Scripture Reading: Psa. 135; Psa. 136; Psa. 137; Psa. 138; Psa. 139
In this message we will consider Psalms 135 through 139. Before we come to these psalms, I would first like to say a word concerning the arrangement of the one hundred fifty psalms.
The first one hundred nineteen psalms talk about the law. Psalm 1 is on the law, and Psalm 119 also is on the law. Regarding the law, Psalm 1 is an excellent beginning, and Psalm 119 is an excellent ending. In speaking about the law, Psalm 119 uses seven synonyms of the word law: testimony or testimonies, word, statutes, ordinances, precepts, judgments, and commandments. These seven synonyms issue in the way.
In particular, Psalm 119 is on the law as the testimony of God. According to the Bible this testimony is the testimony of what God is. The law is a type, a symbol, of Christ as the testimony of God. In order to understand this, we need to consider another type of Christ — the ark of the testimony (Exo. 25:10-11, 16, 21-22). The ark of the testimony was put into the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, which is called the tabernacle of the testimony (Exo. 38:21). The Bible does not say that the law was put into the ark; rather, the Bible tells us that the testimony was put into the ark (Exo. 40:20). The law contained, or concealed, in the ark is called the testimony.
Psalm 119 is followed by fifteen psalms called Songs of Ascents (Psa. 120—134). The remaining sixteen psalms may be clustered into three groups — Psalms 135 through 139, Psalms 140 through 145, and Psalms 146 through 150. Psalm 135 and Psalms 146 through 150 are "hallelujah" psalms, for each of these psalms begins and ends with "Hallelujah." However, as we will see, the nature of the content of Psalm 135 is different from that of Psalms 146 through 150. These six psalms are all hallelujah psalms, but their contents are different.
In this message we will cover Psalms 135 through 139. Each of these psalms has a striking point or significance. The striking point of Psalm 135 is the praise of Jehovah for His virtues. The striking point of Psalm 136 is Jehovah's everlasting lovingkindness. The second part of every verse in this psalm says, "For His lovingkindness is forever." The striking point of Psalm 137 is the remembrance of Zion and the non-forgetting of Jerusalem. The psalmist said that the captives wept by the rivers of Babylon when they remembered Zion (v. 1). The psalmist went on to say that he could not forget Jerusalem (v. 5). The striking point in Psalm 138 is the thanking of Jehovah in the worship of His holy temple. Psalm 139 speaks of God's omniscience and omnipresence. However, the striking point of this psalm is neither God's omniscience nor His omnipresence but the psalmist's asking Jehovah for His searching and trying. Here the psalmist seemed to be saying, "O Jehovah, search me and try me to see what is within me. Only You can search me in this way because only You are omniscient and omnipresent. Only You are qualified to search me and try me."
Those who arranged the Psalms arranged them according to their contents. In this arrangement we have Psalms 1 through 119, which speak about the law; Psalms 120 through 134, which are psalms about the going up, the ascending, to Zion; and the last sixteen psalms, Psalms 135 through 150. Psalm 135, a hallelujah psalm, stands alone, whereas Psalms 146 through 150, five other hallelujah psalms, are grouped together.
In Psalms 136 through 145 there is nothing crucial, nothing of particular importance. When some hear this, they may wonder about Psalm 137 and ask, "Are not the remembrance of Zion and the non-forgetting of Zion crucial?" Concerning the captivity these may be crucial. However, concerning God's economy these things are not crucial. Matters such as weeping and hanging harps on the willows have nothing to do with God's economy. Thus, our saying that there is nothing crucial in these psalms is based on the principle of God's economy.
The title of this message on Psalms 135 through 139 is "The Expressions of the Saints before Jehovah in Different Directions." What is particular about these psalms is actually not the saints' expressions but the fact that the writers were people who were very close to God. Thus, these psalms are the expressions of the sentiments of writers who were very close to God. These sentiments are expressed from different directions. For example, Psalm 137 was written from the direction of one sitting by the rivers of Babylon, whereas Psalm 139 was written from the direction of God's searching and trying. In 139:23-24 David prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; / Try me, and know my anxious thoughts; /And see if there is some harmful way in me, /And lead me on the eternal way." Such a prayer can be uttered only by a person who is very close to God, even face to face with Him.
Psalms 135 through 139 were written from different directions to express before God the sentiments of the psalmists. In these psalms there is nothing crucial related to God's economy. Nevertheless, these psalms reveal that the writers were very close to God. We need to keep this point in mind as we consider each of these five psalms.
The subject of Psalm 135 is the charging of the priests who serve Jehovah in His house, in the courts of His house, to praise Him for His virtues. This psalm could have been written only by someone who was close to the Lord and concerned for the Lord's interest and for the serving priests. I believe that the writer of this psalm was not a priest but a common citizen among the Israelites. Because he was close to the Lord and because he had an intimate concern for the worship of God and for the priests, he charged the priests to worship God.
The principle is the same in the church life today. We have co-workers, full-timers, and full-time trainees. Certain of the saints among us in the church who are very close to the Lord may be concerned for all these ones, watch over them, and pray for them. For instance, a particular co-worker is serving the Lord full-time, but he may not be very desperate with the Lord. Some of the older saints, bothered about the situation, may then pray for this co-worker.
"Praise the name of Jehovah;/Praise Him, you servants of Jehovah,/Who stand in the house of Jehovah,/In the courts of the house of our God./Praise Jehovah, for Jehovah is good;/Sing psalms to His name, for it is pleasant" (vv. 1-3). Here the priests are charged to praise God in His goodness.
"For Jehovah has chosen Jacob for Himself,/Israel for His personal treasure" (v. 4). Isaac had two sons: Esau, the well-behaved one, and Jacob, the naughty one. Isaac chose Esau, who did things to please him, but God chose Jacob for Himself. God's economy needed this naughty one. Without him, God's economy could not be fulfilled.
Verse 4 says not only that God chose Jacob for Himself but also that He chose Israel for His personal treasure. When Jacob was transformed into Israel, the prince of God, he became God's personal treasure. God chose Jacob for Himself, but He chose Israel for His treasure.
In verse 5 the psalmist says, "I know that Jehovah is great /And that our Lord is above all gods." Then in verses 15 through 18 he explains, "The idols of the nations are silver and gold,/The work of human hands./They have mouths, but they do not speak;/They have eyes, but they do not see. /They have ears, but they do not give ear;/And there is no breath in their nostrils./Those who make them,/All who trust in them,/Are like them." Here we have a comparison between our God, who is particular, and the gods, the idols, who cannot speak, see, or hear. Our God is mightier than the gods and is above all gods.
Verses 6 and 7 indicate that the priests were also charged to praise God in His creation. "Whatever Jehovah pleases He does/In heaven and on earth,/In the seas and all the depths. / He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;/He makes lightning for the rain;/He brings forth wind from His treasuries." He regulates the atmosphere around the globe for the benefit of all living things — plants, animals, and human beings — because they all need the clouds, the wind, and the rain.
Verses 8 and 9 tell us that the priests were to praise God in His marvelous deeds in Egypt, upon its firstborn, of man and of beast, and unto Pharaoh and all his servants.
In verses 10 through 12 we have a word regarding Jehovah's striking of great nations and His slaying of all the kings of Canaan, especially Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. These kings were the two gate-guards of the demonic and idolatrous Canaan. Jehovah smote the nations and the kings so that He might give their lands as an inheritance to Israel His people. The psalmist charged the priests to praise God for all that He did in bringing Israel into Canaan and killing the kings so that His people could possess the land.
In verses 13 and 14 the psalmist charges the priests to praise Jehovah in His executing of judgment for His people and in His repenting concerning His servants for the sake of His name, which is His memorial throughout all generations.
Verses 19 and 20 are the charge to the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, and the house of Levi, all of whom feared Jehovah, to bless Jehovah. To bless God is to speak well of Him. Every psalm is a blessing to God because every psalm is a well-speaking concerning God.
Verse 21 is a word about blessing Jehovah from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. This is the conclusion of this charge given to the priests by a common person who was close to God and concerned for His interests.
The subject of Psalm 136 is the charging of the people to give thanks to Jehovah for His everlasting lovingkindness. Many of the details in this psalm are similar to the details in Psalm 135.
Verse 1 speaks of giving thanks to Jehovah for His being good.
Verses 2 through 4 are a charge to give thanks to the God of gods and the Lord of lords, to Him who alone does great and wondrous deeds.
Next, the psalmist charges the people to give thanks to God who by understanding made the heavens, who spread forth the earth over the waters, and who made the great lights, the sun to rule the day and the moon and the stars to rule the night (vv. 5-9).
In verses 10 through 16 we have a word about giving thanks to God who struck Egypt through their firstborn, who brought forth Israel from their midst with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, who divided the Red Sea apart, brought Israel over through the midst of it, and shook off Pharaoh and his force into it, and who marched His people through the wilderness.
Verses 17 through 22 are a charge to give thanks to Jehovah for His everlasting lovingkindness in striking great kings and slaying majestic kings and then giving their land as an inheritance to Israel His servant.
Jehovah remembered His people in their low estate and rescued them from their adversaries (vv. 23-24). Sometimes they were defeated by the surrounding Gentiles, who caused them to be in a low estate. Thus they needed God's mercy to remember them and rescue them. For this they were charged by the psalmist to give thanks to Jehovah.
Verse 25 indicates that Jehovah's lovingkindness is seen in His giving food to all flesh.
Finally, in verse 26 the psalmist charges the people to give thanks to the God of heaven.
This psalm does not have any crucial points. Nevertheless, in order to write such a psalm, the psalmist had to be a person who was very close to God and who cared for God's interests. Only such a person can write such a psalm.
The subject of Psalm 137 is the remembrance of Zion and the non-forgetting of Jerusalem in captivity.
When they sat down by the rivers of Babylon and remembered Zion, they wept (v. 1).
They hung their harps on the willows in the midst of it, for their captors required of them songs, and those who tormented them required of them mirth, saying, "Sing for us /One of the songs of Zion" (vv. 2-3).
They said, "How can we sing the song of Jehovah/In a foreign land?" (v. 4). Then the psalmist continued, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem,/Let my right hand forget its skill./Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,/If I do not remember you,/If I do not prefer Jerusalem/Above my chief joy" (vv. 5-6). Here we see that the psalmist could not forget Jerusalem but preferred it above his chief joy.
"Remember, O Jehovah,/Against the children of Edom/The day of Jerusalem,/How they said, Lay it bare! Lay it bare,/Down to its foundation!" (v. 7). Here the psalmist asked Jehovah to remember the evil of Edom against Jerusalem and punish it. This request was according to the principle of good and evil.
"O daughter of Babylon, who are to be devastated,/Happy will he be who repays you/The recompense of what you have rendered to us. / Happy will he be who seizes your little ones /And dashes them against the rock" (vv. 8-9). This is the psalmist's cursing of Babylon. The psalmist did not ask God to curse Babylon; rather, he himself did this directly. His cursing was also according to the principle of good and evil.
What should we do today concerning those who oppose the Lord's recovery? We should not curse them or ask God to punish them, for in the New Testament dispensation we are not permitted to do such things. The New Testament tells us that instead of cursing others, we should bless them (Rom. 12:14). We are also charged to pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). Our God is righteous, and He will vindicate Himself, His recovery, and His truths. The psalmists, however, were in the dispensation of the law, and their way of dealing with others was according to the principle of good and evil.
The subject of Psalm 138 is the thanking of Jehovah in the worship of His holy temple.
In verse 1 the psalmist said, "I will give You thanks with all my heart;/Before the gods I will sing psalms to You." The psalmist then thanked Jehovah for His lovingkindness and truth in magnifying His word of promise above all in His great glory (vv. 2-5).
In verse 6 the psalmist declared that though Jehovah is high, He regards the lowly. He was assured that in the midst of trouble Jehovah would preserve him and that He would save him from his enemies (v. 7).
Seemingly this psalm does not contain anything significant, but it reveals something precious concerning the psalmist's intimacy with God. In order to write this short psalm, the psalmist had to be a person who was soaked with God and who was in the divine presence. Only in this way could he be qualified to write such an intimate psalm to the One whom He loved.
The subject of Psalm 139 is the psalmist's asking Jehovah for His searching and trying.
Verses 1 through 6 speak of God's omniscience. For example, the psalmist said that Jehovah understood his thoughts from afar and was acquainted with all his ways. Jehovah knows everything.
In verses 7 through 12 the psalmist continued with a word regarding God's omnipresence. God not only knows everything — He is also everywhere.
Verses 13 through 18 indicate that the psalmist appreciated being created by God. After speaking about God's creation, the psalmist declared, "How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!/How great is the sum of them!/If I should count them, they would be more than the sand./When I awake, I am still with You" (vv. 17-18).
Verses 19 through 22 describe the psalmist's hating and loathing the wickedness of the wicked according to the principle of good and evil.
Finally, in verses 23 and 24 the psalmist asked God to search him and try him and then to lead him on the eternal way. He could write such an intimate word because he was close to God and intimate with Him.
I believe that the purpose of the arrangers in clustering these psalms together was to show that they were written by persons who were very intimate with God. When I read these psalms, I am comforted and I receive help in the matter of godliness. Like the writers of these psalms, I aspire to be one who is close to God, who is intimate with God, and who lives and walks not only in God's presence but even in God Himself.
