A lamentation, the psalm is set in Judah’s exile in Babylon.

v.1-3 Sitting by a stream of water, weeping for Zion, the exiles are required by their captors to sing a song of Zion.
v.4-6 The exiles protest: how can we sing in a foreign land? They vow to remember Jerusalem.
v.7-9 The poem ends in imprecation (a call for retribution against Edom and Babylon). See Jer 51:56.

The captives are treated most cruelly; but, the psalm contrasts with the NT teaching that we should give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thes 5:18).

Read Psalm 137

A praise psalm. His Steadfast Love Endures Forever.

v.1-3 Give thanks to the Lord, the God of gods, the Lord of lords.
v.4-9 A celebration of creation.
v.10-16 A celebration of the exodus.
v.17-22 A celebration of the conquest of the promised land.
v.23-25 A celebration of the Lord’s mercies.
v.26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
for his steadfast love endures forever. (For his love has no end.)

The psalm calls us to thoughtful, reflective worship of God for his character (1), his sovereignty (2f.), what he has made (4ff.), what he has done (10ff.), and what he continues to do (25).

Read Psalm 136

A praise psalm. A call to praise the one true God who is Lord over creation, over all the nations, and of redemption.

Praise the Lord!
v.1-4 Call to praise the Lord (x3): for he is good (Ps 52:9), his name is pleasant, and he has chosen Israel (Dt 7:6).
v.5-7 More reasons for praise: He is great, he is above all gods, he does whatsoever he pleases, he makes clouds rise, lightening and rain, he brings forth the wind. See Jer 10:13.
v.8-12 The Lord’s mighty works for Israel (past salvation). See Ps 136:17-22.
v.13-14 The Lord’s name endures forever (Ps 102:12) and he will vindicate his people (Dt 32:36a) (future salvation).
v.15-18 The idols of the nations are worthless. Those that make them, or trust in them, become like them (dead). See Ps 115:4-8.
v.19-21 Let all Israel, and all who fear the Lord, bless the Lord. See Ps 115:12-13.
Praise the Lord!

The psalm teaches that the Lord is superior to any so-called “god” or idol (which are worthless). The name of the Lord should be praised publicly, privately, and continuously.

Read Psalm 135

A Song of Ascents. This is the last of 15 “Songs of Ascents” (Ps 120-134). They were sung by pilgrims on their way up to the temple at Jerusalem three times a year for the major feasts.

A call to evening worship.
v.1-2 Servants of the Lord standing in the temple at night (1 Chr 9:23-27) are called to praise (bless) the Lord, lifting up their hands to the holy place (1 Tim 2:8).
v.3 Pronouncement of a blessing from God (who made heaven and earth) in Zion on the people (Ps 115:15).

The true Mount Zion is Jesus, as mediator of the new covenant (Heb 12:22-24). “For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” (Ps 133:3b, see also Jn 3:16)

Read Psalm 134

A Song of Ascents. Of David. A celebration of unity.

v.1-3 David muses on “how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (See Gal 3:26) Like oil (Ex 30:25) running down the beard and like the dew (Hos 14:5) on Mount Zion. For there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forevermore (descending from heaven at Christ’s 2^nd coming, Is 26:19).

The Lord has called believers to live in harmony with their brothers in Christ. This unity is a gift from God above. The Holy Spirit is the ointment by which believers in Christ are anointed.

Read Psalm 133

A Song of Ascents. A royal psalm and a meditation on 2 Sm 7. See also Ps 89.

v.1-5 Petition to God that he remember David, the hardships he endured, and his vow to establish a dwelling place for the Lord (2 Sm 7:1-2).
v.6-7 The ark is found in the fields of Jaar (2 Sm 6:2-15, 1 Chr 13:5-8) and it is heard in Israel: let us worship God in his dwelling place.
v.8-10 “Arise, O Lord” was said whenever the ark was moved in the time of Moses (Nm 10:35). Here the Lord is asked to go to his resting place and clothe his priests with righteousness.
v.11-12 God’s covenant with David (2 Sm 7:11b-16, , 1 Kgs 9:1-9). The fulfillment is in the Messiah (Jesus Christ).
v.13-18 The answer to v.1-10. The Lord has chosen Zion as his dwelling place and will bless it.

Wherever believers meet to worship, and where the word of God is proclaimed, is God’s house. The building is not what counts, but rather the spiritual reality of what happens inside.

Read Psalm 132

A Song of Ascents. Of David. A hymn.

v.1 The psalmist rejects the sins of pride, presumption, and selfish ambition.
v.2 Like a child weaned from his mother (and therefore no longer fretting for milk, content to be at his mother’s side) the psalmist has calmed and quieted his soul.
v.3 The psalmist therefore calls on Israel to hope in the Lord forever.

The psalm anticipates the object lesson, concerning child-like faith, of Mt 18:1-4. It counsels Israel to engage in quite contemplation before action.

Read Psalm 131

A Song of Ascents. A penitential psalm.

v.1-2 From the depths of his heart, the psalmist cries out (in prayer) to the Lord for mercy.
v.3-4 The issue at hand is the psalmist’s sin (or guilt) before God. The psalmist is confident that there is forgiveness in the Lord (that he may be feared).
v.5-6 The psalmist waits on the Lord (more so than a watchmen for the sunrise, a hope that will not fail, no matter how long the night may seem—morning comes at its appointed time) and expresses his hope in his word.
v.7-8 The focus shifts from the psalmist to all of Israel. Israel is called to hope in the Lord in whom there is plentiful redemption. He will redeem all Israel from its sins.

Self-help books are no answer when the soul cries out from the depths of distress. There is hope to be found only in the Lord and his word.

Read Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

v.1-4 Israel says: greatly have they persecuted me from my youth (the exodus, Hos 11:1); but they have not prevailed against me. They wounded my back with deep, long wounds (like Christ, Jn 19:1) like a plowman plowing his fields. But the Lord is righteous and he has freed me from their grip.
v.5-8 May those who hate Israel be put to shame, make them like withered grass that the reaper ignores. Let not the blessing of the Lord fall upon them (cf. Ru 2:4).

This psalm indicates that the life of faith is not pain free. There are many harsh realities to our journey here on earth. But the psalmist is confident that God will bring his judgment full circle. The plowmen who cut the furrows become the useless harvest in the end. Trust in God and you may get knocked around, but you will be victorious in the end (2 Cor 4:8-9).

Read Psalm 129

A Song of Ascents. A wisdom psalm.

v.1-4 Blessed is he who fears the Lord and walks in his way:
- you will eat the fruit of the labor of your hands
- you will be blessed and it will be well with you
- your wife will be fruitful and your children will be like olive shoots
v.5-6 Benediction.
- May the Lord bless you all your days
- May you see your children’s children
- Peace be upon Israel

This psalm teaches the blessings (stability and peace) that belong to those who fear the Lord and walk in his way.

Read Psalm 128