Commentary - Psalm 135:19-21

Bird's-eye view

Having spent the bulk of the psalm recounting the reasons why Yahweh is to be praised, His sovereign goodness, His creative power, His redemptive acts in history, and His absolute superiority over dead idols, the psalmist now concludes with a great summons to worship. This is not a disorganized free-for-all, but an orderly, structured call to the entire covenant community. He calls upon them in concentric circles, moving from the general to the specific, and then back out to the universal qualification for all true worshipers. The passage begins with the people of God, moves to the priests who lead them in worship, then to the Levites who serve in the house of God, and finally to all who genuinely fear God. The passage then pivots, declaring that this God who is to be blessed is the one who blesses His people from Zion, His chosen dwelling place. It all culminates in the quintessential Hebrew exclamation of praise: Hallelujah.

This structure is a beautiful picture of corporate worship. It is comprehensive, including every station within the covenant. It is orderly, recognizing the distinct roles God has established. And it is grounded, not in our feelings, but in God's objective condescension to dwell with His people in a particular place. For the new covenant church, this passage is a call for all of us, congregants, elders, deacons, and every true believer, to lift our voices together in blessing the God who has made us His new Jerusalem.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 135 is one of the "Hallel" psalms (from Hallelujah, "Praise Yah"), a collection traditionally associated with great feasts like Passover. It is a mosaic of praise, borrowing phrases and themes from numerous other psalms and Old Testament passages. The first part of the psalm (vv. 1-4) is a call to praise. The middle section (vv. 5-18) provides the theological meat, giving the reasons for that praise: Yahweh is great, sovereign over creation, the redeemer of Israel from Egypt, the conqueror of Canaan, and utterly distinct from the mute, blind, and dead idols of the nations. Our passage (vv. 19-21) serves as the grand finale, the application of all that has been said. Because God is who He is and has done what He has done, the only fitting response is for His covenant people, in their ordered ranks, to bless His name.

Key Issues

Concentric Circles of Praise

When we are called to bless God, we should understand what is being asked of us. God is the source of all blessing; He is the one who gives, and we are the ones who receive. So how can a creature "bless" the Creator? It is not that we are adding anything to Him that He lacks. Rather, to bless God is to speak well of Him, to praise Him, to extol His virtues, to declare His excellencies. It is to return to Him, in words, the goodness that He has first given to us in reality. It is like a child using the dollar his father gave him to buy his father a gift. The father is the source of it all, but he is delighted by the return. God gives us breath, and we are to use that breath to bless His name.

The psalmist structures this call to blessing with deliberate care. He does not just shout into the crowd, "Everybody praise God!" He calls out the specific groups that constitute the people of God. This is a roll call. He is summoning the whole army, regiment by regiment, to stand and salute their King. This gives us a picture of worship that is both corporate and orderly, where every member has a place and a voice in the great assembly.

Verse by Verse Commentary

19 O house of Israel, bless Yahweh; O house of Aaron, bless Yahweh;

The first summons goes out to the entire house of Israel. This is the whole nation, the covenant people in their broadest definition. Every man, woman, and child descended from Jacob is included in this call. No one is exempt. If you are an Israelite, your fundamental duty is to bless the God of Israel. Immediately following this general call, the psalmist narrows his focus to the house of Aaron. These are the priests, the ones set apart to lead the nation in its worship. They were to offer the sacrifices and stand before the people as God's representatives. If the whole nation is to bless God, how much more their leaders? Their blessing was to be exemplary. They were not to be like bored functionaries going through the motions; they were to lead the chorus with genuine, heartfelt praise.

20 O house of Levi, bless Yahweh; You who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh.

Next comes the house of Levi. The Levites were the broader tribe from which the Aaronic priests came, and they were tasked with all the practical service of the tabernacle and temple. They were the musicians, the gatekeepers, the assistants. They too had a special obligation to bless God in their service. Their work was not mere manual labor; it was sacred service, and it was to be accompanied by praise. After specifying these roles, the psalmist then throws the doors wide open with the final category: You who fear Yahweh. This is a category of the heart. It certainly includes all faithful Israelites, but it is broader than mere ethnicity. It includes the Gentile who has come to fear the God of Israel, the proselyte, the sojourner. It describes anyone, from any background, whose heart is rightly oriented toward God in reverent awe and submission. In the New Covenant, this is the ultimate definition of a true worshiper. We are not the people of God because of our bloodline, but because by grace we have been brought to fear His name.

21 Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah!

Having summoned all the people to bless God, the psalmist now makes a declaration. The direction of the blessing is reversed. God is to be blessed from Zion. Zion, and its city Jerusalem, was the place God had chosen to put His name. It was the location of the temple, the seat of His earthly throne. This is a staggering thought: the transcendent God of the universe condescended to dwell with men in a specific geographical location. Blessing, therefore, flows from this place. God blesses His people from Zion, and His people bless Him back from all their scattered places, directing their praise toward Zion. For the Christian, Zion is no longer a physical hill in the Middle East. The true Zion is the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of the firstborn, where God now dwells by His Spirit (Heb. 12:22). He is blessed from His Church, and He blesses the world through His Church. The only possible response to this glorious reality is the final, explosive command: Praise Yah! Hallelujah. This is the beginning and end of all true theology.

Application

This ancient summons to worship has lost none of its force for the Church today. We too are called to bless the Lord in our ordered assembly. The "house of Israel" is the entire congregation of the saints. The "house of Aaron" corresponds to our pastors and elders, who are called to lead us in worship not just with their words from the pulpit, but with the joyful reverence of their own hearts. The "house of Levi" can be seen in our deacons, our musicians, our ushers, and all who serve the church in practical ways, reminding us that all service to the saints is to be an act of worship.

And overarching all of it is that final, crucial category: "you who fear Yahweh." This cuts through all external show. You can be on the membership roll, you can even be in leadership, but if you do not fear the Lord, your worship is hollow. And conversely, you can be a brand new believer, unsure of all the theological details, but if you have a genuine, Spirit-given fear of God, you are a true worshiper whom the Father seeks. Our worship must be corporate, with all of us singing together. It must be ordered, with leaders leading and servants serving. And it must flow from hearts that tremble at His word. For our God no longer dwells in a temple made with hands, but dwells in us, His people, the true Jerusalem. From us, His Church, His blessing is to go out into the world. Therefore, let all the saints, with one voice, Praise Yah!