HISTORY LESSON
Opening Prayer
Lord, teach me how to praise You as the psalmists did.
Read PSALM 135
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.
5 I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,
your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee” (Thomas Chisholm, 1866–1960).
Think Further
Psalm 135 may seem like a history of what God has done for his people, but such history is not simply the recounting of a story; neither is it told merely to commemorate events that occurred in the past. In this psalm, history is told to reveal who God is and, eventually, to summon us to praise God for who he is—as is evident in the opening and closing verses of the psalm (1–3,19–21).
There are many reasons for praising the Lord. First of all, out of his sovereignty he has chosen Israel to be his people (4). Second, he is greater than all other gods because he actually speaks to his people, watches them and cares for them; he hears and listens to their cries, unlike the idols made by human hands (5,15–18). Third, he is the Lord of creation and is in control of the forces of nature (6,7). Next, he has acted decisively in history so that Israel, his chosen people, could have land, a promise he made earlier to Abraham (8–12). Finally, he vindicates his people and has compassion on them. As such, his name is to be praised (13,14).
As the psalmist recounts the many mighty acts of God, he also reveals the true nature and attributes of God—the Lord our God is a mighty God, the creator of the universe, merciful and compassionate, one who hears the cries of his people and one who keeps his promises. If we can recognize that we are mere mortals standing in the presence of a holy God, then the only appropriate response would be to praise him for who he is—a great and faithful God.
Apply
Look back at the story of your life. Give thanks to God who preserves your life and guides you; praise him for who he is.
Closing prayer
Lord, You alone are God, the only God, and all other gods are non-existent. Thank You for including me in Your great plan.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.