Focal Passage: Psalm 135:1-18
God is good (vv. 1-4). Our praise of God reflects our reverence for Him. The Psalmist expresses that it was a privilege for those devoted to temple service to praise God and they had a responsibility to do so. At the time, temple service was limited to a select few, and Israel was the only nation with a temple dedicated to the true God. Christians today are even more fortunate than the priests then because God dwells in every believer and not a specific building. The privilege of worshiping God is not limited to the clergy in church but to everyone, everywhere belonging to Christ.
God is creator (vv. 5-7). The living God is greater than a lifeless idol. God is in charge of everything from the most distant star to the deepest sea. The Psalmist emphasizes that the same God who spoke worlds into existence is also sovereign over the storms that arise on earth. There is not a cloud formed, a raindrop falls, nor a gust of wind that blows without God’s permission. Ancient man in many respects had far more reverence for God because he knew that without good weather, crops would fail, and someone greater than himself controlled the environment. Modern man with his technology and industry often forgets that he is still just as dependent upon God as ever.
This past winter we experienced an ice storm in our area that left many of us without electricity for two weeks. The one thought I heard expressed in the community was that God was still in charge and He can easily remind us of our dependence upon Him.
God is redeemer (vv. 8-12). God is capable of saving His children. We see so often in Scripture and in life that He who starts life can also stop it, from the lowest animal to the greatest man. Everyone is dependent upon God and those who oppose Him do so at their own peril. Conversely, those who rely on God are never beyond His redemption. The Psalmist gives an illustration of God’s intervention in the life of His people from the exodus in Egypt to the conquest of Canaan. Both then and now the elite and powerful on earth are as nothing before God. He took Israel which had been reduced to slavery and rewarded them with both freedom and land. The people in Canaan whom God displaced had lived in disobedience for centuries. At the same time God punished them, He blessed Israel by giving them their inheritance.
God is judge (vv. 13-14). God’s reputation will be remembered in both time and eternity. Since God is eternal, every aspect of His character is as well. God neither increases nor decreases; He is forever the same. One consistent attribute of God is His faithfulness. The Psalmist stresses in these two verses that God has always preserved His people and will continue to do so; He will not fail those who place faith in Him. The same God who defended His people in the past can be trusted in the present.
God is living Lord (vv. 15-21). Idols are images inferior to their makers. To worship the works of your hands is to bring disappointment. There is no true life without the Lord and those who are banking on this existence will find themselves broken-hearted. The idols in the day of the Psalmist were less powerful than the people who made them. They had the look of reality but not the life. While the majority of modern man no longer worships wood or stone, he still places money, sex, fame, prosperity and material possessions before God.
Empty pursuits will not lead to eternal pleasure. However, believers in both time and eternity have the privilege of praising God.
— Davis is pastor of Lake Road Baptist Church, Union City.
