. Here are two points.
(1.) The nature of this offering. Praise. Bless ye the Lord. This should be presented (a) because of what He does for us. Gratitude urgesBless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. And (b) because of what He is in Himself. He is glorious in holiness. Admiration and reverence urge us to Bless His holy Name.
(2.) The importance of this offering. Behold. This word calls attention to the exhortation which follows as a thing of importance and urgency. Worship is an engagement of the utmost moment to man. The obligations to it are most binding. And the exercise of it is essential to the right development and to the perfection of the human spirit.
2. The persons by whom it is to be offered. All ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. The priests and Levites are here addressed. But in this Christian dispensation priesthood is a thing of character, not of class. Every believing and reverent soul is a priest unto God by virtue of the highest and holiest consecration. Every Christian is exhorted to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips giving thanks to His Name.
3. The time at which it is to be offered. By night. Some of the ministers of the Temple were in attendance there all night. (Compare Exo. 27:20-21; 1Ch. 9:33.) They were there to guard the sacred and precious things of the Temple, and to keep the lamps alight and the fire upon the altar burning. Hengstenberg thinks that when the Pilgrim bands arrived at the Temple in the evening they addressed this exhortation to the servants of the Lord. The rest and quiet of the night render it a suitable season for praising God. When the duties of the day are done, and its busy and confused noises are silenced, the soul may be lifted up in adoration to God without interruption.
4. The place towards which it is to be offered. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Margin: in holiness. Hengstenberg and Perowne regard as the accusative of direction, and translate, to the sanctuary. The most holy place was regarded as the audience-chamber of the Most High, the place where God hears prayer, and whence He communicates answers to His people. The Lord Jesus Christ is the true Shekinah and Holy of Holies. We draw near unto God through Him. He is the meeting-place between God and man. Thus, then, let us offer to God the sacrifice of praise from grateful and adoring hearts.
II. Benediction. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion. This benediction is taken in part from the form used by the high priest in blessing the children of Israel. This accounts for the use of the singular, thee, not the plural, you. Notice
1. The power of God to bless. The Lord that made heaven and earth is omnipotent. He is able to do exceeding abundantly, &c.
2. The means by which God blesses man. Bless thee out of Zion. God blesses the world through the Church. He employs the Church in communicating spiritual blessings to mankind.
3. The authority of the servants of God to pronounce His blessing. The poet represents the priests as authoritatively pronouncing the blessing of God upon the people. And the ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ still possess this authority, not because they are priests, but because they are Christians. Every Christian has the right to pronounce the benediction of God upon devout worshippers; and the minister of Christ has this right not only as being himself a Christian, but as the representative of the Church.
CONCLUSION.Here are two of the highest privileges to which any created spirit can aspire. Through Christ we may draw near to the great God with ascriptions of honour and praise, being confident of audience, acceptance, and blessing. And by our voice the Divine blessing may be conveyed to the ear and heart of our fellow-men. Let us endeavour to live in the grateful and reverent exercise of these privileges.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Psalms 134
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
The Night Service in the Temple.
ANALYSIS
(See Inserted Headlines.)
(Lm.) Song of the Steps.
(ADDRESSED TO NIGHT-WATCHERS IN THE TEMPLE.)
1
Lo! bless ye Jehovah all ye servants of Jehovah,
who stand in the house of Jehovah in the dark night:[777]
[777] So Br. in the nightsDr.
2
Lift up your hands in holiness[778] and bless ye Jehovah.
[778] Or: unto the sanctuary.
(THEIR REPLY.)
3
May Jehovah bless thee out of Zion[He who is] Maker of heaven and earth!
(Nm.)[779]
[779] See Psalms 135 (beginning).
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 134
Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve Him as watchmen in the Temple every night.
2 Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.
3 The Lord bless you from Zionthe Lord who made heaven and earth.
EXPOSITION
The purpose and structure of this psalm are simple and evident. There is in the Temple a Night-service, which becomes the occasion of a charge from the people to the Levites who represent them, and of a benediction from the Levites on the people before they depart to their homes. There is a probable reference to such a service in 1Ch. 9:33; and the priestly response is after the manner of Num. 6:24. The stair-like movement characteristic of the previous Step-Songs is perceptible in this psalm also, as witness the five-fold repetition of the name Jehovah, which, reverently uttered, would impart to this final song a suitable solemnity. That the standing in the house of Jehovah points to the ministrations of the officials of the Temple, is sufficiently evident from the following passages; namely, Deu. 10:8; Deu. 18:7, 1Ch. 23:30 and 2Ch. 29:11. Concerning the lifting up of hands in worship, Psa. 28:2; Psa. 44:20; Psa. 63:4; Psa. 88:9; Psa. 119:48; Psa. 141:2, may be profitably compared; while, as to the accompanying words in holiness or to the sanctuary, the preference of Delitzsch, with R.V. text, for the accusative of direction=unto the sanctuary, is perhaps not quite so plainly correct as the accusative of definition =in holiness, with R.V. margin; although the reason given by Aglen for the latter is scarcely conclusive. He says: Since the servants of Jehovah are here addressed as standing in the sanctuary, this direction seems unreasonable. The unreasonableness disappears if we remember that the ministrants might be already standing within the Temple courts, and yet direct their uplifted hands toward the holy shrine. Still, in holiness appears the more obvious rendering; which becomes doubly acceptable when viewed as supplying the idea of holy hands in 1Ti. 2:8. It remains only to add: that the simple structure of this psalm by no means pre-supposes the elaborate ritual of perambulating the Temple courts during the night, which the Talmud connects with the Second Temple. There is nothing here which the reforming King Hezekiah might not have arranged or restored.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
This is the last of the fifteen psalms devoted to the Song of the Stepsit is appropriate that it be a night service in the templeRead 1Ch. 9:33 and Num. 6:24 to aid in visualizing the circumstances.
2.
Delitzsch seems to see some objections to an in the temple worship. How does Rotherham answer the objection?
3.
Are we to actually lift up our hands in the worship of our Lord? cf. 1Ti. 2:8.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) All ye servants.We learn from 1Ch. 9:33 that there were Levites whose duties brought them to the Temple by night. Moreover, the word mad, stand, is the customary word for sacerdotal service (Deu. 10:8; Deu. 18:7; 1Ch. 23:30, &c).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. The behold calls for special attention, as if something important was to be done or said. It was the special duty of the priests to pronounce the blessing on the people.
Bless ye the Lord We “bless the Lord” when we confess and praise him as the Source of all good. He blesses us when he confers good upon us. The call is to excite and encourage the priests to the duties of their holy office.
Which stand in the house of the Lord The word “stand” denotes being in the place and act of duty, and is specially used of the priest’s office, Deu 10:8; Deu 18:5; Deu 18:7. This attitude of duty continued, in various forms, through the night watches, not only to guard, but to see that everything was ready for the morning service. See introduction. “If the Psalter contains morning psalms (Psalms 3, 63) and evening psalms, (Psalms 4, 141,) why should it not then contain a watch psalm?”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psalms 134
Psa 134:1 (A Song of degrees.) Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
Psa 134:1
Psa 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
Psa 134:2
Neh 8:6, “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands : and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.”
Psa 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
1Ti 2:8, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands , without wrath and doubting.”
Psa 134:3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
Psa 134:3
Num 6:23-27, “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Office of the Servants of the Church.
v. 1. Behold, bless ye the Lord, v. 2. Lift up your hands in the Sanctuary, v. 3. The Lord that made heaven and earth,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE” Little Psalter” of” Songs of Ascents” terminates here with a short psalm, due probably to the compilera psalm of four lines only. It consists of two portions:
(1) A call from those without the temple, upon God’s servants, who conduct his service within his house during the night season (1Ch 9:33), to praise and thank the Lord in their name for his met-ties vouchsafed to them (Psa 134:1, Psa 134:2); and
(2) a response from those within the temple, who ask God to” bless out of Zion” those who have addressed them. The psalm is very suitable for pilgrim-bands arriving, as they commonly would, late in the day at the temple gates, and announcing their arrival to those within, who would be expecting them, and would call on God to bless their pilgrimage to them (Psa 134:3).
Psa 134:1
Behold. The word calls attention to an immediate needsomething that is to be done, and to be done at once. Bless ye the Lord. This must mean “for us””on our behalf.” Thank God for having brought our journey to a prosperous end. All ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord; i.e. ye special servants of the Lord, priests and Levites, now standing within his courts, and engaged in his worship. The temple was never left without a body of priests and Levites, to keep it and sing praises in it.
Psa 134:2
Lift up your hands. The attitude of prayer and praise (Psa 63:4; Psa 119:48; Psa 141:2). In the sanctuary; rather, towards the sanctuary; i.e. towards the holy of holies. Others render, “in holiness.” And bless the Lord (compare the first clause of Psa 134:1).
Psa 134:3
The Lord that made heaven and earth (comp. Gen 1:1; Psa 115:15; Psa 121:2; Psa 124:8; Psa 146:6). Bless thee out of Zion. God was regarded as dwelling in Zion, and therefore as giving his blessings out of Zion (comp. Psa 20:2; Psa 53:6; Psa 128:5).
HOMILETICS
Psa 134:1-3
God and man; reciprocal relations.
“It must needs be a matter of conjecture who the speakers are” in this short psalm; but these three verses bring before us the reciprocal relations existing between our God and ourselves, particularly as those engaged in his worship. “Bless ye the Lord the Lord bless thee.”
I. IN APPROACH AND NEARNESS OF SPIRIT. We draw nigh unto him, and he draws nigh unto us (2Ch 15:2; Jas 4:8). We come up to his house to “seek his face’ (Psa 27:8), and he seeks us; he finds us; he makes us conscious of his presence. He manifests himself unto us as not unto the world. And when we leave the sanctuary, and (partly through the help we have gained there) cherish the sense of God’s near presence, and feel that we are “with him ‘ everywhere, then is he “with us,” not only in nearness of spiritual presence (Psa 139:1-24.), but in fullness of Divine sympathy and the putting forth of Divine power on our behalf.
II. IN PRAYER ON OUR PART, AND IN COMMUNICATION OF TRUTH ON HIS PART. We speak to him in prayer (Psa 134:2). With uplifted hands, in reverent adoration, we pour out our heart in humble, earnest supplication, or in renewing before him and unto him our solemn vows. We may do well to put it to ourselves in these simple termsthat we are together, that with one voice and one thought and hope we may “speak to God.” Then we listen as he speaks to us. As we listen to the reading of his Word, we may feelSurely this is nothing other than God speaking to our hearts. Such a thought should make him that reads and those who hear feel that this is not the least important part of Divine worship, and is not undeserving of our best effort and attention. The preacher in the sanctuary should set before him as his high aim, as his noble and holy function, so to declare his message that, through his human voice, God will be speaking to the people of his charge. Thus, before leaving the house of God, we shall have reverently spoken to him; he will have graciously spoken to us.
III. IN BLESSING. “Bless ye the Lord the Lord bless thee.”
1. We bless God as we offer him our lowly but sincere adoration; as we ascribe to him all power, wisdom, faithfulness, holiness, mercy, patience; as we present to him the tribute of our praise for all his past kindness to us, and especially for his grace to us in Christ Jesus; as we thank him for all he has promised to us in the near and in the further future.
2. He blesses us as he lifts on us the light of his reconciled countenance; as he enlightens our understanding, and enables us to perceive new and fuller truth, or recognize familiar truth more clearly or vividly; as he kindles in our waiting heart a stronger flame of gratitude and love; as he stablishes and strengthens our soul in our purpose of devotion; as he draws out our sympathies with all that suffer and are in need; as he sends us forth from his presence confirmed and enlarged in heart, rejoicing in himself and in his service. It may be added that:
(1) If we honor him, he will honor us (1Sa 2:30).
(2) If we love him, he will love us (Joh 14:21).
(3) If we crown him Lord of our heart and life, he will crown us with the crown of eternal life.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Psa 134:1-3
The songs of degrees’ doxology.
This series of psalms ends, as all service of worship should, with the voice of praise and thanksgiving. It is ill if our prayers and varied waiting upon God do not bring us into the spirit which would bless the Lord, and bid all others do the same. That spirit is present in this psalm. Note
I. THE EXHORTATION HERE GIVEN. “Behold, bless ye the Lord.” Now, this psalm, being placed here at the end of the series, bids us look back and trace, in the psalms that have gone before, the manifold reasons wherefore we should bless the Lord. The first of these psalms, Psa 120:1-7; tells of deliverance from cruel enemies; Psa 121:1-8; of God’s continual preservation of his people; Psa 122:1-9; of joy and delight realized in the worship of the Lord; Psa 123:1-4; of waiting continually upon God in times of trouble; Psa 124:1-8; of deliverance from fierce foes; Psa 125:1-5; of experience of God’s guardian care; Psa 126:1-6; of the joy of God’s salvation; Psa 127:1-5; of the Lord alone being our sure Keeper; Psa 128:1-6; of God’s grace and goodness sweetening the home; Psa 129:1-8; of afflictions many, but of preservation in them all; Psa 130:1-8; of God’s blessed uplifting; Psa 131:1-3; of the soul kept in the peace of God; Psa 132:1-18; of the prosperity of the Church; and Psa 133:1-3; of her unity; and now in Psa 134:1-3, there is, as there well may be, the command to bless the Lord. What a long list it is of mercies, and help, and deliverances, and blessings unspeakable! If men will look back along their lives, they too will bless the Lord.
II. To WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED.
1. To all servants of the Lord. For there is none that has not good reason for obeying it. But especially:
2. To them “who by night stand in the house of the Lord.” Now, here allusion is made, so it seems, to those whose office it was to minister before the Lord during the night watchesthere were priests and Levites who had duties by night as well as by day (1Ch 9:33). There was “a night watch of choristers who kept up the worship of God through the silent hours.” Two verses of the psalm seem to have been the salutation of the congregation addressed to them, and Psa 134:3 is their response.
3. And God has yet many servants whose duty is to serve him through the night hours. The sleepless onesthose who from one cause and another have to say, “Thou holdest mine eyes waking.” Well is it for such to employ those hours in the praise of the Lord (cf. Psa 63:5, Psa 63:6). And such as the sailor pacing the deck in the night watch, the sentry on guard, the nurse in her ward,well is it for them in the night to bless the Lord.
4. Or, we may take the night as telling of the night of sorrowthose times of darkness and depression through which we all have to pass (see Paul and Silas in the dungeon at Philippi, at midnight singing praises unto God). How often have these psalms been used by God’s people at such hours, and with what rich results in the quickening of faith and hope and joy in God!
5. And if, as some maintain, there was no later service in the temple than the evening sacrifice, then the many evening congregations gathered together may take these words as addressed to them.
III. HOW IT IS TO BE OBEYED. They were to “lift up their hands to the sanctuary.” The body should bear its part; posture and gesture help the spirit.
IV. WHAT COMES OF SUCH OBEDIENCE. The Lord will bless us (Psa 134:3). He who hath all power, who made heaven and earth, he will bless the soul that worships him (cf. Psa 135:3). All who have thus drawn near to God have found that he draws near to them.S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Psa 134:1
Representative worshippers.
From a Targum we learn that “the custom in the second temple appears to have been this: After midnight the chief of the doorkeepers took the key of the inner temple, and went with some of the priests through the small postern of the Fire Gate. In the inner court this watch divided itself into two companies, each carrying a burning torch; one company turned west, the other east; and so they compassed the court to see whether all were in readiness for the temple service on the following morning. In the bakehouse, where the mincha (meat offering) of the high priest was baked, they met with the cry, ‘All well!’ Meanwhile the rest of the priests arose, bathed themselves, and put on their garments. They then went into the stone-chamber (one half of which was the hall of session of the Sanhedrim), and there, under the superintendence of the officer who gave the watchword and one of the Sanhedrim, surrounded by the priests clad in their robes of office, their several duties for the coming day were assigned to each of the priests by lot.” It should be always borne in mind that, in the Divine idea, the entire people of Israel made up a nation of priests. Every man was regarded as a consecrated man, separated unto the honor, worship, and service of Jehovah. What were called the actual priests were only representatives of these universal priests, and they were only daily doing materially what every man-priest of the nation was pledged to do, and if he was a true and worthy man, was trying to do spiritually. If this point can be clearly seen, a new interest will be found to attach to the various doings of the representative priesthood. Men are always learning from them what they should be and what they should do in a spiritual sense. One thing is set prominently in this psalm. The work of the priests is to “bless Jehovah.” This they do in a formal manner by lifting up their hands and voices, waving the censers, etc. Let an Israelite see or hear a priest blessing God, and his heart ought at once to respond, saying, “That is just what I ought to be doing, with heart, and lip, and deed, and above all by the thankful, trustful, devoted spirit of my life.”R.T.
Psa 134:2
Holy hands.
(For the high-priestly benediction, see Numb, 6:24.) Raising suppliant hands is the formal, bodily sign of earnest prayer. Every mental or moral state has its corresponding natural bodily attitude or movement; and raising and stretching forth the opened hands in a receptive attitude is the natural bodily attitude accompanying petition. There is an important alteration in this sentence. It should be, “Lift up your hands to the sanctuary;” and the figure is of the priests turning towards the holy of holies, where the symbol of God’s presence rested, and stretching forth hands of supplication towards it (see Solomon’s attitude at the dedication of the temple).
I. THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF PRAYER IN ALL BLESSING OF GOD. There is for man; there may not be for angels. Man can never offer even his praise without a sense of his unworthiness. So he must always mingle a prayer for pardon and for pitying mercy with his thanksgivings. And he can never draw near to the Divine presence without a sense of need. So say what he may of God, or to God, in his praises, he finds that he always has something to ask for. His dependence always wants to find expression. We are always wrong if there is no prayer in our praises.
II. THE ELEMENT OF PRAYER FINDS EXPRESSION IN UPLIFTED HANDS. Kneeling in prayer is to a great extent a modern device. Easterns stand to pray. So did our forefathers. And so do those who now lead prayers at prayer-meetings. Stretching forth the hands is now regarded as the act of benediction, as in the Catholic and Scotch Protestant Churches. But it is such a universal and natural expression of supplication that it might very wisely be restored to use in private as well as public acts of prayer and praise. The apostle bids us “lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
III. THE UPLIFTED HANDS MUST BE HOLY HANDS. The priests had to wash their hands, as a sign of their putting away all self-indulgence and self-will and all gathered evil before engaging in the praises of Jehovah. And it is the absolutely universal law, “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” The symbol of the soul-cleanness which goes with sincerity and gains for us acceptance, is the washed and holy uplifted hands.R.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Psalms 134.
An exhortation to bless God.
A Song of Degrees.
Title. Shiir hammangaloth.] It is not known by whom this psalm was composed; but it seems to have been designed to be sung at the shutting up of the gates of the temple: the two first verses by the high priest, to excite the priests and Levites, whose turn it was to watch that night, to be diligent in their office of singing psalms: and making devout prayers for the people; and the last verse by those priests and Levites who there prayed for God’s blessing upon him who had thus admonished them of their duty.
Psa 134:1. Which stand That is, minister. So the word is used, Deu 10:8; Deu 18:7. See also Lev 8:35. 1Sa 3:3. &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psalms 134
A Song of Degrees
Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord,
Which by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord.
3The Lord that made heaven and earth
Bless thee out of Zion.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.It is held by some that this Psalm is occupied with the mutual relation of blessing subsisting between God and His servants who praise Him in the sanctuary (Kimchi, J. H. Mich., Hupfeld). Other views are that it is a responsive song between the president of the Levites who hold the night-watch in the Temple, and the Levites themselves (Amyrald), or between those of the Temple-watchers who are mounting guard, and those who are retiring (Kster, Tholuck), or between the Levites on guard among themselves, in order to encourage one another to watchfulness, forming one of a class of songs of the night-watchers (De Wette). But that view is probably the preferable one which regards it as (Psa 134:1-2) an exhortation of the Church to the priests and Levites, who are charged with the night service, and a greeting in response (Psa 134:3), after the priestly model (Num 6:24), to the Church as one person, and to the individual members in this united Church (Delitzsch, following older commentators, similarly, Hengstenberg and Hitzig). [Delitzsch: This Psalm consists of a greeting, Psa 134:1-2, and a reply, Psa 134:3. The greeting is addressed to those priests and Levites who held the night-watch in the Temple. This antiphone is intentionally placed at the end of the collection of the Songs of the Ascents, in order to take the place of a final blessing.J. F. M.] There is no indication that it was a form employed to introduce the nightly recitation of hymns, whether by priests or other pious Israelites (Olsh.). The time of composition cannot be determined.
Psa 134:1. Behold.An exclamation to excite attention (Gen 19:1), instead of pointing with the finger. Every believer is and is called a minister or servant of the Lord, but the designation: those who stand in the house of the Lord, is a technical expression, not for the priests and Levites generally, but for those who stand ready before Jehovah to minister in His service. The phrase: at nights, is not to be joined to the following verse (Sept. et al.), or with: blessed (Kimchi, Rudinger, Hupfeld). For such cases as that mentioned in Luk 2:37 form exceptions, and the idea: at all times, unceasingly, or: early and late, would require another mode of expression.
Psa 134:2. is not an accusative of definition = in holiness, that is, after the hands have been washed (Rabbins), or holiness of the kind alluded to in 1Ti 2:8 (Junilius). Nor does it indicate the position of the worshipper = in the sanctuary (Kimchi, Luther). It is an accusative of direction, Psa 28:2 (Sept., Jerome): towards the Holy of Holies. [So nearly all the expositors. E. V. has, by conjecture, the wrong preposition.J. F. M.]
According to Delitzsch, the Temple-watch was arranged as follows: After midnight the chief of the door-keepers took the key of the inner Temple, and went, with some of the priests, through the postern in the Fire-gate. In the inner court, this patrol divided itself into two companies, each carrying a burning torch, one company turning west, the other east; and so they compassed the court, to see whether all were in readiness for the following morning. At the bake-house, where the meat-offering of the high-priest was baked, they met, exclaiming: all is well. Meanwhile, the rest of the priests arose, bathed themselves, and put on their garments of service. They then went into the square-chamber (one-half of which formed the hall of session of the Sanhedrim), where, under the direction of the Superintendent of the Lot, and of one of the Sanhedrim, surrounded by priests dressed in their robes of office, the duties of the several priests for the ensuing day were assigned them by lot. Comp. Reland, Antiq. Sacr, II. 5, 7; 6, 7.
Venema has supposed that (in nights) is syncopated from (=with shouts of praise). Delitzsch rightly characterizes this as a product of fancy, and says: The Psalter contains Morning Psalms (3, 63) and Evening Psalms (4, 141); why then may it not have a Watch-Psalm?
[Psa 134:3. Hengstenberg: That the people are addressed, is clear from the parallel passage, Psa 128:5. Only in that case does the Psalm form a suitable conclusion to the whole Pilgrim-book. That the future is to be taken optatively, is clear from the undeniable reference to the Mosaic blessing, Num 6:24. The expression: Creator of heaven and earth, comp. Psa 121:2; Psa 124:8, forms the counterpoise to the depth of misery and weakness in which the community of God was sunk.J. F. M.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
To praise God is the surest means of gaining blessing from Him.Watching and praying are inseparably connected, and should be the concern of all believers; the ordained ministers of the sanctuary must not allow the people to put them to shame in these duties.
Augustine: If the wicked enemy is ever on the watch to tempt thee, shouldst thou not watch in order to resist him?Starke: He who would praise the Lord worthily must be a servant of the Lord, and, consequently, not a servant of the world and sin.God, it is true, is present everywhere, even in the smallest peasant-huts, yea, in the most sequestered nooks, but pre-eminently in the Church.Those outward gestures in prayer which conduce to devotion and humility, are justly to be retained, and a suppliant has no need to be ashamed of them.If the blessing of an earthly father can build houses for his children, and extend even to childrens children, how should not still more than this be imparted by the blessing of Him who is the true Father of all that are called His children in Heaven and upon earth! (Eph 3:15).
Frisch: If God is so ready and willing to bestow His blessing upon thee, do not by presumption make thyself unfit or not entitled to receive it.Richter: How seldom is God praised in the night!Guenther: God will have the praise, and give us new life thereby.Diedrich: He who has no higher wish than that God may be blessed unceasingly, shall receive from Him blessing without end.Taube: God alone is so Almighty as to be able to bless us bodily and spiritually, temporally and eternally, and so compassionate as to be willing to do it.
[Matt. Henry: It would be an excellent piece of good husbandry to fill up the vacancies of time with pious meditations and ejaculations, and surely it is a modest and reasonable demand to converse with God when we have nothing else to do.We ought to beg those blessings not only for ourselves, but for others also; not only: the Lord bless me, but: the Lord bless thee; thus testifying our belief of the fulness of the Divine blessings, that there is enough for others as well as for us; and our good-will also to others.Bp. Horne: Thus it is that prayer and praise, which by grace are caused to ascend from our heart to God, will certainly return in the benedictions of heaven upon our souls and bodies, our persons and our families, our churches and our country.Scott: If our hearts were filled with the love of God, as His holy law commands, our mouths would be filled with His praises, and though our frail bodies would need rest, yet our souls would never be weary of His pleasant service.Barnes: There is always in Zionin the Churcha voice by day and night which pronounces a blessing on those who wish it well, who seek its good, and who desire to partake of the favor of God.Go not away unblessed; go not without a token of the Divine favor; for God will bless you.J. F. M.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
A short but interesting Psalm, in which believers are calling upon one another to the service and praises of Jehovah.
A Song of Degrees.
Psa 134
The Psalm opens with a call upon the servants, perhaps the Levites, who ministered day and night in the temple, to bless the Lord; and ends with somewhat like an answer to everyone that was engaged in this employment. But as Jesus hath made all his people kings and priests to the Father, the call in these gospel days may well be supposed to be directed to everyone. Reader! let us consider it in this point of view, and may the Lord, who calls, give us grace most joyfully to obey! I should observe, that before the coming of Christ, constant service or watching was observed in the temple without intermission: the Levites ministered by day and by night. The fire on the altar, and the lamps were constantly burning; see Lev_6:13; Lev_24:2-4 . In the gospel Church, the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning; supplies the place, Isa 4:4 . Reader! let you and I see to it, that everywhere, and in all things, both by day and by night, we are lifting up holy hands in praises and love to our God in Christ. And may we each, personally for ourselves, and for all with whom we have to do, be on the lookout, that our God may bless each, and everyone, out of Zion.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
PSALMS
XI
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS
According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:
1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.
2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.
3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.
4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.
5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.
6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.
7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.
At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.
The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.
The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.
They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”
The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:
1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.
2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.
3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .
In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.
It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.
There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.
The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.
The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.
The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:
Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)
Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)
Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)
Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)
Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)
They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.
There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:
Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.
Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:
1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.
2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.
3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.
4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.
5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.
All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:
In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).
In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).
In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).
In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).
The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .
QUESTIONS
1. What books are commended on the Psalms?
2. What is a psalm?
3. What is the Psalter?
4. What is the range of time in composition?
5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?
6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?
7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?
8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.
9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?
10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?
11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?
12. How many psalms in our collection?
13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?
14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?
15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?
16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?
17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?
18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?
19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?
20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?
21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?
22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?
23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?
24. How many of the psalms have no titles?
25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?
26. How do later Jews supply these titles?
27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?
XII
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)
The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:
1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).
2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).
3. The nature, or character, of the poem:
(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).
(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).
4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).
5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).
6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).
7. The kind of musical instrument:
(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).
(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).
(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).
8. A special choir:
(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).
(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).
(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).
9. The keynote, or tune:
(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).
(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).
(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).
(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).
(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).
(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.
(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.
(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.
10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).
11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)
12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).
The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.
The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.
David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:
1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.
2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.
3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.
4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.
5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:
1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.
2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.
3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.
4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.
5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.
6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.
The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.
Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.
Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:
I. By books
1. Psalms 1-41 (41)
2. Psalms 42-72 (31)
3. Psalms 73-89 (17)
4. Psalms 90-106 (17)
5. Psalms 107-150 (44)
II. According to date and authorship
1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )
2. Psalms of David:
(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).
(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).
(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).
3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).
4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).
5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).
6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )
7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )
8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)
III. By groups
1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.
2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )
3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)
4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )
5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”
IV. Doctrines of the Psalms
1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.
2. The covenant, the basis of worship.
3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.
4. The pardon of sin and justification.
5. The Messiah.
6. The future life, pro and con.
7. The imprecations.
8. Other doctrines.
V. The New Testament use of the Psalms
1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.
2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.
We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:
1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )
2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )
3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )
4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )
5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )
6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )
7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )
8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )
9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )
The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.
There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.
It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.
The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.
Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:
1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.
2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.
3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.
The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.
QUESTIONS
1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.
2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?
3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?
4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?
5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.
6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?
7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?
8. What other authors are named in the titles?
9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?
10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.
11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?
12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.
13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?
14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?
15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?
16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?
17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.
18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?
19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?
20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?
XVII
THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS
A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.
Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.
The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:
1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.
2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.
3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.
In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).
This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.
It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:
1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.
2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.
We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.
1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.
The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.
The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).
But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .
Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).
This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.
2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:
(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).
(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .
(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”
(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).
What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!
3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.
(1) His divinity,
(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;
(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .
(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .
(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .
(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .
(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .
(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.
(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .
4. His offices.
(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).
(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).
(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).
(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).
(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).
5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:
(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .
(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.
(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .
(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).
And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).
These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .
(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).
(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .
(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).
(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).
(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).
(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).
(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).
The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).
The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).
The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).
His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).
In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).
His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).
Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).
With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).
We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.
QUESTIONS
1. What is a good text for this chapter?
2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?
3. What is the last division called and why?
4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?
5. To what three things is the purpose limited?
6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?
7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?
8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?
9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?
10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?
11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.
12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?
13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?
14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?
15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.
16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.
17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.
18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
XVI
THE MESSIANIC PSALMS AND OTHERS
We commence this chapter by giving a classified list of the Messianic Psalms, as follows:
The Royal Psalms are:
Psa 110 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 72 ; Psa 45 ; Psa 89 ;
The Passion Psalms are:
Psa 22 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 69 ;
The Psalms of the Ideal Man are Psa 8 ; Psa 16 ; Psa 40 ;
The Missionary Psalms are:
Psa 47 ; Psa 65 ; Psa 68 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 100 ; Psa 117 .
The predictions before David of the coming Messiah are, (1) the seed of the woman; (2) the seed of Abraham; (3) the seed of Judah; (4) the seed of David.
The prophecies of history concerning the Messiah are, (1) a prophet like unto Moses; (2) a priest after the order of Melchizedek; (3) a sacrifice which embraces all the sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament; (4) direct references to him as King, as in 2Sa 7:8 ff.
The messianic offices as taught in the psalms are four, viz: (1) The Messiah is presented as Prophet, or Teacher (Psa 40:8 ); (2) as Sacrifice, or an Offering for sin (Psa 40:6 ff.; Heb 10:5 ff.) ; (3) he is presented as Priest (Psa 110:4 ); (4) he is presented as King (Psa 45 ).
The psalms most clearly presenting the Messiah in his various phases and functions are as follows: (1) as the ideal man, or Second Adam (8); (2) as Prophet (Psa 40 ); (3) as Sacrifice (Psa 22 ) ; (4) as King (Psa 45 ) ; (5) as Priest (Psa 110 ) ; (6) in his universal reign (Psa 72 ).
It will be noted that other psalms teach these facts also, but these most clearly set forth the offices as they relate to the Messiah.
The Messiah as a sacrifice is presented in general in Psa 40:6 . His sufferings as such are given in a specific and general way in Psa 22 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 69 . The events of his sufferings in particular are described, beginning with the betrayal of Judas, as follows:
1. Judas betrayed him (Mat 26:14 ) in fulfilment of Psa 41:9 .
2. At the Supper (Mat 26:24 ) Christ said, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him,” referring to Psa 22 .
3. They sang after the Supper in fulfilment of Psa 22:22 .
4. Piercing his hands and feet, Psa 22:16 .
5. They cast lots for his vesture in fulfilment of Psa 22:18 .
6. Just before the ninth hour the chief priests reviled him (Mat 27:43 ) in fulfilment of Psa 22:8 .
7. At the ninth hour (Mat 27:46 ) he quoted Psa 22:1 .
8. Near his death (Joh 19:28 ) he said, in fulfilment of Psa 69:21 , “I thirst.”
9. At that time they gave him vinegar (Mat 27:48 ) in fulfilment of Psa 69:21 .
10. When he was found dead they did not break his bones (Joh 19:36 ) in fulfilment of Psa 34:20 .
11. He is represented as dead, buried, and raised in Psa 16:10 .
12. His suffering as a substitute is described in Psa 69:9 .
13. The result of his crucifixion to them who crucified him is given in Psa 69:22-23 . Compare Rom 11:9-10 .
The Penitential Psalms are Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 . The occasion of Psa 6 was the grief and penitence of David over Absalom; of Psa 32 was the blessedness of forgiveness after his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah; Psa 38 , David’s reference to his sin with Bathsheba; Psa 51 , David’s penitence and prayer for forgiveness for this sin; Psa 102 , the penitence of the children of Israel on the eve of their return from captivity; Psalm 130, a general penitential psalm; Psa 143 , David’s penitence and prayer when pursued by Absalom.
The Pilgrim Psalms are Psalms 120-134. This section of the psalter is called the “Little Psalter.” These Psalms were collected in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, in troublous times. The author of the central psalm of this collection is Solomon, and he wrote it when he built his Temple. The Davidic Psalms in this collection are Psa 120 ; Psa 122 ; Psa 124 ; Psa 131 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 133 . The others were written during the building of the second Temple. They are called in the Septuagint “Songs of the Steps.”
There are four theories as to the meaning of the titles, “Songs of the Steps,” “Songs of Degrees,” or “Songs of Ascents,” viz:
1. The first theory is that the “Songs of the Steps” means the songs of the fifteen steps from the court of the women to the court of Israel, there being a song for each step.
2. The second theory is that advanced by Luther, which says that they were songs of a higher choir, elevated above, or in an elevated voice.
3. The third theory is that the thought in these psalms advances by degrees.
4. The fourth theory is that they are Pilgrim Psalms, or the songs that they sang while going up to the great feasts.
Certain scriptures give the true idea of these titles, viz: Exo 23:14-17 ; Exo 34:23-24 ; 1Sa 1:3 ; 1Ki 12:27-28 : Psa 122:1-4 ; and the proof of their singing as they went is found in Psa_42:4; 100; and Isa 30:29 . They went, singing these psalms, to the Feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Psa 121 was sung when just in sight of Jerusalem and Psa 122 was sung at the gate. Psa 128 is the description of a good man’s home and a parallel to this psalm in modern literature is Burns’s “Cotter’s Saturday Night.” The pious home makes the nation great.
Psa 133 is a psalm of fellowship. It is one of the finest expressions of the blessings that issue when God’s people dwell together in unity. The reference here is to the anointing of Aaron as high priest and the fragrance of the anointing oil which was used in these anointings. The dew of Hermon represents the blessing of God upon his people when they dwell together in such unity.
Now let us look at the Alphabetical Psalms. An alphabetical psalm is one in which the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used alphabetically to commence each division. In Psalms 111-112, each clause so begins; in Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 145 ; each verse so begins; in Psa 37 each stanza of two verses so begins; in 119 each stanza of eight verses so begins, and each of the eight lines begins with the same letter. In Psa 25 ; 34 37 the order is not so strict; in Psa 9 and Psa 10 there are some traces of this alphabetical order.
David originated these alphabetical psalms and the most complete specimen is Psa 119 , which is an expansion of the latter part of Psa 19 .
A certain group of psalms is called the Hallelujah Psalms. They are so called because the word “Hallelujah” is used at the beginning, or at the ending, and sometimes at both the beginning and the ending. The Hallelujah Psalms are Psalm 111-113; 115-117; 146-150. Psa 117 is a doxology; and Psalms 146-150 were used as anthems. Psa 148 calls on all creation to praise God. Francis of Assisi wrote a hymn based on this psalm in which he called the sun his honorable brother and the cricket his sister. Psa 150 calls for all varieties of instruments. Psalms 113-118 are called the Egyptian Hallel. They were used at the Passover (Psalm 113-114), before the Supper and Psalm 115-118 were sung after the Supper. According to this, Jesus and his disciples sang Psalms 115-118 at the last Passover Supper. These psalms were sung also at the Feasts of Pentecost, Tabernacles, Dedication, and New Moon.
The name of God is delayed long in Psa 114 . Addison said, “That the surprise might be complete.” Then there are some special characteristics of Psa 115 , viz: (1) It was written against idols. Cf. Isa 44:9-20 ; (2) It is antiphonal, the congregation singing Psa 115:1-8 , the choir Psa 115:9-12 , the priests Psa 115:13-15 and the congregation again Psa 115:16-18 . The theme of Psa 116 is love, based on gratitude for a great deliverance, expressed in service. It is appropriate to read at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and Psa 116:15 is especially appropriate for funeral services.
On some special historical occasions certain psalms were sung. Psa 46 was sung by the army of Gustavus Adolphus before the decisive battle of Leipzig, on September 17, 1631.Psa 68 was sung by Cromwell’s army on the occasion of the battle of Dunbar in Scotland.
Certain passages in the Psalms show that the psalm writers approved the offering of Mosaic animal sacrifices. For instance, Psa 118:27 ; Psa 141:2 seem to teach very clearly that they approved the Mosaic sacrifice. But other passages show that these inspired writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important and foresaw the abolition of the animal sacrifices. Such passages are Psa 50:7-15 ; Psa 4:5 ; Psa 27:6 ; Psa 40:6 ; Psa 51:16-17 . These scriptures show conclusively that the writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important than the Mosaic sacrifices.
QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS
1. What are the Royal Psalms?
2. What are the Passion Psalms?
3. What are the Psalms of the Ideal Man?
4. What are the Missionary Psalms?
5. What are the predictions before David of the coming Messiah?
6. What are the prophecies of history concerning the Messiah?
7. Give a regular order of thought concerning the messianic offices as taught in the psalms.
8. Which psalms most clearly present the Messiah as (1) the ideal man, or Second Adam, (2) which as Prophet, or Teacher, (3) which as the Sacrifice, (4) which as King, (5) which as Priest, (6) which his universal reign?
9. Concerning the suffering Messiah, or the Messiah as a sacrifice, state the words or facts, verified in the New Testament as fulfilment of prophecy in the psalms. Let the order of the citations follow the order of facts in Christ’s life.
10. Name the Penitential Psalms and show their occasion.
11. What are the Pilgrim Psalms?
12. What is this section of the Psalter called?
13. When and under what conditions were these psalms collected?
14. Who is the author of the central psalm of this collection?
15. What Davidic Psalms are in this collection?
16. When were the others written?
17. What are they called in the Septuagint?
18. What four theories as to the meaning of the titles, “Songs of the Steps,” “Songs of Degrees,” or “Songs of Ascents”?
19. What scriptures give the true idea of these titles?
20. Give proof of their singing as they went.
21. To what feasts did they go singing these Psalms?
22. What was the special use made of Psa 121 and Psa 122 ?
23. Which of these psalms is the description of a good man’s home and what parallel in modern literature?
24. Expound Psa 133 .
25. What is an alphabetical psalm, and what are the several kinds?
26. Who originated these Alphabetical Psalms?
27. What are the most complete specimen?
28. Of what is it an expansion?
29. Why is a certain group of psalms called the Hallelujah Psalms?
30. What are the Hallelujah Psalms?
31. Which of the Hallelujah Psalms was a doxology?
32. Which of these were used as anthems?
33. Which psalm calls on all creation to praise God?
34. Who wrote a hymn based on Psa 148 in which he called the sun his honorable brother and the cricket his sister?
35. Which of these psalms calls for all varieties of instruments?
36. What is the Egyptian Hallel?
37. What is their special use and how were they sung?
38. Then what hymns did Jesus and his disciples sing?
39. At what other feasts was this sung?
40. Why was the name of God delayed so long in Psa 114 ?
41. What are the characteristics of Psa 115 ?
42. What is the theme and special use of Psa 116 ?
43. State some special historical occasions on which certain psalms were sung. Give the psalm for each occasion.
44. Cite passages in the psalms showing that the psalm writers approved the offering of Mosaic animal sacrifices.
45. Cite other passages showing that these inspired writers estimated spiritual sacrifices as more important than the Mosaic sacrifices.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Psa 134:1 A Song of degrees. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all [ye] servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
Ver. 1. Behold, bless ye the Lord ] This short psalm (the last of the fifteen graduals) is breve Sacerdotum speculum, saith an expositor; a mirror for ministers, who are first excited by a Behold, as by the sounding of a trumpet, or the ringing of a sermon bell. And, secondly, exhorted to praise God, and to pray unto him; whereunto if we add their teaching of Jacob God’s judgments, whereof Moses reminds them, Deu 33:10 , what more can be required of Archippus, to the fulfilling of his ministry? and if he be slack, he must be told of it, Col 4:17 , yet with all due respect and reverence to his office, 1Ti 5:1 . And it were far better, if they would rouse up themselves with the wakeful cock, and not keep sleepy sentry in the sanctuary.
All ye servants of the Lord
Which by night stand in the house of the Lord
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“A song of the ascents.” It is no longer Sinai, the mountain of the people’s responsibility, but Zion, the seat of royal grace, after the fleshly king’s ruin also. Under the true King and the faithful Priest praise unceasing rises, even in the nights. How should it be otherwise when Christ establishes the blessing on the overthrow of the enemy?
Now follow a few psalms less closely connected, though the second may be regarded as an answer to the first. The third stands comparatively isolated, yet in its evidently right place. The fourth, instead of (like it) recalling the shame and sorrow of the Babylonish captivity, is an avowed thanksgiving to Jehovah, not only for His word, but for His everlasting loving-kindness. These are all judicial, and apply during the crisis which marks the incoming of the new age, The fifth or last expresses the deeper work of self-judgment before the inescapable presence of Jehovah; yet it looks the more for His slaying the wicked (the judgment of the quick and of the dead), while baring the heart now in order to be thoroughly proved and led in the way everlasting. The last two are Davidical, as are the seven that succeed.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Psalms
THE CHARGE OF THE WATCHERS IN THE TEMPLE
Psa 134:1 – Psa 134:3
This psalm, the shortest but one in the whole Psalter, will be more intelligible if we observe that in the first part of it more than one person is addressed, and in the last verse a single person. It begins with ‘Bless ye the Lord’; and the latter words are, ‘The Lord bless thee .’ No doubt, when used in the Temple service, the first part was chanted by one half of the choir, and the other part by the other. Who are the persons addressed in the first portion? The answer stands plain in the psalm itself. They are, ‘All ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the House of the Lord.’ That is to say, the priests or Levites whose charge it was to patrol the Temple through the hours of night and darkness, to see that all was safe and right there, and to do such other priestly and ministerial work as was needful; they are called upon to ‘lift up their hands in’-or rather towards -’the Sanctuary, and to bless the Lord.’
The charge is given to these watching priests, these nightly warders, by some single person-we know not whom. Perhaps by the High Priest, perhaps by the captain of their band. They listen to the exhortation to praise, and answer, in the last words of this little psalm, by invoking a blessing on the head of the unnamed speaker who gave the charge. So we have in this antiphonal choral psalm a little snatch of musical ritual falling into two parts-the charge to the watchers and the answering invocation. We may find a good deal of practical teaching in it. Let us look, then, at this choral charge and the response to it.
The charge to the watchers.
We do not know what the office of these watchers was, but in the second Temple, to the period of which this psalm may possibly belong, their duties were carefully defined, and Rabbinical literature has preserved a minute account of the work of the nightly patrol.
According to the authorities, two hundred and forty priests and Levites were the nightly guard, distributed over twenty-one stations. The captain of the guard visited these stations throughout the night with flaming torches before him, and saluted each with ‘Peace be unto thee.’ If he found the sentinel asleep he beat him with his staff, and had authority to burn his cloak which the drowsy guard had rolled up for a pillow. We all remember who warned His disciples to watch, lest coming suddenly He should find them asleep. We may remember, too, the blessing pronounced in the Apocalypse on ‘Him who watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked.’ Shortly before daybreak the captain of the guard came, as the Talmud says: ‘All times were not equal. Sometimes he came at cockcrow, or near it, before or after it. He went to one of the posts where the priests were stationed, and opened a wicket which led into the court. Here the priests, who marched behind him torch in hand, divided into two companies which went one to the east, and one to the west, carefully ascertaining that all was well. When they met each company reported “It is peace.” Then the duties of the watch were ended, and the priests who were to prepare for the daily sacrifice entered on their tasks.’
Our psalm may be the chant and answering chant with which the nightly charge was given over to the watchers, or it may be, as some commentators suppose, ‘the call and counter-call with which the watchers greeted each other when they met.’
Figure then, to yourselves, the band of white-robed priests gathered in the court of the Temple, their flashing torches touching pillar and angle with strange light, the city sunk in silence and sleep, and ere they part to their posts the chant rung in their ears:-’Bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord which by night stand in the House of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the Sanctuary, and bless the Lord!’ Notice, then, that the priests’ duty is to praise. It is because they are the servants of the Lord that, therefore, it is their business to bless the Lord. It is because they stand in the House of the Lord that it is theirs to bless the Lord. They who are gathered into His House, they who hold communion with Him, they who can feel that the gate of the Father’s dwelling, like the gate of the Father’s heart, is always open to them, they who have been called in from their wanderings in a homeless wilderness, and given a place and a name in His House better than of sons and daughters, have been so blessed in order that, filled with thanksgiving for such an entrance into God’s dwelling and of such an adoption into His family, their silent lips may be filled with thanksgiving and their redeemed hands be uplifted in praise.
So for us Christians. We are servants of the Lord-His priests. That we ‘stand in the House of the Lord’ expresses not only the fact of our great privilege of confiding approach to Him and communion with Him, whereby we may ever abide in the very Holy of Holies and be in the secret place of the Most High, even while we are busy in the world, but it also points to our duty of ministering; for the word ‘stand’ is employed to designate the attendance of the priests in their office, and is almost equivalent to ‘serve.’ ‘To bless the Lord,’ then, is the work to which we are especially called. If we are made a ‘royal priesthood,’ it is that we ‘should show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.’ The purpose of that full horn of plenty, charged with blessings which God has emptied upon our heads, is that our dumb lips may be touched into thankfulness, because our selfish hearts have been wooed and charmed into love and life.
The Rabbis had a saying that there were two sorts of angels: the angels that served, and the angels that praised; of which, according to their teaching, the latter were the higher in degree. It was only a half-truth, for true service is praise.
But whatever the form in which praise may come, whether it be in the form of vocal thanksgiving, or whether it be the glad surrender of the heart, manifested in the conscious discharge of the most trivial duties, whether we ‘lift up our hands in the Sanctuary, and bless the Lord’ with them, or whether we turn our hands to the tools of our daily occupation and handle them for His sake, alike we maybe praising Him. And the thing for us to remember is that the place where we, if we are Christians, stand, and the character which we, if we are Christians, sustain, bind us to live blessing and praising Him whilst we live. ‘Behold!’-as if He would point to all the crowded list of God’s great mercies-’Bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord that . . . stand in the house of the Lord.’
And then there is another point that comes out of this charge to the watchers, viz. the necessity of strenuously trying to unite together service of God and communion with God. These priests might have said-’When we go our rounds through the empty and echoing corridors of the dark Temple, we perform the charge which God gave us; and it needs not that we pray. We are working for Him and doing the work which He appointed us; and that is better than all external ritual.’ But this unknown speaker who charges them knew better than that. The priests’ service under the Old Covenant was very unspiritual service. Their work was sometimes very repulsive and always purely external work, which might be done without one trace of religion or devotion in it. And so the speaker here warns them, as it were, against the temptation which besets all men that are concerned in the outward service of the house of God, to confound the mere outward service with inward devotion. The charge bids us remember that the more sedulously our hands and thoughts are employed about the externals of religious duties, the more must we see to it that our inmost spirits are baptized into fellowship with God.
It is not enough to patrol the Temple courts unless we ‘lift up our hands to the sanctuary,’ and with our hearts ‘bless the Lord.’ And all we who in any degree and any department are officially or semi-officially connected with the work of the Christian Church have very earnestly and especially to lay this to heart. We ministers, deacons, Sunday-school teachers, tract distributors, have much need to take care that we do not confound watching in the courts of the Temple with lifting up our own hands and hearts to our Father that is in heaven; and remember that the more outward work we do, the more inward life we ought to have. The higher the stem of the tree grows and the broader its branches spread the deeper must strike and the wider must extend its underground roots, if it is not to be blown over and become a withered ruin.
And so all you Christian men and women! will you take the plain lesson that is here? All ye that stand ready for service, and doing service, all ‘ye that stand in the house of the Lord, behold’ your peril and your duty-and ‘bless ye the Lord,’ and remember that the more work the more prayer to keep it from rotting; the more effort the more communion; and that at the end we shall discover with alarm, and with shame confess ‘I kept others’ vineyards and my own vineyard have I not kept’; unless, like our Master, we prepare for a day of work and toil in the Temple by a night of quiet communion with our Father on the mountainside.
And then there is another lesson here which I only touch, and that is that all times are times for blessing God. ‘Ye who by night stand in the house of the Lord, bless the Lord’: so though no sacrifice was smoking on the altar, and no choral songs went up from the company of praising priests in the ritual service; and although the nightfall had silenced the worship and scattered the worshippers, yet some low murmur of praise would be echoing through the empty halls all the night long, and the voice of thanksgiving and of blessing would blend with the clank of the priests’ feet on the marble pavements as they went their patrolling rounds; and their torches would send up a smoke not less acceptable than the wreathing columns of the incense that had filled the day. And so as in some convents you will find a monk kneeling on the steps of the altar at each hour of the four-and-twenty, adoring the Sacrament exposed upon it, so but in inmost reality and not in a mere vulgar outside form that means nothing in the Christian heart there should be a perpetual adoration and a continual praise-a prayer without ceasing. What is it that comes first of all into your minds when you wake in the middle of the night? Yesterday’s business, to-morrow’s vanities, or God’s present love and your dependence upon Him?
In the night of sorrow, too, do our songs go up, and do we hear and obey the charge which commands not only perpetual adoration, but bids us fill the night with music and with praise? Well for us if it be, anticipating the time when ‘they rest not day nor night saying, Holy! Holy! Holy!’ Now, that is the priests’ charge. Look for a moment at the answering blessing: ‘The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.’
‘Thee?’ Whom? Him who gave the solemn charge. Their obedience to it is implied in the blessing which the priests invoke on the head of the unnamed speaker. So they express their joyful consent to his charge, and their desires for his welfare whose clear voice has summoned them to their high duty and privilege. They obey, and their first prayer is a prayer for him.
May we venture to draw from this interchange of counsel and benediction a simple lesson as to the best form in which mutual goodwill and friendship may express itself? It is by the interchange of stimulus to God’s service and praise, and of grateful prayer. He is my best friend who stirs me up to make my whole life a strong sweet song of thanksgiving to God for all His numberless mercies to me. Even if the exhortation becomes rebuke, faithful are such wounds. It is but a shallow affection which can be eloquent on other subjects of common interests, but is dumb on this, the deepest of all; which can counsel wisely and rebuke gently in regard to other matters, but has never a word to say to its dearest concerning duty to the God of all mercies.
And the true response to any loving exhortation to bless God, or any religious impulse which we receive from one another, is to invoke God’s blessing on faithful lips that have given us counsel.
This is the best recompense to Christian teachers. If any poor words of ours have come to any of your hearts with power for conviction, or instruction, or encouragement, let your response be, I beseech you, ‘The Lord that hath made heaven and earth bless thee .’ We need your prayers. We are weak, often sad, often discouraged. We are tempted ever to handle God’s truth professionally, instead of living on it for ourselves. We are tempted to think that our work is in vain, and to lose heart because we do not see the spiritual results which we would fain reap. And in many an hour of languor and despondency, when the wheels of life turn heavily and the sky seems very far away, and our message seems to have lost its grandeur and certainty to ourselves, and our handling of it looks as if it had been one long failure, then we need and may be helped by the voice of cheer coming through the night from those whom we have tried to counsel: ‘The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee.’
But observe, further, the two kinds of blessing which answer to one another-God’s blessing of man, and man’s blessing of God. The one is communicative, the other receptive and responsive. The one is the great stream which pours itself over the precipice; the other is the basin into which it falls and the showers of spray which rise from its surface, rainbowed in the sunshine, as the cataract of divine mercies comes down upon it. God blesses us when He gives. We bless God when we thankfully take, and praise the Giver. God’s blessing then, must ever come first. ‘We love Him because He first loved us.’ Ours is but the echo of His, but the acknowledgment of the divine act, which must precede our recognition of it as the dawn must come in order that the birds may wake to sing.
Our highest service is to take the gifts of God, and with glad hearts to praise the Giver.
Our blessings are but words. God’s blessings are realities. We wish good to one another when we bless each other. But He does good to men when He blesses them. Our wishes may be deep and warm, but, alas! how ineffectual. They flutter round the heads of those whom we would bless, but how seldom do they actually rest upon their brows. But God’s blessings are powers. They never miss their mark. Whom He blesses are blessed indeed.
That experience of the ineffectual emptiness of blessings from the most loving hearts gives point to the emphatic designation here of ‘the Lord which made heaven and earth,’ a formula which is common in this connection. It brings before the eye of faith the mighty Name, and the mighty work of Him in whose blessing we shall be rich. He is the Lord, the Eternal and the Covenant King. He has made heaven and earth. If He who lives above all limitations of time, the Source of life, who has the fulness of life in Himself, He who has revealed Himself to Israel and bound Himself to fulfil His covenant with all who plead it, He whose sovereign effortless power willed and spake into being the azure deeps of heaven with all its stars, and the solid earth with its tribes-if He, with such infinite resources to bestow on us as we need, if He blesses us, it will be with no vain wishes nor with the invoking of the goodwill of a higher power, but with the veritable communication of good, and we shall be blessed indeed.
Observe, too, the channel through which God’s blessings come-’out of Zion.’ For the Jew, the fulness of divine glory dwelt between the Cherubim, and the richest of the divine blessings were bestowed on the waiting worshippers there, and no doubt it is still true that God dwells in Zion, and blesses men from thence. The New Testament analogue to the Old Testament Temple is no outward building. That would be absurd confusing of the very nature of type and antitype. A material type must have a spiritual fulfilment. A rite cannot correspond to a rite, nor a building to a building. But the correspondence in Christianity to the Temple where God dwelt, and from which He scattered His blessings is twofold-one proper and original, the other secondary and derived. In the true sense, Jesus Christ is the Temple. In Him God dwelt; in Him, man meets God; in Him was the place of revelation; in Him the place of sacrifice. ‘In this place is one greater than the Temple,’ and the abiding of Jehovah above the mercy-seat was but a material symbol, shadowing and foretelling the true indwelling of all the fulness of the Godhead bodily in that true Tabernacle which the Lord hath pitched and not man. So the great fountain of all possible good and benediction which was opened for the believing Jew in ‘Zion,’ is opened for us in Jesus Christ who stood in the very court of the Temple, and called in tones of clear, loud invitation: ‘If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink.’ We may each pass through the rent veil into the holiest of all, and there, laying our hand on Jesus, touch God, and opening our empty palm extended to Him, can receive from Him all the blessing that we need.
There is another application of the Temple symbol in the New Testament-a derivative and secondary one-to the Church, that is, to the aggregate of believers. In it God dwells through Christ. Receiving His Spirit, instinct with His life, it is His Body, and as in His earthly life ‘He spake of the Temple of His “literal” body,’ so now that Church becomes the Temple of God, being builded through the ages. In that Zion all God’s best blessings are possessed and stored, that the Church may, by faithful service, impart them to the world. Whosoever desires to possess these blessings must enter thither-not by any ceremonial act, or outward profession, but by becoming one of those who put their whole heart’s confidence in Jesus Christ. Within that sacred enclosure we receive whatever divine love and power can give. If we are knit to Christ by our faith, we share in proportion to our faith in all the wealth of blessing with which God has blessed Him. We possess Christ and in Him all. The ancient benediction, which came from the lips of the priestly watchers, and rang through the empty corridors of the darkened Temple, asked for much: ‘The Lord who made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.’ But the Apostolic assurance sounds a yet deeper and more wonderful note of confidence when it proclaims that already, however to ourselves we may seem sad and needy, and however little we may have counted our treasures or made them our own, ‘God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 134:1-3
1Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord,
Who serve by night in the house of the Lord!
2Lift up your hands to the sanctuary
And bless the Lord.
3May the Lord bless you from Zion,
He who made heaven and earth.
Psa 134:1 bless This verb (BDB 138, KB 159) appears three times in this short Psalm.
1-2. Piel imperative – Psa 134:1-2
3. Piel imperfect used in a jussive sense – Psa 134:3
The synonym (BDB 80) occurs often in the Psalms. See full note at Psa 1:1. For this term (BDB 139) see SPECIAL TOPIC: BLESSING (OT). In Psa 1:1 it is the faithful follower who is blessed, here it is Israel’s God (see Special Topic: Characteristics of Israel’s God).
all servants of the Lord This denotes conscious creation (i.e., angels, humans, possibly other levels of spiritual beings, see Special Topic: Angels in Paul’s Writings). A good parallel to this concept is (1) Psa 103:19-22, where the same verb is used three times for the angelic world; (2) Psa 135:1-4, where three praises (BDB 237, KB 248, Piel imperative) are used of the priests and Levites.
There were five different kinds of temple servants.
1. priests
2. Levites
3. singers
4. gatekeepers
5. the lowest servants (see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 203-204)
Who serve by night in the house of the Lord This is mentioned again in Psa 135:1-4. It refers to the descendants of Levi’s family from Aaron who served in the temple in Jerusalem (lit. stand, BDB 763, KB 840, strongly implies temple priests or Levites). The prepositional phrase, by night (BDB 538) means all day long, not just those who kept watch at night (cf. 1Ch 9:33).
There is a parallel phrase in Psa 135:2 which adds an additional descriptive phrase (i.e., LXX, NJB).
Psa 134:2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary The verb (BDB 669, KB 724, Qal imperative) denotes the actions of priests. In Num 6:24-26; Lev 9:2, they bless (BDB 138, KB 159) the people by lifting up their hands, but here they bless YHWH who resides in His temple between the wings of the Cherubim over the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.
The phrase lifting the hand can refer to several separate things.
1. taking an oath – cf. Gen 14:22; Exo 6:8; Num 14:30; Psa 106:26; Eze 20:5 (implied in Ezr 10:5)
2. act of rebellion – 2Sa 20:21
3. for blessing – Lev 9:22; Psa 134:2; Luk 24:50; 1Ti 2:8
4. sign of YHWH’s actions – Psa 10:12; Mic 5:9
5. the gesture is a general way of referring to prayer – Exo 9:29; Exo 9:33; 1Ki 8:22; 1Ki 8:38-39; Ezr 9:5; Psa 28:2; Psa 63:4; Psa 141:2; 1Ti 2:8
The Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible translates sanctuary in a way that refers to the priests themselves (i.e., lift up your hands in holiness, cf. Lev 21:6; 2Ch 23:6; Ezr 8:28). See SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY .
Psa 134:3 a This line of poetry shows the reciprocal relationship between blessing YHWH (i.e., worship) and Him blessing (BDB 138, KB 159, Piel imperfect used in a jussive sense) His covenant people (cf. Psa 128:5).
Zion See Special Topic: Zion .
Psa 134:3 b YHWH is characterized as the creator (cf. Psa 115:15; Psa 121:2; Psa 124:8; Psa 134:3; Psa 136:5; Psa 146:6). This concluding phrase may hint at the theological thrust of Psa 134:1, that servants includes both inanimate and animate creation.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Title. A Song of degrees. Same as 120. See App-67.
Behold. See note on Psa 133:1.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
servants. Limited and denned in next clause, as in Psa 135:2.
stand. The night-watchmen. The reference is to 2Ch 29:11; 2Ch 30:16; 2Ch 31:2. There were no seats in the Tabernacle or Temple. Compare Heb 10:11.
the house of the LORD. The reference is to Hezekiah’s interest in the Temple. See App-67.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 134:1-3
Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which stand by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion ( Psa 134:1-3 ).
So twofold: bless the Lord, and then may you receive the blessing of the Lord. “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.”
One of the glorious ministries of Calvary Chapel is the Men’s Prayer Ministry where men gather by night in the house of the Lord. Where men are here all night long, standing before the Lord, bringing before the Lord the prayer requests, the needs of the body. Men volunteer on three-hour shifts maybe every second week or so to just come in, just to stand before the Lord in His sanctuary. “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which stand by night in the house of the Lord.” What a privilege, what a blessing. Just to come down and stand before the Lord for the needs of the body. “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Bless the Lord.” How glorious it is. How beautiful it is. May God bless you out of Zion. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Psa 134:1-3
Psalms 134
THE BENEDICTION FOR THE PILGRIM SONGS
Just as each of the Five Books of the Psalter ends with a doxology, this Little Psalter of Fifteen Psalms likewise ends with this benediction, which in some ways corresponds to a doxology.
Psa 134:1-3
“Behold, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah,
That by night stand in the house of Jehovah.
Lift up your hands to the sanctuary,
And bless ye Jehovah.
Jehovah bless thee out of Zion;
Even he that made heaven and earth.”
“Behold, bless ye Jehovah” (Psa 134:1). “`Behold’ is a word which usually draws attention to something that is liable to be overlooked. Certainly, the obligation of God’s people to bless his holy name and to offer thanks and prayers to him continually is just such a thing that is easy to overlook, neglect and omit in the hustle and bustle of every day life. However, it was the neglect of this very common duty that precipitated the judicial hardening of all mankind in the pre-Christian era.
“Knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:21). Note the brief words, “Neither gave thanks.”
“All ye servants of Jehovah” (Psa 134:1). This phrase may be understood, either as the Levites keeping the night vigil in the Temple, or as the “community at worship. Either meaning could be correct. All depends upon what the situation here actually is. If the scene is that of a group of pilgrims arriving at night before the Temple and addressing the Levites on night duty there, then the words refer to the Levites. The second half of the verse, appears to favor that meaning.
“That by night stand in the house of Jehovah” (Psa 134:1). The Temple was never left without its full contingent of Levites and priests. The company of pilgrims arriving at night would have been welcomed.
If that is the case, the words “Bless ye, Jehovah” would carry the same meaning as “Pray to Jehovah on our behalf.”
“Lift up your hands to the sanctuary, and bless ye Jehovah” (Psa 134:2). This may have been the invitation of the Levitical contingent in the temple to the night-arrivals for them to begin the worship service. “Lifting up the hands” was a gesture associated with praying from the very earliest times. Dahood tells us that the custom of “lifting up the hands toward heaven” in worship “was customary among the Canaanites, even before the conquest by Israel.
“Jehovah bless thee out of Zion” (Psa 134:3). Throughout the Old Testament, the blessings of God are represented as coming “out of Zion”; a truth that in the New Dispensation appears in the affirmation that “all spiritual blessings” are in Christ and become available to mankind only through him and “in him.”
“Bless thee” (Psa 134:3). This word was viewed by Kidner as the key to the whole passage. Whereas, it is God who is blessed in the first lines, the reverse appears here, where it is man who receives the blessing, “To bless God is to acknowledge gratefully what He is; but to bless man, God must make of him what he is not, and give him what he has not.
The pattern of all Old Testament blessings is that of Aaron given in Num 6:24 ff.
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee;
The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
“Even he that made heaven and earth” (Psa 134:3). This concludes this brief psalm. “The worshippers will leave enriched and strengthened, with the invocation of divine blessing ringing in their ears. “This Psalm is a fitting conclusion to the Psalms of Ascents.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 134:1. Servants of the Lord is indefinite, but 1Ch 9:33 shows that the singers were the ones specifically meant here. None of the services of the set feasts required the presence of the men at night. But the singers often remained in the holy place after the hours of day had passed. The Psalmist is calling upon them to use the songs that would bless or praise the Lord.
Psa 134:2. The lifting up of the hands was a gesture of both respect and appeal. Sanctuary means a holy place when the idea of locality is being considered, and it means holiness when the attitude of the worshipers is the point. Certainly none but holy or righteous men would be invited to engage in a praise service to God. The New Testament teaches the same truth in 1Ti 2:8.
Psa 34:3. The creation of the heavens and the earth is frequently mentioned in connection with some other favor from God. The reasoning of it is that a Being who can perform such a mighty deed is certainly able to bestow other blessings. But it should not be overlooked here that the blessing was to come out of Zion. God had a certain headquarters for his religious system on earth, and only through that means might men expect to receive spiritual benefits from Him.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
This is the last of the Songs of Ascents, and breathes the spirit of rest. As in the previous one, the joy of the fellowship of faithful souls was the burden, here it is that of the sense of peace and rest flowing from fellowship with Jehovah. The atmosphere of the song is that of rest. The sun has sunk in the west. The activity of the day is over. Quietness pervades the city. The pilgrims have found the hour of peace. At the centre of the people is the temple. There priests still keep their vigil. They by night stand in the house of Jehovah. The last thought of the pilgrim is of the goodness of Jehovah, and the song calls to the temple watchers to bless His name.
In the stillness there comes back the answer of the priests. It is one of blessing upon the worshipper. Thus in the silence of night, ere sleep comes, the worshipper blesses Jehovah, and is blessed by Him. It is the fellowship of rest.
By faith the pilgrims of today have access to this fellowship every night. There is one Watcher in the Holiest, Who never slumbers, and through Him our worship is perpetual. His voice speaks the word of benediction to us in response to our adoration. This is rest indeed.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Unity Is of God
Psa 133:1-3; Psa 134:1-3
The word Behold suggests that some special manifestation of unity was taking place under the psalmists eyes, perhaps in connection with some great religious festival; or David may have composed it to celebrate the healing of the breach after the death of Ishbosheth. We must not only be one in Gods purpose, but must be willing to dwell together, that is, to manifest our unity in outward action. For the precious oil see Exo 30:20-38 and 1Jn 2:27. Our Lord was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and we may share in His Pentecost, Luk 3:21-22; Act 2:33.
Psa 134:1-3. The last of the Songs of Degrees. It may have been addressed to the priests who came on duty after the offering of the evening sacrifice. There was evidently a band of choristers and others who were on duty while Jerusalem slept. The psalm ends with the reciprocal blessing of the watchers on the retreating crowds; commending them, during the hours of darkness, to the care of the Lord of heaven and earth.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Psa 134:3
We see here:-
I. Jehovah, the fountain of blessing. The love or goodness of God renders Him the source of blessing. There is in God: (1) an infinite capacity to bless; (2) actual blessing according to that capacity.
II. The heavens and the earth are here brought forward as evidence of Divine capacity to bless.
III. The Church is the channel of blessing.
IV. The saints are the means of spreading this blessing, and that, too, by the spirit of blessing.
V. What is involved in the words “The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion”? It means, The Lord speak comfortably to thee. It means, as expanded in the form given to Aaron, The Lord keep thee; the Lord be thy Shepherd; the Lord restore thy soul when thy spirit wanders; the Lord keep thee in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
S. Martin, Westminster Chapel Pulpit, 1st series, No. 17.
Reference: Psalm 134- S. Cox, The Pilgrim Psalms, p. 307.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
A Song of degrees
See title note; (See Scofield “Psa 120:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
bless ye: Psa 103:21, Psa 135:1, Psa 135:2, Psa 135:19-21, 1Ch 23:30-32, Rev 19:5
which by night: Psa 130:6, Lev 8:35, 1Ch 9:23, 1Ch 9:33, Luk 2:37, Rev 7:15
Reciprocal: Exo 15:21 – answered Exo 27:21 – evening Num 31:47 – kept the charge 1Ch 6:32 – and then 2Ch 31:2 – to give thanks 2Ch 35:5 – And stand Neh 9:5 – Stand up Neh 12:9 – over against Neh 12:40 – General Psa 19:2 – Day unto Psa 29:9 – in his temple Psa 84:4 – Blessed Psa 113:1 – O Psa 118:3 – General Isa 62:6 – which Eze 40:45 – the keepers Luk 18:11 – stood Act 26:7 – instantly
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
MUTUAL BENEDICTION
Bless ye the Lord. The Lord bless thee.
Psa 134:1; Psa 134:3
I. This psalm forms a worthy close to these exquisite psalms of ascents.The stream of pilgrims has reached the city, visited the holy Temple, and is on the point of retiring; but before they do so they greet the priests who had charge of the nightly service of the Temple, and had just come on duty. Farewell, cries the pilgrim band: see to it that ye fill the night with adoration and prayer. Let your voices arise through the silent watches of the night, and form a canopy of peace over the sleeping city.
II. God has many night watchmen still.Large numbers of His saints, such as policemen on duty, night nurses, watchmen, Christian sentries, and specially those who rarely get a nights full rest, because pain keeps them tossing on their weary couches, compose the Lords night-watch. And as we, who are privileged to sleep deeply and soundly, consign ourselves to slumber, it becomes us to send a loving thought to all suchthe day-watch saluting the night-watch; the active workers consigning the charge of the world to the intercessors and choristers.
III. And these in turn transmit their benediction.The Lord bless thee out of Zion. It is an individual blessing, thee. It is well, in our intercessions, not to pray generally, but specifically and particularly. We do our work best when we make individuals the subjects of our solicitudetaking them as representatives of a class. Each one whom we pray for is dear to God, our Creator and Redeemer. We are in the current of His will when we bless in His Name.
Psa 135:1
SENTIMENT AND ARGUMENT
Praise ye the Lord.
Psa 135:1
This psalm both begins and ends with the word hallelujah; and we have this word or equivalents for it many times besides in the other verses. The psalm is a jet, or series of jets, of joyous emotion; and yet it is not at all lacking in solid substance. The emotion is held in check by logic, as is indicated by the frequency of the argumentative for.
I. Those who sing Hallelujah.At the beginning and at the end of the psalm different groups of people are called upon to join in the hymn of praise; and, if we think of the psalm as having been used at one of the feasts or on some other great ceremonial occasion, we can understand how piquant must have been this appeal to the different sections; and it is quite possible that the singing may have been so arranged that the various bodies joined in when their names were mentioned. Every country has its own reasons for praising God; so has every class or profession. The piety of the young is not exactly the same as that of the old, nor is that of the man identical with that of the woman. But this is all the better; because it enriches the music that rises from the world to the ear of God.
II. The reasons for singing Hallelujah.As I have said, there is in this psalm a fine blending of logic and emotion; nowhere are the reasons for praising God more fully or suggestively stated.
The first is (Psa 135:3) that He is good; and perhaps we ought also to read, He is pleasant. It is hardly in accordance with modern feeling to speak of God as beautiful; but the Scripture does not shrink from this statement. And we need a strong word to designate the attractive side of God.
The second reason given for praising Him flows directly out of this one. It is the choice of His people, which is the highest exercise of His love (Psa 135:4). The whole idea of the Old Testament religion dates back to a Divine choice, springing out of free grace, by which Israel was separated from the rest of the world to be a people to Jehovah. In the New Testament the same mystery still continues under another form. He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace.
The third reason for singing Hallelujah is the power of God (Psa 135:5-6). His love is first, His power second. He is able to carry out what His love has purposed: nothing in heaven or on earth or under the earth can resist Him. Here the inspired singer is glancing at the heathen deities, on whom he swoops down in scorn towards the close (Psa 135:15-18), ridiculing the impotence of gods that are the work of mens hands. What he there says is not without a message for our own times.
The fourth reason for praising God is the exhibition of His power in nature (Psa 135:7). To this only a single verse is given, but the instances selected would admit of endless expansion. The process of evaporation alone, which is first touched on, is one of the most extraordinary phenomena of nature, and the more it has been investigated by modern science the more remarkable has it appeared. The seers of old had a genuine feeling for nature; and it performed for them its highest service, when it evoked from their hearts the praise of God.
The fifth reason for singing Hallelujah is the exhibition of Gods power in history (Psa 135:8-12). This was a theme of which the harp of Israel never tired.
Lastly, hallelujahs are to be sung for blessings yet to come (Psa 135:13-14). The Psalmist acknowledges that God already has done enough to be worthy of everlasting praise; the memory of His great acts, just touched upon in the preceding verses, must remain for all generations. But God is not going to live on His past renown. His power is not exhausted. On the contrary, the future will witness far more than the past has seen.
Illustration
It is difficult to understand God, but we may always praise Him for what He is in Himself, and for what He has promised to be to those who trust Him.
Here are arguments for praise! That He is good, that praise-singing is pleasant: that He has chosen His people to be His peculiar treasure: that He is great as well as good: that His good pleasure is love: that vapours, lightnings, rain, and wind, obey His absolute behest: that He will smite our foes to the ground: that out of our dark times He will give lands for an inheritance: and that His name will be unchanged amid the fret and passage of the generation of time.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
In the Sanctuary.
A song of the ascents.
The last song of ascents shows us Israel in the sanctuary, the night bringing no cessation of constant praise, the praise of a dependent people, rich with the blessing of Jehovah their God. This is, in brief, its three portions.
Here the work of the true Melchizedek is seen; the One who as Man leads out
His people’s heart in a praise in which He is foremost. While as God, the Representative of God, He can pronounce and bring in the blessing. This is Immanuel and Melchizedek in one; and that is the end here. Everything is in His hand who is the Father of eternity, the Maker and Upholder of the new creation. And here the last “ascent” is fully reached.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Psa 134:1-2. Behold, bless ye the Lord, &c. Attend to your duty, O ye ministers of the Lord; who not only by day, but by night also, reverently wait upon him in his house, 1Ch 9:33. Employ your hearts and tongues in his praises, and cease not to declare how great and good he is.
Lift up your hands, &c. Unto God, in prayer and praise; in the sanctuary In that holy house of God where you stand; or, in holiness, as the margin reads it, and as is prescribed 1Ti 2:8. Do not therefore content yourselves with lifting up your hands, but see that this be done with pure and holy hearts. And bless the Lord Be fervent and unwearied in your devotions and praises.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
This is the last of the fifteen psalms entitled MAHALOTH, or songs of degrees. See on Psalms 120. It is ascribed to David by the Syriac, but has no title in the Hebrew. The first and second verses are supposed to be the exhortation of the high-priest, on retiring from the temple, to the priests and levites who kept the night watch. The third verse is supposed to contain the response of the latter to the highpriest.
Psa 134:1. Which by night stand in the house of the Lord, watching the holy fire, and guarding the temple. This night-song inspires them to praise the Creator, from the glory of the stars, which rejoice and illumine the vast expanse of heaven.
REFLECTIONS.
The priests and levites are charged not to slumber in the service of God, even by night. What then shall we say to those who compose themselves to sleep, in the house of God on the sabbath day. Behold! awake! shake off your slumbers! Stand up, lift up your hands; our God is a jealous God. Above all, enter into the true spirit of worship, with a grateful heart, then the body shall wait upon the mind; and while you bless the Lord, He also shall bless you out of Zion.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
CXXXIV. Exhortation to the Nightly Service of Yahweh.
Psa 134:1 f. may be addressed by a band of pilgrims to Levites who were about to begin their nocturnal service. To them in response comes the priestly blessing of Psa 134:3.
Psa 134:2. Primitive men worshipped towards the place where their God dwelt. We have a survival of this custom here in the exhortation to lift up the hands to the Sanctuary.
Psa 134:3. read, bless you.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
PSALM 134
The godly remnant, not only in the land, but standing in the house of the Lord, reach the desired end of their pilgrim journey.
(vv. 1-2) The closing psalm of these pilgrim songs presents the crowning experience of the godly in Israel. In the previous psalm the godly are viewed as brethren dwelling together in unity. Here they are seen as the servants of the Lord, occupied in the highest service – the worship of the Lord. Their worship is without cessation, even by night (1Ch 9:33); and is offered in an holy place – the sanctuary of the House of the Lord. Many a time they had raised their hands in prayer on their desert journey; now they are called to lift up their hands in praise in the house of the Lord.
(v. 3) When the people at last bless the Lord in the sanctuary, the Lord will bless His people out of Zion. When praise goes up blessing flows out.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
134:1 [A Song of degrees.] Behold, bless ye the LORD, all [ye] {a} servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
(a) You who are Levites and chiefly appointed to this office.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Psalms 134
This last pilgrim psalm called on the priests who served God at the temple to praise Him, and it called on God to bless them.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. A call for God’s servants to praise Him 134:1-2
Priests were on duty 24 hours a day at the temple. They served as guards, and they also offered sacrifices and carried out other sacerdotal functions during the daylight hours. The psalmist called on them to praise God even at night. Lifting up the hands in prayer was a common posture that symbolized the petitioners offering praise up to God and receiving blessings from Him.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 134:1-3
THIS fragment of song closes the pilgrim psalms after the manner of a blessing. It is evidently antiphonal, Psa 134:1-2 being a greeting, the givers of which are answered in Psa 134:3 by a corresponding salutation from the receivers. Who are the parties to the little dialogue is doubtful. Some have thought of two companies of priestly watchers meeting as they went their rounds in the Temple; others, more probably, take Psa 134:1-2, to be addressed by the congregation to the priests, who had charge of the nightly service in the Temple, while Psa 134:3 is the response of the latter, addressed to the speakers of Psa 134:1-2. 1Ch 9:33 informs us that there was such a nightly service, of the nature of which, however, nothing is known. The designation “servants of Jehovah” here denotes not the people, but the priests, for whose official ministrations “stand” is a common term. They are exhorted to fill the night with prayer as well as watchfulness, and to let their hearts go up in blessing to Jehovah. The voice of praise should echo through the silent night and float over the sleeping city. The congregation is about to leave the crowed courts at the close of a day of worship, and now gives this parting salutation and charge to those who remain.
The answer in Psa 134:3 is addressed to each individual of the congregation-“Jehovah bless thee!” and it invokes on each a share in the blessing which, according to the preceding psalm, “Jehovah has commanded” in Zion. The watchers who remain in the sanctuary do not monopolise its blessings. These stream out by night, as by day, to all true hearts; and they are guaranteed by the creative omnipotence of Jehovah, the thought of which recurs so often in these pilgrim psalms, and may be due to the revulsion from idolatry consequent on the Captivity and Restoration.
With this sweet interchange of greeting and exhortation to continual worship, this group of psalms joyously ends.