Psalm 134

This is the last of the Songs of Ascents. It is a call to the priests and Levites of the temple to continue their service of praise, with the answer of a blessing back to the people. As the pilgrims departed in the early morning the priests spoke a blessing over them pictured in this psalm.

The ‘Behold’ of v1 means to take heed or be on your guard. To bless the Lord carries the idea that it blesses and honours God when His creatures praise Him and thank Him appropriately. To speak good of His name, to exalt Him and tell the wonders He has wrought is to ‘bless Him.’ 
We read, in 1Chron 9:33, that the Levitical singers were ‘employed in their workday and night;’ so that the earthly sanctuary might bear some resemblance of the heavenly, where, John tells us, the redeemed ‘are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in the temple.’ Rev 7:15. They are exhorted to fill the night with prayer and blessings toward Yahweh. The voice of praise should echo through the silent night and float over the sleeping city.

The lifting of ‘hands’ was not only the common posture for prayer among the ancient Hebrews; it was also appropriate for praise. It displayed the anticipation of gratefully receiving from God and the sense of surrender to Him. This is probably the underlying passage for 1Tim2:8 which talks of ‘lifting up holy hands’ to the Lord. 

The idea is that blessing from the God of all creation flows from Zion to each of His people wherever he or she may be. This is a beautiful and fitting close to the 15 Songs of Ascents. The people came to Zion in pilgrimage to bless the LORD, singing the songs of Psalms120-134. The Songs of Ascents end with the idea that God’s blessing went with each of them from Zion. The blessing doesn’t remain in Jerusalem but flows from there. 

v3 is a reference to the priestly blessing described in Numbers 6:23-27, except that bless is in the singular. God loves YOU and wants to bless YOU personally.