PSALMS LESSON 138
 
     We will begin this lesson by giving the 135th Psalm in metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                             Chapter 135

Verse 1.  "O PRAISE the Lord, his praise proclaim; All ye his servants
          praise his name, Who in the Lord's house ever wait, Who
          stand in our God's temple gate."
Verse 2.  "The Lord is good, his praise proclaim, Since it is
          pleasant, praise his name; He for himself did Jacob take,
          And Isr'el his possession make."
Verse 3.  "I know the Lord is high in state, Above all gods our Lord
          is great; The Lord performs what he decrees, In heaven and
          earth, in depths and seas."
Verse 4.  "He makes the vapors to ascend In clouds from earth's
          remotest end; He for the rain gives lightning wings, The
          wind out from his treasures brings."
Verse 5.  "He smote from greatest to the least Of Egypt's first-born,
          man and beast; In midst of thee, O Egypt land, Sent signs
          and wonders from his hand."
Verse 6.  "He made his wonders dread to fall On Pharaoh and his
          servants all: He many nations overthrow, And mighty kings
          and princes slew."
Verse 7.  "He Sihon slew, and Bashan's king, On Canaan's thrones did
          ruin bring; Their land for heritage bestowed On Isr'el for
          their own abode."
Verse 8.  "O Lord, eternal is thy name, Thy mem'ry lives in endless
          fame; And to his servants turn again."
Verse 9.  "The heathen idols all are nought, But silver, gold, by
          man's hand wrought; With mouths, no power of speech they
          find, With eyes to see, they yet are blind."
Verse 10. "With ears, they hear no voice or sound, And in their mouth
          no breath is found; Their makers all their likeness bear;
          Who trust in them their fate shall share."
Verse 11. "O house of Isr'el, bless the Lord; Let Aaron's house him
          praise accord; Him blest, Let Levi's house proclaim Bless
          ye the Lord, who fear his name."
Verse 12. "Forever let the Lord be blest; From Zion let it be
          expressed; Jerus'lem is his dwelling-place. Praise ye the
          Lord, make known his grace."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 135th Psalm.
Psalms 135:1 "Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD;
praise [him], O ye servants of the LORD."

     The first praise is telling us what to do, praise. The second
praise is telling us who to praise, the Lord. The third praise is
saying who is to do the praising, servants of the Lord.  The fact that
praise is mentioned three times means, praise Father, Son and Holy
Ghost. The universal word for praise is Hallelujah.

     Psalms 135:2 "Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the
courts of the house of our God,"

     You that are established {stand} in the Lord, it seems not to
matter whether you are the minister, or those in the outer court, the
congregation.

     Psalms 135:3 "Praise the LORD; for the LORD [is] good: sing
praises unto his name; for [it is] pleasant."

     When you run out of words to praise Him with, just burst out into
song and praise Him with that. Let me be a sweet, sweet, sound in His
ear.

     Psalms 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, [and]
Israel for his peculiar treasure.

     Jacob, in the verse above, is speaking of him, and his 12 sons,
and their physical descendents. Why God chose Jacob, no one knows. It
is wonderful to be the chosen of God. To be chosen of God carries
great obligation with it, as well. The physical house would have so
much to praise God for. He separated them out of all the peoples of
the world to show himself through. His law was given to them. He made
special covenant with them and protected them. Jacob's family, God's
chosen, will later be called the harlot wife in Hosea. Israel being
separated, in the verse above, makes me think that this is speaking of
the spiritual house of Israel {Christians}. These are not spiritual
Israel who were descended from Jacob, but they who do the will of God.

     Psalms 135:5 "For I know that the LORD [is] great, and [that] our
Lord [is] above all gods."

     This was proved over and over. Elijah proved to the people and
the prophets of Baal on mount Carmel that our God is God. God showed
Himself, over and over, in the 10 plagues of Egypt, when He defamed
the gods of Egypt. The very reason Lucifer was thrown out of heaven,
was because he thought he was as good as God.

     Psalms 135:6 "Whatsoever the LORD pleased, [that] did he in
heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places."

     The only thing necessary for Him to do was speak, and the
elements of all nature obeyed Him. Philippians 2:10 "That at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in
earth, and [things] under the earth;" Colossians 1:16 "For by him were
all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for
him:" Colossians 1:17 "And he is before all things, and by him all
things consist."

     Psalms 135:7 "He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of
the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out
of his treasuries."
     Every element in the universe is under His control. He made it
all for a purpose. There is no need going into all of the creation act
here. We dealt fully with it in our Genesis study. It is enough for me
to know that He did it all. It rains when He tells it to rain, and it
stops when He tells it to stop. He is supreme Ruler of the universe.

     Psalms 135:8 "Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and
beast."

     This was one of the great examples of separation of those who
belong to God, and those who are of the world. The night that death
visited Egypt and killed all the firstborn of the Egyptians, the
Hebrews, who had the blood of the lamb on their door, were all spared.

     Psalms 135:9 "[Who] sent tokens and wonders into the midst of
thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants."

     These tokens and wonders were things like the Red Sea parting,
and the 10 plagues on Egypt.

     Psalms 135:10 "Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;"

     The nations where God sent the Hebrews were overcome very easily.
The nations around them were afraid of Israel's God. The nations knew
that God fought for the Hebrews.

     Psalms 135:11 "Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan:"

     God gave these kingdoms the opportunity to repent of their evil.
When they did not, God brought the Israelites in to overthrow them,
and gave their land to the Israelites. Canaan was the land that God
had long ago promised Abraham and His descendents as their promised
land.

     Psalms 135:12 "And gave their land [for] an heritage, an heritage
unto Israel his people."

     This land of Canaan was to be the promised land. It became the
land of the tribes of Israel. It was to be theirs forever as their
heritage.

     Psalms 135:13 "Thy name, O LORD, [endureth] for ever; [and] thy
memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations."

     There is no question about the eternity of the Lord. He is Alpha
and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Everlasting One. The world
may pass away, but He will never pass away. He is life.

     Psalms 135:14 "For the LORD will judge his people, and he will
repent himself concerning his servants."

     The Lord, Jehovah, is no less than the One we call Jesus here.
Jesus is the Righteous Judge of all the earth.
     II Timothy 4:8 "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his
appearing."  The repenting of concerning His servants, just means that
they will be counted pardoned. This is speaking of those who have put
their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Psalms 135:15 "The idols of the heathen [are] silver and gold,
the work of men's hands."

     Heathens are those who have not accepted the Lord as their
Saviour. Idols means nothings. They are worshipping things made with
hands, that they can see with their physical eyes. Christianity is not
believing in things we can see, but is faith in the One we know in our
heart exists. Things made with man's hands are the creation. We must
worship the Creator and not His creations.

     Psalms 135:16 "They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have
they, but they see not;" Psalms 135:17 "They have ears, but they hear
not; neither is there [any] breath in their mouths."

     They are exactly what the word idols means. They are nothings.
They have no powers at all.

     Psalms 135:18 "They that make them are like unto them: [so is]
every one that trusteth in them."

     This is just saying, that anyone foolish enough to make them, and
especially those who are foolish enough to worship them are exactly
what these idols are: nothings. They have no future.

     Psalms 135:19 "Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD,
O house of Aaron:"

     The house of Israel has plenty room to bless the LORD, whether
they be the descendents of Jacob {physical Israel}, or whether they be
the spiritual house of Israel {Christians}. The house of Aaron is the
house privileged to draw the closest to the LORD in the temple. All
who are the called of God, such as ministers, should have even more
reason to praise the Lord. Those who know the most about God should
bless Him the most. To whom much is given, much is required. Of
course, we really can not bless God except by loving Him and doing His
will in our life.

     Psalms 135:20 "Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the
LORD, bless the LORD." Psalms 135:21 "Blessed be the LORD out of Zion,
which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD."

     The tribe of Levi are chosen from all the tribes to minister unto
the Lord in His temple. This tribe was set aside by God for holy
service. Therefore they should lead the way in blessing the LORD.
Church {Zion}, bless the Lord. Even the temple located in Jerusalem
should bless the LORD. Let everything that has breath, praise the
LORD.
                             Questions 138

1.  What 3 things is verse 1 telling us about praise?
2.  What does the word, stand, in verse 2 indicate?
3.  When you run out of words to praise Him with, what should you do?
4.  Who is the mention of Jacob in verse 4 speaking of?
5.  Jacob's family will later be called who, in Hosea?
6.  Who is spiritual Israel?
7.  Name two or more times when God showed that He was greater than
    the false gods.
8.  Why was Lucifer thrown out heaven?
9.  Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that He did in _______ and in ______
    and all the ______ _________.
10. Quote Philippians chapter 2 verse 10.
11. All things consist by whom?
12. Where do the winds come from?
13. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt?
14. What was this an example of ?
15. Name one thing that the tokens and wonders were like.
16. Who were the nations around Israel afraid of?
17. What land had God promised to Abraham?
18. Give some names of God that show His eternity.
19. Who is the Righteous Judge?
20. Quote 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 8.
21. The repenting concerning His servants, is speaking of whom?
22. What are the idols of the heathen?
23. What does idol mean?
24. What were those who worshipped idols?
25. What special privilege did the house of Aaron have?
26. Blessed be the Lord out of ____.