PRAISE THE LORD, ALL YOU SERVANTS

Psalm 134:1-135:21 / Keywords 134:1

Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD.

Psalm 134

A song of ascents.

1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord

    who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary

    and praise the Lord.

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,

    he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

Psalm 135

1 Praise the Lord.[a]

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.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 135:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verses 3 and 21

1. To be a servant of the LORD is to praise him. Praising the LORD means coming to him to minister before him, to lift up our hands and hearts. Praising the LORD opens our lives to him with the full trust that he accepts us, that he made us his servants in his house. God created Israel newly—to be his chosen ones and his treasured possession. By his power and will, God called them to praise the LORD.

 

2. The LORD revealed his greatness in his creation and sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. He is almighty in power. But he also revealed himself when he called his people out of Egypt, through the desert, and gave them the land of promise as their inheritance. He placed his name on them forever by his holy compassion. He is our deliverer. The earth is full of idols and idol worship, but God’s people are called to praise the LORD. He is full of power, full of compassion, and he dwells with those he calls.

 

Prayer Lord, you are the almighty and you are my deliverer. Help me to listen to your call every day and come to you full of praises.

One Word Praise the LORD