THE SONGS OF ASCENT – PART 18 – PSALM 134 – BLESSING BOTH WAYS – GOD AND MAN AND MESSAGE TO THE TEMPLE NIGHT WATCHERS – FINAL MESSAGE
{{Psalm 134:1 “Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!
Psalm 134:2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the LORD.
Psalm 134:3 May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.”}}
Here we come to the end of the whole collection of the Psalms or Songs of Ascent. The pilgrims who have been singing since Psalm 120 these psalms on their journey to Jerusalem for the Feasts required by the Lord, and to worship at the Temple, have now arrived and their praises ascend to the Lord. They stand in the Temple and express their delight in just three verses.
The verses contain a twofold blessing, firstly blessing rising to the Lord and the request that the Lord will bless you from Zion. We aim to consider each part in this Psalm to derive blessing for ourselves as we try to be faithful to what the word of God would teach us. It is the second shortest chapter in the bible but it is not short of meditation.
[1]. THE FIRST VERSE
Psalm 134:1 [[Behold, bless the LORD]], [[all servants of the LORD]] [[who serve by night in the house of the LORD!]]
PART 1
In verse 1 there are three segments and each has its own message. We come to the first one, which is one of these statements we hear often, and like another one, “Praise the Lord,” it just passes by us and we never take in what the actual meaning is. I do not set myself up as any expert on this at all, but like everything, we must examine sensibly to see what the meaning is.
“Bless the LORD,” but before that we have “Behold”. It means, “Come, see . . .” “The word calls attention to an immediate need - something that is to be done, and to be done at once. (Pulpit Commentary).
Spurgeon is expansive in his view of this scene – [[“Behold". By this call the pilgrims signal the attention of the Temple night watch. They shout to them - Behold! The retiring pilgrims stir up the holy brotherhood of those who are appointed to keep the watch of the house of the Lord. Let them look around them upon the holy place, and everywhere "behold" reasons for sacred praise. Let them look above them at night and magnify Him that made heaven and earth, and lighted the one with stars and the other with his love. Let them see to it that their hallelujahs never come to an end. Their departing brethren arouse them with the shrill cry of "Behold!" Behold! - see, take care, be on the watch, diligently mind your work, and incessantly adore and bless Jehovah's name.”]]
There are so many cases of the word “Behold” in the New Testament but one of them is very significant in the Church calendar right at this time – {{Mark 16:6 He said to them, “Do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. BEHOLD, here is the place where they laid Him,”}}. The Lord has risen! COME, look around you. Look at the place where the Lord was laid and see that He is not here! How very important that “Behold” really is!
“Bless the LORD!” The pilgrims standing in the Temple address those who have the night watch to tell them to bless the Lord. We say the same things to one another. However what does the term mean?
In one sense it means giving, as in giving thanks to the LORD and honouring God for all He is and what He does and has done. It is like a cousin for “Praise the Lord!” I like the way Matthew Henry puts this – [[“We must stir up ourselves to give glory to God, and encourage ourselves to hope for mercy and grace from him. It is an excellent plan to fill up all our spare minutes with pious meditations, and prayers and praises. No time would then be a burden, nor should we murder our hours by trifling conversation and vain amusements, or by carnal indulgences.”]]
We will finish this section with a quote from Spurgeon again on how he sees the meaning of the injunction “Bless the LORD” – [[Think well of Jehovah, and speak well of him. Adore him with reverence; draw near to him with love; delight in him with exultation. Be not content with praise, such as all his works render to him; but, as his saints, see that ye "bless" him.]]
Christians, we too must bless the Lord for all His character, and works, and that He loved us and gave Himself for us. Bless the Lord!
PART 2
[[all servants of the LORD]] In the immediate context, the ones addressed are the night watchmen who cared for and guarded the Temple. They served the LORD in their duties. Maybe it was the pilgrims or some Temple official who gave this order to bless the LORD. It would both challenge the workers in the Temple and inspire them in service. (Spurgeon thinks it may have been the pilgrims farewelling the night watch as the pilgrims leave very early to return home).
These are servants called to a high office in serving the LORD in His house, serving with diligence and respect and not with divided heart. They were in a privileged position but privilege brings true responsibility. Woe betides anyone who is called to serve the Lord and does it carelessly with mixed motives.
A careless priest in the Temple would not attend to his duty and an oil lamp would go out. How many Christians are lukewarm or give little priority to the word of the Lord Jesus and let the lights go out. Jesus is the Light of the world and we are reflective lights, but sometimes we disgrace our testimonies and we don’t reflect any light at all. We have betrayed our responsibility and when that happens we must truly repent and the gracious Lord forgives and restores.
THE DUTIES OF THE TEMPLE-WATCH
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament fills in some interesting background which I repeat here -
[[The Psalm begins, like its predecessor, with ????; There it directs attention to an attractive phenomenon, here to a duty that springs from the office. For that, it is not the persons frequenting the Temple who are addressed, and is at once clear from the fact that the tarrying of these in the Temple through the night, when such a thing did actually occur (Luke 2:37), was only an exception. And then, however, from the fact that ??? is the customary word for the service of the priests and Levites, Deuteronomy 10:8; Deuteronomy 18:7; 1 Chronicles 23:30; 2 Chronicles 29:11 (cf. on Isaiah 61:10, and Psalm 110:4), which is also continued in the night, 1 Chronicles 9:33.
Even the Targum refers Psalm 134:1 to the Temple-watch. In the second Temple the matter was arranged thus: After midnight the chief over the gate-keepers took the keys of the inner Temple and went with some of the priests through the little wicket of the Fire Gate (???? ??? ?????). In the inner court this patrol divided into two companies, each with a burning torch; one company turned west, the other east, and so they compassed the court to see whether everything was in readiness for the service of the dawning day. At the bakers' chamber, in which the Mincha of the high priest was baked (????? ???? ??????), they met with the cry: “All is well.”
In the meanwhile the rest of the priests also arose, bathed, and put on their garments. Then they went into the stone chamber (one half of which was the place of session of the Sanhedrim), where, under the superintendence of the chief over the drawing of the lots and of a judge, around whom stood all the priests in their robes of office, the functions of the priests in the service of the coming day were assigned to them by lot.”]]
PART 3
[[who serve by night in the house of the LORD!]] The reference is to the priestly office of those who serve in the Temple. These are those on the night watch who guard and care for the ministrations in the Temple. Maybe there was loneliness attached to this service in the night hours, but I will say from experience, those night hours can be the most rewarding before the Lord. A lot of my messages and thoughts and poems come in the night in the silence that is around and the quietness of your surrounds.
Inspiration comes by night and job said this – {{Job 35:10 “But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives SONGS IN THE NIGHT?”}} Job was in great distress having lost virtually everything but in the stillness, God gave him songs in the night as comfort and joy.
The psalmist Asaph was going through a very tough time and his Psalm outlines his feelings but here is his comfort in the night songs in his heart – {{Psalm 77:3-6 “When I remember God, then I am disturbed. When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah. You have held my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. I WILL REMEMBER MY SONG IN THE NIGHT. I will MEDITATE with my heart and my spirit ponders.”}}
Charles Spurgeon once gave a famous sermon called “Songs in the Night” and here is an excerpt from it, so very true - [[ “Any one can sing in the day. When the cup is full, one draws inspiration from it; when wealth rolls in abundance around them, any one can sing to the praise of a God who gives an abundant harvest. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skilful singer is the one who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by - who sings from their heart, and not from a book that they can see, because they have no means of reading, except from that inward book of their living spirit, where notes of gratitude pour out in songs of praise.
No one can create a song in the night by themselves; they may attempt it, but they will learn how difficult it is. Let all things go as I please - I will weave songs, weave them wherever I go, with the flowers that grow along my path; but put me in a desert, where there are no flowers, and how will I weave a chorus of praise to God? How will I make a crown for him? Let this voice be free, and this body be full of health, and I can sing God's praise; but stop this tongue, lay me on the bed of suffering, and it is not so easy to sing from the bed, and chant high praises in the fires. Give me the bliss of spiritual liberty, and let me mount up to my God, get near the throne, and I will sing, yes, sing as sweet as angels; but confine me, chain my spirit, clip my wings, make me very sad, so that I become old like the eagle - ah! then it is hard to sing. It is not in our power to sing, when everything is difficult. It is not natural to sing in times of trouble –” ]]
[2]. THE SECOND VERSE
Psalm 134:2 [[Lift up your hands to the sanctuary]] [[and bless the LORD.]]
PART 1
[[Lift up your hands to the sanctuary]]. The command is stated again and I believe it again is addressed to the night watchmen who do their ministry at night in the Temple of the LORD. They were to lift up their hands to the sanctuary.
It would be automatic to ask what is the sanctuary?
Before we go any further, there are those who say the translation should be to lift up your hands in holiness. Some say lift up your hands to the holy place, which is the special part of the Holy of Holies. That general section of the Temple and Tabernacle is the most sacred in the Temple, in fact in all the world, and can be called the Sanctuary.
Rather than describe it to you in my words we will let Paul speak (Yes, I am convinced Paul wrote Hebrews) – {{Hebrews 9:2-5 “for there was a tabernacle prepared, THE OUTER ONE, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread - THIS IS CALLED THE HOLY PLACE. Behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle WHICH IS CALLED THE HOLY OF HOLIES, having a GOLDEN ALTAR OF INCENSE and THE ARK OF THE COVENANT covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing THE MERCY SEAT, but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.”}}
Only the priests could minister in the holy place but only the High Priest could enter into the holiest place, the Holy of Holies where was the ark. (Moses had special privileges.) It was in the Holy of Holies where God dwelt among His people Israel. His presence was there.
That is the area in the Temple to where the ministering night watchmen were told to lift up their hands. It represented worship and praise and honour and awe to the LORD. Although I don’t think it is intended, that command could also apply to the visiting pilgrims at the Temple as they stood there in devotion. Their souls were grateful and full of praise.
What about me? What about you? Can we lift up our hands towards the ARK of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ? Lifting up your hands and arms and hearts means you recognise who the Lord is and your whole being goes out to Him. Can you do that or are you walking in sin with a failed testimony?
PART 2
[[and bless the LORD.]] The praise, honour and worship that goes to the Lord is all part of the blessing. Just for interest, Strong’s says this for the Hebrew word for bless - to bless, kneel be adored, to cause to kneel, to praise, salute. The Temple watchmen – indeed all the priests and the people – all need to bless the Lord. It is so absent in our world and blessing has been replaced by cursing and blasphemy.
We in churches must do this (blessing) more in worship and in private. Singing while standing and chanting repetitive choruses with few words many times is not blessing the Lord. It is called worship but it is not at all. In fact it is mind-numbing.
Here is a poem of mine written to praise the Lord. If it does not mean much to you, it certainly does to me. Poetry is subjective.
ALL GLORY HONOUR AND PRAISE BE TO THE LORD
We look to Him, our blesse´d Lord;
The Victor ascended, in heaven adored.
We look to Jesus, our Saviour and Friend,
Our Prophet and Priest, Redeemer and End.
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All heaven will worship one day,
The Lamb of God, the Humble One on display.
He is worthy, worthy of all the praise
That the gathered hosts, of the slain Lamb, raise.
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Great High Priest of our confession,
Will be worshipped in glorious expression.
Jesus stands in resurrection glory;
The Pinnacle of redemption’s story.
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Creator of the universe,
Who through time, from start to finish, can traverse;
Majestic Lord through whom all things consist,
And all created living forms exist.
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The Way, the Truth, the great I AM,
The Door to heaven through the sacrificed Lamb.
My Shepherd of the sheep; His life He gave;
Jesus my Sacrifice, mighty to save.
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Intercessor and Advocate –
What love is His that caused You, Son incarnate,
To die as my Substitute on the tree,
To redeem from sin, and then set me free!
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Fairly, the Judge of the world acts.
The Righteous One will judge according to facts.
Soon He’ll come, Lord of Lords and King of Kings;
Forever exalted, all heaven sings.
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R E Ferguson - Completed on 28 December 2021.
Metre = 8-11-10-10 throughout. A-A-B-B
[3]. THE THIRD VERSE
Psalm 134:3 [[May the LORD bless you from Zion,]] [[He who made heaven and earth.”]]
PART 1
[[May the LORD bless you from Zion,]]. Now there is a prayer, a request for the Lord’s blessings to go forth from Zion. The request is made in the scriptures to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), but here blessings will stream from Jerusalem. When this Psalm was written, I believe it meant the LORD’S blessings be upon His people Israel, but now under the new covenant, those blessings streaming from Jerusalem are for God’s people worldwide. Of course the blessings from Calvary in Jerusalem are for the whole world.
We recall a verse from Psalm 129 when we studied that one – {{Psalm 129:8 “Nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you. WE BLESS YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.”}}. God loves to bless but remember He can not bless an unclean vessel. Pray for God’s blessings upon others.
PART 2
[[He who made heaven and earth.”]]
Why end the verse and the Psalm that way? Why mention the maker of heaven and earth? Well I think the Holy Spirit did that deliberately of course because we are talking about the One who was requested to “bless you from Zion”. It is not just anyone who provides the blessing but One so powerful that He made heaven and earth. Little could the psalmist have known just how powerful God really is. The Lord created the heavens and the earth, not Mr Big Bang.
He saw the twinkling of the stars as dots in a firmament like studs on a cushion. He had no concept of the immensity of the universe. He had never heard of James Webb! A God that powerful knows all about blessing!
This brings us to the end of this remarkable collection of the Psalms of Ascent. I hope you were blessed by something in this series. Amen. {{Psalm 103:1 “BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget none of His benefits;”}}
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
