Slices
Prepare
‘Speak, O Lord, as we come to you / To receive the food of your holy Word /Take your truth, plant it deep in us; / shape and fashion us in your likeness.’*
*Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, ‘Speak, O Lord’, © Thankyou Music Ltd, 2006
Bible passage
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.
5 I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings –
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan –
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures for ever,
your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Explore
Singing is supposed to be good for us, and it’s great to do it in praise of God. Whether or not we like a particular hymn or worship song, it is lovely (‘pleasant’, v 3) to sing about the Lord and the reputation he deserves (v 13).
So praise the Lord! This psalm writer does not hesitate to lift verses from other psalms (eg Psalms 134,115), to express how he has found that his God is incomparably great. The Lord is sovereign throughout his creation and unrivalled in his power (vs 5–7). His people are his choice possession, and he has famously intervened to save them from historical enemies. Their land was a gift from him, and their future is assured (vs 8–12,14). Do you have a way of recalling God’s interventions that have been special to you?
Man-made gods, by contrast, are just metal constructions (vs 15–17). They have no life or vision. They do not listen or communicate. Verse 18 might suggest we will become like what we worship. We who worship Jesus Christ hope it is so!
The psalm ends by calling us, for the eleventh time, to praise the living Lord, who blesses his people (134:3) and dwells with them (v 21).
Respond
Sing out your praise, joining the praise of the worldwide church and all the company of heaven!
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 29–31; 1 Corinthians 2
Pray for Scripture Union
Give thanks to God for Praise and Play – for Faith Guide Tina, for her Early Years skills, for her responding to the need of a young mum and others in the community, and for making the group a safe space for caregivers and children to explore faith together.
