Psalm 135 - Our LORD is greater

Psalm 135 - Our LORD is greater

Read: Psalm 135 vs 1-21

For the past fifteen days we have been working our way through the ‘songs of ascents’, journeying with ancient people of faith as they made their way up to the temple in Jerusalem to pray. Now today, like someone home from a holiday, or a trip away, we sit down, the dust settles and we are back in what feels like the more familiar territory of Psalm 135, a Psalm that begins ‘Praise the LORD’ (vs 1),  in Hebrew the phrase is Hallelu Yah, (with Yah being short for ‘Yahweh’ the name for God).

When all is said and done these words sum up so much of what it means to be one of God’s people. The life we are called to is a life of praise to Him, across all the changing seasons of life. We come to our God not as masters (telling Him what to do), but as ‘servants’ (vs 1), looking to Him and trusting Him for all of life. 

The LORD is good (vs 3), and yet as we have seen time and again, if we only had our own experiences to go on we wouldn’t be sure or confident of this truth all of the time. Life can be confusing, life can leave as bruised and wounded. We need to know something from outside of our experience, we need to find a bigger truth that will keep us praising. 

Like many of the psalms, Psalm 135 gives us solid ground on which to stand by rehearsing stories from Israel’s past, stories that illustrate that ‘our LORD is greater than all gods.’ He is greater in creation (vs 6-7), He is greater in salvation (vs 8-12). He is greater as we look to the days to come (vs 13-14), and greater in comparison to anything or anyone else that this world has to offer (vs 15-18). So the call to each and everyone (vs 19-21),  a call that is simple and yet profoundly life shaping; ‘Praise the LORD!’

Prayer: LORD You are greater than all the gods. Help me to live a life rooted in praise of You, who You are and all that You have done. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.