{"id":8554,"date":"2023-11-09T09:58:26","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T15:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=8554"},"modified":"2023-11-18T08:13:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T14:13:44","slug":"psalm-134","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=8554","title":{"rendered":"Psalm 134"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Song of Ascents.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

1 <\/span>Behold, bless the Lord<\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\nAll you servants of the Lord<\/span>,<\/span><\/em>
\nWho by night stand in the house of the Lord<\/span>!<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n

2\u00a0<\/sup>Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd bless the Lord<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>The Lord<\/span> who made heaven and earth<\/span><\/em>
\nBless you from Zion!<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

The theme of complete or “utmost” blessing\u2014both to and from the Lord and His people\u2014is structurally reinforced by the three-fold repetition (i.e., once in each verse) of the verb “bless.” \u2014 Wechsler, page 320.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Picking on the specific notion\u2014in this case “blessing”\u2014with which the previous psalm ended, this psalm begins with the exhortation to respond in like kind\u2014i.e., that those who have been blessed by the Lord with the guarantee of “eternal life” (Psalm 133:3b<\/span><\/a>) respond in worship by themselves blessing the LORD. Thous the expression “those who stand in the house of the Lord” certainly includes the Levites who would minister in the temple, considering the context and culminating place of this psalm, it also unquestionably includes reference to all<\/em> Israelite worshipers and pilgrims to the Temple who seek to worship God in gratitude and praise. The reference to this worship taking place by night (lit., “in the nights”) is intended to underscore the unbroken continuity of this worship … especially during the pilgrimage festivals (i.e., Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles). \u2014 Wechsler, pages 320-321.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Sanctuary (v.2) = Holy of Holies<\/h3>\n

The worshiper’s focus on the Temple is motivated not by the “house” itself, but by the presence of God Himself therein. To lift up one’s hands to Him, moreover, highlights that important relational facet of worship characterized by the worshiper’s utter submission to and dependence on God as the One who is not only able, but willing to meet His child’s deepest and most pressing needs (cf. the parallelism between “I lift up my hands” and “My supplications”\/”I cry … for help” in Psalm 28:2<\/span><\/a>; this is also the likely signification in 1 Timothy 2:8<\/span><\/a>). \u2014 Wechsler, page 322.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

This psalm\u2014and hence the Songs of Ascent\u2014concludes, most fittingly, on the note of blessing going forth from the LORD Himself, the Source of all blessing, from His “place” in Zion\u2014the reference being not just to what was in the days of the First and Second Temples, but also to what will always be, from the days of Christ’s advent to the Third Temple and beyond. \u2014 Wechsler, page 322.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is the last of the Songs of the Ascents, and all is sunshine and blessing. It is a scene of millennial peace and glory. Messiah as Creator of the heavens and of the earth, is enthroned in Zion (v.3), and from thence, as a source, blessing flows forth. Men will then lift their eyes to Zion (v.2) and from thence expect the supply of all their needs. …<\/span><\/h3>\n

“By night” may mean at the time of the evening sacrifice; or it may\u00a0 mean the praise which faith renders during the “night” that precedes the millennial dawn. \u2014 Williams, page 406.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Song of Ascents. 1 Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! 2\u00a0Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. 3\u00a0The Lord who made … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8554"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8577,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8554\/revisions\/8577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}