Read Psalm 135. What historical events are highlighted in the psalm? What lessons does the psalmist draw from them?

 Psalm 135 summons God’s people to praise the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness demonstrated in Creation (Ps. 135:6, 7) and in Israel’s salvation history in the time of the Exodus (Ps. 135:8, 9) and in the conquering of the Promised Land (Ps. 135:10-12).

 The Lord demonstrated His grace by choosing the people of Israel as His special treasure (Ps. 135:4). “Special treasure” conveys the distinctive covenantal relationship between the Lord and His people (Deut. 7:6-11; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10). The choosing of Israel was based on the Lord’s sovereign will, and thus, Israel has no ground to feel superior over the other peoples. Psalm 135:6, 7 demonstrates that the Lord’s sovereign purposes for the world did not begin with Israel but with the Creation. Therefore, Israel should humbly fulfill its assigned role in God’s salvific purposes for the entire world.

 The recounting of God’s great deeds on behalf of His people (Ps. 135:8-13) culminates in the promise that God will “judge” His people and have compassion on them (Ps. 135:14). The judgment here is God’s vindication of the oppressed and the destitute (Ps. 9:4, Ps. 7:8, Ps. 54:1, Dan. 7:22). The promise is that the Lord will uphold His people’s cause and defend them (Deut. 32:36). Thus, Psalm 135 aims to inspire God’s people to trust in the Lord and to remain faithful to their covenant with Him.

 The Lord’s faithfulness to His people leads the psalmist to affirm the nothingness of idols and to the unique supremacy of the Lord in the world (Ps. 135:15-18). Reliance on idols renders their worshipers as hopeless and powerless as their idols are (Ps. 135:18). The psalm demonstrates that God is to be praised as both Creator and Savior of His people. This is wonderfully conveyed in the two complementary versions of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue (Exod. 20:8-11, Deut. 5:12-15). Because God’s power in creation and history is unparalleled in the world, God’s people should always rely on Him and worship Him alone. As our Creator and our Redeemer, He alone should be worshiped, and worship of anything else, or anyone else, is idolatry.