Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary
Last part: To lift hands during prayer
Psalms 134, 135 and 136 all begin with an instruction to praise God. But each Psalm uses a different word for ‘praise’. For example, Psalm 135 uses the famous word ‘Hallelujah’, which means ‘Praise the *LORD’.
In Psalm 134, the word for ‘praise’ is the word that we also translate ‘bless’. That word appears in all three verses of Psalm 134.
‘To bless’ means ‘to declare God’s goodness’. In Psalm 134:1 and Psalm 134:2, the priests bless God. In other words, they declare to God that he is good. That is, they praise God. In Psalm 134:3, the priests bless the people. In other words, they declare God’s goodness to his people. On behalf of God, they declare that God will show his goodness to his people.
So Psalm 134:1-2 are the people’s words to the priests. And Psalm 134:3 is the priests’ reply. They do what God told them to do in Numbers 6:22-27. They bless God’s people.
In English, the word ‘you’ can mean one person (singular) or several people (plural). In other languages, it is clear whether the word ‘you’ is singular or plural. And here, in Psalm 134:3, as in Numbers 6:24-26, the word ‘you’ is singular. That may seem strange, because the priests bless all the people. But the word is singular because the priests are blessing each person. That is, God cares about each person. God, who made heaven and earth, cares about each one of his people.
God would show them his goodness ‘from Zion’. God’s house, called the temple, was on the mountain called Zion, in Jerusalem. And God was using his temple to show his goodness to his people. God was accepting the *sacrifices that the priests offered there. God was carrying out there the promises that he had made to his people.
The temple was a special place because of God’s special relationship with Israel. And, like the prayers and the *sacrifices there, God’s relationship with Israel was continuous. He did not neglect his people when they returned home from their sacred holidays. He is the God whose love never ends (Psalm 136).
Next part: Psalm 134 as poetry
See the word list for explanation of words with a *
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© 2015, Keith Simons.