A Hymn of Praise

Within the book of Psalms there are many different types of psalms. Psalm 135 is a hymn of praise. Tremper Longman, in his book How to Read the Psalms, writes that all of the hymns of praise in the book of Psalms share a similar basic structure.

1. They begin with a call to worship.
2. They continue by expanding on the reasons why God should be praised.
3. They often include, and sometimes conclude with, further calls to praise.

That’s exactly what we see in Psalm 135. It begins and ends with the words, “Praise the LORD!” In between these two calls to worship are several reasons why we should praise the Lord.

Five Reasons to Praise the Lord

Why should we praise the Lord? Psalm 135 gives us several reasons. Let me give you five.

Reason #1: The goodness of the Lord.

[Read vv. 1-4.]

Psalm 119:68 says, “You are good and do good.” Verse 4 gives us one example of God doing good. He has “chosen” Israel, and they are “his own possession.” We call this “election.” God chose Israel to play a special role in his plan of redemption.

Notice that Israel is called “Jacob.” Twin boys were born to Isaac and Rebekah, Esau and Jacob. In a surprising twist, God chose Jacob, the younger son, instead of Esau. This tells us that divine election is not based on merit. It’s the result of God’s grace. [Read Deut. 7:6-8.]

In Ephesians 1:4, the apostle Paul writes that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.” Then Paul goes on to say that our election is “to the praise of [God’s] glorious grace” (v. 6). God’s goodness in election is a reason for praise.

Reason #2: The sovereignty of the Lord over creation.

[Read vv. 5-7.]

The words of verse 5 come from Exodus 18:11. They are the words of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. [Read Exod. 18:8-11.] Psalm 135 invites us to make Jethro’s testimony our own.

Verse 6 says, “Whatever the LORD pleases, he does.” Think about the immensity of our universe. Every bit of our universe is under the control of our God. If we are in awe of the universe, imagine how great God must be!

Reason #3: The sovereignty of the Lord over history.

[Read vv. 8-12.]

These verses recount some of the important events in Israel’s history. Who gets the credit for their escape out of Egypt, their victory over kings and nations, their entry into the land of Canaan? Yahweh, their God. 

Verse 12 calls the land a “heritage.” Other versions use the word “inheritance.” Ephesians 1:11 says, “In [Christ] we have obtained an inheritance.” Our inheritance isn’t land. It’s something better. [Read 1 Peter 1:3-4.] Our inheritance is possible because of history’s two greatest events: the death and resurrection of Christ. What is our inheritance? It’s everything that God has promised us in salvation.

Since God is good and sovereign, he can be trusted.

Reason #4: The compassion of the Lord.

[Read vv. 13-14.]

Back in verse 3 we read that “the LORD [i.e., Yahweh] is good” and “his name … is pleasant.” “Pleasant” is a synonym for “good.” Here in verse 13 we are told about God’s “name” and his “renown.” His name “endures forever.” He renown endures “throughout all ages.”

These verses are talking about God’s reputation. We say, “He/she has a good name.” How do you develop a good name? By what you do. Psalm 135 reviews what God has done in the past, and now we’re told what he will do in the future.

Notice the word “will” in verse 14. The psalmist is talking about the future. God “will vindicate his people,” and he will “have compassion on his servants.” [Read Deut. 32:35-36.] God will always care about his people (i.e., those who trust in him). He will always have compassion on them. 

Reason #5: The life-changing nature of praise.

[Read vv. 15-18.]

The psalmist points out how futile it is to trust in an idol. They are man-made. They don’t speak. They don’t see. They don’t hear. And they don’t have “any breath in their mouths” (v. 17). In other words, they aren’t alive. In contrast to these idols is Yahweh, the one true and living God.

What about the idols of our nation?

John Calvin writes that idolatry is “to worship the gifts in place of the giver himself.” Tim Keller defines idolatry as “the making of good things into ultimate things.” In his book Counterfeit Gods, Keller writes that an idol is “anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.” 

Verse 18 says something very thought-provoking: “Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.” How does a person become like an idol? Simply put, we end up becoming less than what we were made to be. The implication is that the opposite is true if we worship and trust in the Lord.

[Read vv. 19-21.]

It’s good to praise God, not just because God deserves our praise but also because praise is good for us.