Psalm 135
1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord.
2 Ye that stand 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 praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
4 For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
5 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
7 He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.
8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.
9 Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.
10 Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;
11 Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan:
12 And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people.
13 Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.
15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.
19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O house of Aaron:
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi: ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21 Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.
Psalm 135 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Psalm 134 ended the Songs of Ascents by calling the Lord’s servants to bless him in the sanctuary. Psalm 135 continues that call and expands it into a wide-ranging hymn. God is praised for his goodness, his choice of Israel, his rule over creation, his acts of deliverance, his enduring name, and his complete superiority to lifeless idols.
The psalm repeatedly moves from command to reason: praise the Lord, because he is good; praise him, because he has chosen a people; praise him, because he rules heaven and earth; praise him, because he acted in history; praise him, because idols cannot speak, see, hear, or breathe. Biblical worship is therefore not empty enthusiasm. It is a response to who God is and what he has done.
Key Themes
“Praise ye the Lord” translates the familiar Hebrew expression often rendered “Hallelujah.” The opening repetition creates urgency and invites the whole worshiping community to participate. Praise is not restricted to professional musicians or unusually expressive personalities. The servants standing in the Lord’s house lead, but the psalm eventually summons every part of the covenant community.
Verse 3 gives two related reasons for worship: “the Lord is good” and “his name is pleasant.” God’s name represents his revealed character and reputation. Singing praise is pleasant not because every worshiper always feels cheerful, but because God himself is worthy and beautiful. Lament, grief, and fatigue can coexist with this conviction.
The choice of Jacob and Israel as God’s “peculiar treasure” speaks of treasured possession, not strange behavior. Deuteronomy 7 makes clear that Israel was not chosen because it was larger or naturally superior to other nations. Election began in God’s covenant love and called the people to holiness, witness, gratitude, and obedience.
God’s choice must therefore never be turned into racial pride or permission to despise outsiders. The Old Testament itself condemns Israel when it becomes unjust or idolatrous. Being treasured by grace increases responsibility; it does not make sin harmless or every national decision righteous.
“Our Lord is above all gods” does not teach that the God of Israel is merely the strongest member of a divine competition. Throughout the psalm, the supposed gods are exposed as powerless idols, while the Lord creates, rules, speaks, acts, judges, and saves. Whether “gods” refers to pagan deities as human objects of worship or to spiritual powers claimed behind them, none is equal to the Lord.
Verse 6 presents comprehensive sovereignty: the Lord does whatever pleases him in heaven, earth, seas, and deep places. This does not mean that God acts irrationally or contrary to his character. His will is holy, wise, and unconstrained by a rival power. Nothing lies outside his authority, even where human beings feel least in control.
The clouds, lightning, rain, and wind in verse 7 portray God governing the created world. Similar language appears in Psalm 147. The verse uses observable imagery rather than offering a technical account of meteorology. Its theological point is that weather is not controlled by Baal, chance, or an independent force of nature; creation remains dependent on its Maker.
The psalm then moves from creation to history. The death of Egypt’s firstborn recalls the final plague in Exodus 12. This judgment was severe and should not be celebrated as though suffering itself were entertaining. Scripture presents it as the culmination of Pharaoh’s prolonged oppression, refusal, and violence, and as the act through which enslaved Israel was released.
Verses 10–12 remember the defeat of nations and kings, especially Sihon and Og, whose opposition is narrated in Numbers 21. Psalm 135 summarizes these events as part of Israel’s journey to an inherited land. Readers should not detach the language from that covenant history and use it to bless modern conquest, private revenge, or hostility toward an ethnic group.
Verse 13 shifts from past victories to the permanence of God’s identity: “thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever.” Empires, rulers, and public reputations fade, but God’s name remains through every generation. The worshiping community remembers ancient acts because the same God continues to be known by his revealed character.
“The Lord will judge his people” can include governing, defending, and vindicating them, not only condemning them. God takes his people’s conduct seriously and also acts on behalf of servants who suffer. His covenant faithfulness includes both correction and rescue; neither sentimental indulgence nor abandonment describes his care.
The KJV says that God “will repent himself concerning his servants.” This does not mean God discovers that he committed moral wrong. The Hebrew wording can describe relenting from announced judgment or being moved with compassion. From the human point of view, God’s treatment changes when he responds mercifully; his holy character has not become defective or unstable.
Verses 15–18 closely resemble Psalm 115. Pagan idols may be made from valuable silver and gold, but expensive materials cannot create life. Human hands give them mouths, eyes, ears, and bodies, yet they cannot speak truth, see need, hear prayer, or breathe. Artistic skill can shape an object, but it cannot make that object divine.
The contrast is deliberately ironic. The living God acts throughout the psalm, whereas the idols possess organs without abilities. Their makers and trusting worshipers “are like unto them” because worship shapes the worshiper. Trusting what cannot see or hear gradually produces spiritual blindness, deafness, and lifelessness.
Modern idolatry is not limited to statues. Money, nation, influence, romance, comfort, ideology, career, or even ministry can receive the trust and obedience belonging to God. Yet this application should not erase the psalm’s direct challenge to literal idol worship. The broad principle is that every created substitute eventually fails those who treat it as ultimate.
The final summons names the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, the house of Levi, and all who fear the Lord. The widening circles include the whole people, priests, temple servants, and reverent worshipers beyond a single office. Distinct responsibilities remain, but no group is exempt from praise or allowed to make worship revolve around itself.
The psalm closes with the Lord blessed “out of Zion,” where he had made his covenant presence known. Like Psalm 134, it joins the universal Creator with a particular place of revelation. The God who dwells at Jerusalem is not a local deity confined there; he is the Lord who rules heaven, earth, seas, nations, and generations.
Important Verses and Questions
Why did God choose Israel as his special treasure? Scripture roots the choice in God’s love and promise rather than Israel’s size, virtue, or superiority. Israel was chosen to belong to God, live under his covenant, and serve his purposes among the nations. Election is a reason for gratitude and responsibility, never arrogance.
Does “above all gods” admit that other gods truly rival the Lord? No. The psalm contrasts the living, sovereign Lord with idols that cannot act or breathe. Human beings may worship many supposed gods, and spiritual evil is real, but none possesses the Creator’s nature, authority, or saving power.
How should readers understand the violent judgments in this psalm? They belong to specific biblical histories of oppression, divine judgment, and covenant inheritance. Readers should neither minimize their severity nor reproduce them as personal commands. They reveal that God confronts entrenched evil, while vengeance and final judgment remain under his authority.
Why does the KJV say that God repents? Older English used “repent” more broadly than modern readers often do. Here it describes God relenting or showing compassion toward his servants, not confessing sin or correcting a moral failure. The verse stresses his responsive mercy within his consistent covenant character.
How do people become like what they worship? Worship directs attention, trust, love, fear, and obedience. A person centered on money may evaluate everything by price; one centered on approval may become unable to speak truth; one centered on power may stop seeing vulnerable people. Worship of the living God instead calls people toward truth, mercy, holiness, and life.
Why are several groups commanded separately to bless the Lord? The repeated summons recognizes different roles within the covenant community while uniting them around one God. Leaders, ministers, ordinary households, and all who fear the Lord must remain worshipers. Spiritual office does not replace personal reverence.
Practical Applications
Build praise on specific truth. When worship feels vague or mechanical, name reasons drawn from Scripture: God is good, sovereign, faithful, just, compassionate, and living. Remember particular acts of provision, correction, rescue, and grace. Specific remembrance gives substance to praise without requiring manufactured emotion.
Receive belonging as grace rather than superiority. Christians understand themselves as God’s people through Christ, not through moral achievement or cultural status. Let that identity produce humility, holiness, hospitality, and service. Any doctrine of election used to nourish contempt has contradicted the gracious purpose it claims to defend.
Submit both nature and history to God without pretending to explain every event. Psalm 135 affirms God’s sovereignty, but it does not authorize believers to label every storm, victory, illness, or national event with a confident secret interpretation. Trust his rule, act responsibly, mourn suffering, and resist speculation that speaks where Scripture has not spoken.
Identify the idols that shape your habits. Ask what loss would make life seem meaningless, whose approval controls your honesty, what receives unquestioned sacrifice, and where you expect ultimate safety. Repentance may require changed spending, boundaries, confession, accountability, or a deliberate return to prayer and Scripture.
Remember that valuable appearance does not equal spiritual life. The idols were silver and gold, impressive but powerless. Ministries, traditions, buildings, brands, and polished presentations can also look substantial while lacking truth and love. Evaluate spiritual work by faithfulness to God, not merely by cost, popularity, age, or visual excellence.
Join the whole community in praise. Do not leave worship to leaders, musicians, or people with public roles. Encourage faithful ministry without idolizing ministers, and recognize the contributions of households, older believers, younger believers, newcomers, and quiet servants. The final “Praise ye the Lord” belongs to everyone who fears him.