Commentary - Psalm 135:1-4

Bird's-eye view

This psalm opens with a staccato burst of commands, a threefold summons to praise Yahweh. This is not a suggestion, but a royal summons issued to the king's servants. The psalmist calls the temple ministers, those who stand in the very courts of God's house, to lead the chorus. The grounds for this praise are then laid out with theological precision. We are to praise God for two fundamental reasons. The first is His nature: He is good. The second is His action: He has chosen. He has sovereignly set His affection upon Jacob, taking Israel as His own treasured possession. This opening salvo establishes the central theme of the entire psalm: the worship of the one true God is grounded not in the merits of the worshiper, but in the character and sovereign grace of the God who is worshiped.

In short, these four verses are the call to worship. They identify the who (the servants of Yahweh), the where (the house of God), the what (praise the Name), and most importantly, the why (His goodness and His electing grace). It is a summons to a specific people in a specific place to praise a specific God for specific reasons. This is the grammar of true worship.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 135 is one of the Great Hallel psalms (120-136), sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem for the great feasts. It has a strong liturgical feel, as though it were written for corporate worship in the temple itself. This psalm is a masterful mosaic, quoting or alluding to numerous other passages of Scripture, particularly Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and other psalms. It does not present new information so much as it gathers up the great themes of Israel's faith and weaves them into a single, powerful anthem of praise. It begins with this call to worship (vv. 1-4), moves to celebrate God's power in creation and His triumph over idols (vv. 5-18), and concludes with another call for all Israel to bless the Lord (vv. 19-21). The opening verses set the stage for this grand recital of God's mighty deeds by first establishing the foundation of all worship: God's sovereign goodness and His electing love.

Key Issues

The Ground of All Gladness

Worship in the modern world is often treated as a matter of taste, preference, or emotional expression. We go to church to get something, to feel a certain way, to have an experience. But the Bible begins in a completely different place. Worship is not a consumer activity; it is a covenantal obligation. And it is not grounded in our subjective feelings, but in the objective reality of who God is and what He has done. This psalm is a potent corrective to our therapeutic age. It calls us to praise, and then immediately provides the doctrinal bedrock upon which that praise must be built. If you want to know why you should praise God, the psalmist gives you two unshakeable pillars: His inherent goodness and His sovereign choice. All true and lasting gladness is built upon this foundation.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Praise Yah! Praise the name of Yahweh; Praise Him, O slaves of Yahweh,

The psalm opens with the great watchword of praise, Hallelujah, which is simply Hebrew for "Praise Yah." This is not a gentle suggestion. It is a command, an exhortation, a summons. The object of the praise is specified: "the name of Yahweh." In Scripture, a name is not a mere label, but the representation of a person's character and reputation. To praise God's name is to praise Him for who He has revealed Himself to be. And who is to do this praising? "O slaves of Yahweh." In our culture, "slave" is a dirty word, but in the Bible it is a title of high honor. To be a slave of Yahweh is to be liberated from slavery to sin, to self, to every other false god. It means you belong to the rightful master of the universe. It is the highest and truest freedom a man can know. The first duty of a slave of God is to praise his Master.

2 You who stand in the house of Yahweh, In the courts of the house of our God!

The psalmist now identifies these "slaves" with more precision. He is speaking directly to the priests and Levites, those whose vocation it was to minister before the Lord in the temple. To "stand" in the house of Yahweh was a technical term for serving in an official capacity. These are the men on duty, the ones leading the corporate worship of the people. They are located "in the courts of the house of our God." This is holy ground. Worship is not an abstract exercise; it happens in a real place, at a real time. For us in the New Covenant, the church is the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15), and all believers are a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9). This call is therefore for us. When we gather on the Lord's Day, we are standing in the courts of our God, and the first order of business is praise.

3 Praise Yah, for Yahweh is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

Here we are given the first set of reasons for our praise. First, "for Yahweh is good." This is not a statement about His mood. It is a declaration of His essential character. He is the definition of good. All His ways are good, all His commands are good, and all His judgments are good. He is morally perfect and utterly reliable. Second, we are to sing praises to His name, "for it is lovely." The word can mean pleasant, or delightful. There is a sweetness and a beauty to the name of God. And the act of praising that name is itself a pleasant and fitting activity. It is what we were designed to do. When we praise God, we are not performing a grim duty; we are engaging in the most joyful and delightful activity possible for a creature made in His image.

4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His treasured possession.

This is the granite foundation. After pointing to God's character, the psalmist points to God's choice. Why are we, and not others, standing in His courts? The answer is not found in us. The answer is found in Him. "For Yah has chosen Jacob for Himself." This is the doctrine of unconditional election, stated as plainly as can be. God's choice of Jacob was not based on Jacob's foreseen merit, but on God's own good pleasure. He chose Jacob for a purpose: "for Himself." God's people are for God. He then elaborates on this, calling Israel His "treasured possession." The Hebrew word is segullah, a special word denoting a private treasure, something prized and guarded by a king. Out of all the nations of the earth, God sovereignly set His affection on this one people to be His own. For the Christian, this truth is the ultimate ground of our assurance and the ultimate fuel for our praise. We are in the church, we are in Christ, we are in the family of God for one reason and one reason alone: He chose us.

Application

First, we must see that worship is a commanded duty. It is not an optional extra for the emotionally inclined. The Christian life begins and ends with "Praise Yah!" This is our primary calling as slaves of the Most High.

Second, our worship must be grounded in right theology. We do not praise a god of our own imagining. We praise the God who is good, and the God who chooses. Our praise must be rooted in His revealed character and His sovereign acts. Sentimental worship that is detached from the hard doctrines of Scripture is a house built on sand. The doctrine of election is not a topic for dusty academic debate; it is presented here as the number one reason for heartfelt, grateful praise. Do you know yourself to be God's treasured possession? The only proper response to that knowledge is to sing.

Finally, we must recognize that we are the temple of God now. This summons to the Levites of old is a summons to the church today. When we gather for worship, we are standing in the house of God. We are His priests, His servants, His treasured people. Let us therefore take up this call with joy, praising the name of Yahweh, for He is good, and it is a lovely thing to do.