Psalm 135 Part 2

There are four reasons given in this psalm for praising God. Yesterday we mentioned two; He is good, and His choice of Israel as His people. 
The third reason He is worthy of praise is because His power extends everywhere, in heaven and in earth, and in the seas and from the ends of the earth. The reference to lightning and rain (V7) exalts Yahweh over the Canaanite idol Baal, who was thought of as the god of weather. Baal was sometimes depicted as holding a bolt of lightning and was believed to be the one who sent the rain. The singer rebuked this, and sang of Yahweh as the Lord over ‘lightning, rain, and the wind.’ The fourth reason for praise in the psalm is God’s deeds throughout History (V8-12).

The idols of silver and gold (v15) are a striking contrast to the greatness of the all-powerful God who reigns in heaven. The goodness and greatness of Yahweh make the puny idols, ‘the work of men’s hands,’ seem even emptier and more foolish. The psalmist returns to the motif of vain idolatry by an extensive quotation from Ps.115:4-8. What a wretched thing, that a man who can see, speak and hear should bow down before an image which is deaf, dumb, and blind! To put anything of our own manufacture, whether wealth, or fame, employment, or power, in the place of God, is to begin a process of idolatry. The makers of idols become like that which they make – a person becomes like their god. They become in character and conduct like that to which they pay homage. The difference between true and false worship is that true worship is to the one who is forever greater than ourselves. False worship is directed towards our creations, which are forever less than ourselves.

In a series of three statements (v19-25), this psalm closes with a call to the descendants of Israel to honour God and give Him the recognition He deserves. It is fitting for such a soaring psalm to end as it began – to declare God’s praise, and to call upon others to do so also.