Sunday, January 8, 2017 pm
STUDIES IN PSALMS
Bless The LORD
Psalm 134
Tonight, we continue our study of the psalms – noting the final of the
psalms of ascents. In this
group of 15 psalms, so see it as the benediction.
Perhaps after their time of worship in the city, as they prepare
to return home, as they are leaving the city, they sing this short
psalm, calling upon the priests who remain in Zion to continue their
work appealing to Him and blessing the people.
This is a short psalm that addresses blessing our LORD God.
a.
The Hebrew word for “bless”
is a word that typically means to show favor toward one.
When we speak of being blessed, it is used this way.
But it can also mean to speak well of, to praise, or to kneel
before. To approach with
adoration. It is in this
sense that it is used in Psalm 134:1-2.
b.
We are here called upon
to bless the LORD (YHWH).
There are a handful of passages that use the word in this sense.
Some other occasions include:
Genesis 24:48 where Abraham’s servant is sent to Laban’s town to find a
bride for Isaac. When he
meets Rebekah, he bows his head, worships the LORD and blesses Him.
Deuteronomy 8:10, Moses calls for Israel when they have received the
land to “Bless the LORD your god
for the good land which He has given you.”
Judges 5:2, in the song of Deborah, leaders of the land are called upon
to “Bless the Lord.”
1 Chronicles 29:10 as David is older and about to appoint Solomon to
replace him, he makes preparations for the temple to be built and we
read, Therefore David
blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed
are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
In vs. 20, he calls for the
assembly to bless the LORD and they do.
Nehemiah 8:6, Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God
as the book of the Law
is read.
Psalm 16:7, “I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;… says
David again.
Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the LORD
at all times.”
Psalm 103:1-2, 20-22, some 5 times.
And it is repeated 4 times at the conclusion of Psalm 135:19-20.
The expression is similar in meaning to “praise the LORD”, though it is
an entirely different word.
c.
How do we bless Him?
i.
By approaching Him with
reverence – reverence for who He is, reverence for HOW we serve Him and
worship Him – John 4:24, Hebrews 12:28, etc.
ii.
By praising Him –
hallelujah. Hebrews 13:15
iii.
By being thankful – 1
Thess. 5:17-18, Colossians 3:16-17, Ephesians 5:20, etc.
iv.
By magnifying Him in our
lives –
Philippians 1:19-20 – Paul knows all will turn out
for good, so Christi will be magnified in his body… Romans 15:5-6
with one mind and one mouth we glorify God, 1 Corinthians 6:20 – glorify
God in your body in in your spirit, 1 Peter 4:11 – with all we do, “that
in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…
v.
Perhaps a familiar
summary of this would be, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you.” (James 4:8)
a.
Who by night stand in
the house of the LORD. Possibly
this expression is a description of the priesthood, entrusted with
administering Israel’s worship.
A part of temple administration would include guarding the temple
complex and the city. Hence
the mentioning of a night stand, for this would require constant
guarding (24/7).
In addition to this, making preparation for the daily worship, and
especially during feast times would probably require starting very
early, even in the night.
Also, it could involve being ready to receive arriving worshippers at
all hours – including in the night.
That the temple was accessible at all hours is seen in Luke 2:37 where
we read of Anna who fasted and prayed night and day.
In describing the Levites and their work in genealogies, 1 Chronicles
9:33 speaks of some who lodged in the chambers and were employed in that
work “day and night”.
b.
A lesson for us in this
is to simply remind ourselves we serve God at all times.
c.
Today, we are the
priests – 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9 – we are the royal priesthood.
Revelation 1:6 we are “kings and priests” (KJV, NKJV) or “a
kingdom, priests” (NASB, ESV).
i.
We offer sacrifices –
including ourselves – Romans 12:1-2
ii.
We offer sacrifices of
praise – Hebrews 13:15, 16
iii.
We pray directly to God
–
iv.
We diffuse the fragrance
of His knowledge in every place – 2 Cor. 2:14-15
a.
Again, this shows
respect as we approach Him is the point
b.
Lifting up hands – we
have noted in times past there is no set posture for our prayers, but
they must demonstrate reverence.
Lifting up hands or with palms up facing heaven were postures
demonstrating humility, the need for God & emptiness (i.e. Matthew 5:3-
the poor in Spirit). There
were some under the Old Law who did this (though there is no compulsory
command for it, nor is it consistently demonstrated).
It could be that because of this verse, some Jews sought to wash
their hands before prayer.
1 Kings 8:22, when Solomon dedicated the temple in prayer he spread out
his hands toward heaven.
Nehemiah 8:6 describing Ezra as he blesses the people, they answered
“Amen” while “lifting up their
hands. And they bowed their
heads and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.”
Psalm 28:2, David said, “Hear the
voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands
toward Your holy sanctuary.”
Psalm 63:4, “Thus I will bless You
while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”
Psalm 141:2, again David will say, “Let
my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as
the evening sacrifice.”
1 Timothy 2:8 speaks of lifting up holy hands – the point of this is not
a posture but holiness of life.
Perhaps we ought to take seriously as we lead the congregation
our holiness.
One might ask, should we lift up our hands as we pray today?
OR, is it wrong to do this?
Such is a judgment but we should approach it with great caution.
First, it is a product of the charismatic (Pentecostal) type
religions which are seeking an “experience” in worship.
For some, the lifting of hands might be trying to provoke some
type of response; Second, when we study prayer we learn that what God is
concerned about is the heart!
You don’t need to raise your hands to have a proper heart.
In fact, Third, it is possible that such is being done to be seen
which is contrary to our humble and contrite hearts – (cf. Psalm 51:17 –
the sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit and a contrite heart – these O God, You will not despise).
a.
Acknowledging Him for
who He is. Again this has
been a point of emphasis throughout our studies of the psalms.
Within the psalms we are reminded of the greatness of God.
Psalm 115:15, 121:2, Genesis 1:1.
Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16 – God created all things!
b.
We just remind ourselves
“How great thou art!” when we approach Him.
a.
One resource paints a
picture here as the last sacrifices are offered, and the festival is
reaching its conclusion, as night is falling, or perhaps early in the
morning before day break as they begin their long journey to their homes
– refreshed and jubilant – they speak out to those entrusted with
guarding the city and proper worship, “Behold, bless the LORD…” (vs.
1-2). As they are leaving,
the guard replies with vs. 3, “The
LORD who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion.”
A benediction.
b.
We do receive blessings
from Him. This is the same
word as in previous verses.
But here the blessing is pronounced upon the believer.
God truly blesses His people!
Ephesians 1:3 – He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places.
John 1:16, “And of His fullness we
have all received, and grace for grace.”
NOTE: As we have been blessed, we are also to bless others – 1 Peter
3:9, rather than returning evil for evil, return blessing that you may
inherit a blessing.
Matthew 5:44 – we bless those who curse us.
c.
“Bless
you from Zion.” The benediction – concluding prayers.
The word benediction is not found in most Bible, but the idea is
there. The word means an
expression of good wishes or the invoking of blessings, typically at the
conclusion. Paul often did
this in his letters. (1
Corinthians 16:23, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14, Ephesians 6:23-24, etc.)
While not compulsory, a closing prayer is a fitting way to conclude and
commend a service of worship to God.
And
thus we conclude another and a group of psalms devoted to preparing the
heart to worship God properly.
With a proper heart, one assembling to worship God with others as
He commands, will leave more grateful than when he arrived.
And its not about some emotional high, it is about knowing that
we have blessed God because of how He has blessed us.
May that be our heart as we gather together.
Think about it.