Psalms 133-135

August 17, 2025, Stephen Burt

Scripture:

Psalm 133

How Pleasant To Live In Harmony

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers live together in harmony!

2 It is like fine oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down Aaron’s beard

over the collar of his robes.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon

falling on the mountains of Zion.

For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing

of life forevermore.

Psalm 134

Bless the LORD, All You Servants

A song of ascents.

1 Come, bless the LORD,

all you servants of the LORD

who serve by night

in the house of the LORD!

2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary

and bless the LORD!

3 May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.

Psalm 135

Give Praise O Servants Of The Lord

1 Hallelujaha!

Praise the name of the LORD.

Give praise, O servants of the LORD,

2 who stand in the house of the LORD,

in the courts of the house of our God.

3 Hallelujah, for the LORD is good;

sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own,

Israel as His treasured possession.

5 For I know that the LORD is great;

our Lord is above all gods.

6 The LORD does all that pleases Him

in the heavens and on the earth,

in the seas and in all their depths.

7 He causes the clouds to rise

from the ends of the earth.

He generates the lightning with the rain

and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

of both man and beast.

9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,

against Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 He struck down many nations

and slaughtered mighty kings:

11 Sihon king of the Amorites,

Og king of Bashan,

and all the kings of Canaan.

12 He gave their land as an inheritance,

as a heritage to His people Israel.

13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever,

Your renown, O LORD, through all generations.

14 For the LORD will vindicate His peopleb

and will have compassion on His servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

made by the hands of men.

16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;

they have eyes, but cannot see;

17 they have ears, but cannot hear;

nor is there breath in their mouths.

18 Those who make them become like them,

as do all who trust in them.

19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD;

O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD;

you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!

21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion—

He who dwells in Jerusalem.

Hallelujah!

Takeaways:

Psalm 133 was written by David. In this psalm David speaks to the joy of living in harmony with others. Living in harmony with those around us is one of the greatest gifts that we can give to ourselves. Anyone who has ever lived in a neighborhood with a “Karen”[not a real person] can attest to how tense it can be living under the dissension that just one person can cause. A church cannot achieve God’s goals for itself when it is divided and out of harmony. It is up to each of us to do our part to understand that not everyone in our church thinks just as we do. We must seek to look at the ultimate goal of our church which is to

further the kingdom of God. We can only achieve this goal if we are all pulling in the same direction. Psalm 134 may have been written by Hezekiah. It is the last of the Psalms of ascents. As a reminder, these songs would have been sung by pilgrims as they approached the temple for festival days. The phrase “all you servants of the Lord who serve by night” refers to the Levites who protect the temple day and night. The Levites took their job very seriously and viewed their work as an act of praise. Jesus gave us a job to do. We are a “Royal Priesthood” with the utterly important job of bringing the lost to Jesus. Are we like the Levite’s who take their job seriously? Let us pray that we do. Psalm 135 was penned by an anonymous writer. This psalm is a bold hymn of praise to God. It celebrates the greatness of God and all that God had done for the Jews throughout history. A contrast between worshiping God and idols of gold and silver is made clear. We can worship God and become more like the perfection Jesus’ shows us or we can worship other Gods and become more like these Gods. These Gods may be pride, money, power, prestige, influence or whatever we choose. If we make these the lords of our life, we will find only a

hollow existence completely ruled by something that cannot satisfy. True satisfaction can only come from having God rule our lives.

Prayer:

Lord Father we praise You and give You all the glory for what you have done and

still do in our lives. We find joy and satisfaction in doing the work that You have entrusted into our care. May You find us faithful in our duties and grow closer to the perfection shown to us by Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.