Step Into Faith

Chapter Reflection

This psalm gathers the community into the temple courts to celebrate a God who is both intimately present and boundlessly sovereign. The text moves from the cosmic—bringing wind from secret treasuries and vapor from the earth’s edge—to the historical, where God acts as the deliverer from bondage. A sharp, psychological contrast is drawn between the living Creator and the static, breathless idols of silver and gold. To worship that which is mute and sightless is to become like it, losing the vital breath that defines the human person. The psalm culminates in the assurance that God will 'repent himself' concerning His servants, showing a Lord whose justice is tempered by a deep, responsive mercy toward His own creation.

Divine SovereigntyBreath of LifeIdolatrous EmptinessHistorical Deliverance
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Psalms 135

1Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

2Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,

3Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

4For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

5For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

6Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

7He 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.

8Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

9Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.

10Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;

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

12And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people.

13Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations.

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

15The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

16They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

17They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

18They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

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

20Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.

21Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Who God is

How does it transform your awe to see God as the one who simultaneously commands the deep places of the sea and remains tenderly moved to compassion for his servants?

The condition of man

If you become what you behold, what does the 'breathless' nature of the world’s idols reveal about the fragility of your own interior life when you trust in them?