Psalm 135

This psalm praises God for His greatness and for blessing His people. As Psalm 134, it calls on the priests to praise the Lord.

"Every verse of this psalm either echoes, quotes or is quoted by some other part of Scripture."²⁰³

 1. Introductory call to praise 135:1-3

This psalm begins and ends with, "Praise the Lord"(Hallelujah; cf. 104:35; et al.). The call goes out in verse 3 again. The priests in particular should praise Him because He is good and because praise is pleasant (lovely).

 2. The cause for praise 135:4-18

135:4-7 The sovereignty of God is what called forth the poet's praise in this psalm. The Lord chose Israel as His special treasure (cf. Deut. 7:6). He is also greater than all the pagan gods because He does whatever pleases Him (cf. 115:3). This is obvious in His control of nature.

135:8-12 God's sovereignty is also clear from His control over Israel's history. He sent the plagues on Egypt even smiting Pharaoh's first-born. He also defeated many kings and subdued many nations to give Israel the Promised Land. Notable among these kings were Sihon and Og (Num. 21).

135:13-14 The everlasting Lord would continue to vindicate His people in His sovereignty because of His compassion.

135:15-18 In contrast to Israel's sovereign God, the idols of the nations are impotent (cf. 115:4-8). Verses 15-18 illustrate verse 5 as verses 8-12 prove verse 4.

 3. Concluding call to praise 135:19-21

The psalm closes as it opened with a call to God's people to praise Him. Particularly the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the godly should praise from Zion the Lord who dwells in Jerusalem.

All God's servants should praise Him for His sovereignty as He demonstrates it in nature and history. Truly there is no god like Him.