4For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
         Israel for His own possession.

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

6Whatever the LORD pleases, He does,
         In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.

7He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
         Who makes lightnings for the rain,
         Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

8He smote the firstborn of Egypt,
         Both of man and beast.

9He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
         Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

10He smote many nations
         And slew mighty kings,

11Sihon, king of the Amorites,
         And Og, king of Bashan,
         And all the kingdoms of Canaan;

12And He gave their land as a heritage,
         A heritage to Israel His people.

13Your name, O LORD, is everlasting,
         Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.

14For the LORD will judge His people
         And will have compassion on His servants.

15The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
         The work of man’s hands.

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

17They have ears, but they do not hear,
         Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.

18Those who make them will be like them,
         Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

19O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
         O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

20O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
         You who revere the LORD, bless the LORD.

21Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
         Who dwells in Jerusalem.
         Praise the LORD!

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Praise the LORD because he is good. Make music to praise his name because his name is beautiful.

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

Douay-Rheims Bible
Praise ye the Lord, for the Lord is good: sing ye to his name, for it is sweet.

Darby Bible Translation
Praise ye Jah; for Jehovah is good: sing psalms unto his name; for it is pleasant.

English Revised Version
Praise ye the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

Webster's Bible Translation
Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good; sing praises to his name; for it is pleasant.

World English Bible
Praise Yah, for Yahweh is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant.

Young's Literal Translation
Praise ye Jah! for Jehovah is good, Sing praise to His name, for it is pleasant.

Cross References

Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.

Psalm 92:1 A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 119:68 You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 147:1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 135

This is one of the Hallelujah-psalms; that is the title of it, and that is the Amen of it, both its Alpha and its Omega. I. It begins with a call to praise God, particularly a call to the "servants of the Lord" to praise him, as in the foregoing psalm (v. 1-3). II. It goes on to furnish us with matter for praise. God is to be praised, 1. As the God of Jacob (v. 4). 2. As the God of gods (v. 5). 3. As the God of the whole world (v. 6, 7). 4. As a terrible God to the enemies of Israel (v. 8-11). 5. As a gracious God to Israel, both in what he had done for them and what he would do (v. 12-14). 6. As the only living God, all other gods being vanity and a lie (v. 15-18). III. It concludes with another exhortation to all persons concerned to praise God (v. 19-21). In singing this psalm our hearts must be filled, as well as our mouths, with the high praises of God.

Verses 1-4

Here is, 1. The duty we are called to-to praise the Lord, to praise his name; praise him, and again praise him. We must not only thank him for what he has done for us, but praise him for what he is in himself and has done for others; take all occasions to speak well of God and to give his truths and ways a good word. 2. The persons that are called upon to do this-the servants of the Lord, the priests and Levites that stand in his house, and all the devout and pious Israelites that stand in the courts of his house to worship there, v. 2. Those that have most reason to praise God who are admitted to the privileges of his house, and those see most reason who there behold his beauty and taste his bounty; from them it is expected, for to that end they enjoy their places. Who should praise him if they do not? 3. The reasons why we should praise God. (1.) Because he whom we are to praise is good, and goodness is that which every body will speak well of. He is good to all, and we must give him the praise of that. His goodness is his glory, and we must make mention of it to his glory. (2.) Because the work is its own wages: Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant. It is best done with a cheerful spirit, and we shall have the pleasure of having done our duty. It is a heaven upon earth to be praising God; and the pleasure of that should quite put our mouths out of taste for the pleasures of sin. (3.) Because of the peculiar privileges of God's people (v. 4): The Lord hath chosen Jacob to himself, and therefore Jacob is bound to praise him; for therefore God chose a people to himself that they might be unto him for a name and a praise (Jer. 13:11), and therefore Jacob has abundant matter for praise, being thus dignified and distinguished. Israel is God's peculiar treasure above all people (Ex. 19:5); they are his Segullah, a people appropriated to him, and that he has a delight in, precious in his sight and honourable. For this distinguishing surprising favour, if the seed of Jacob do not praise him, they are the most unworthy ungrateful people under the sun.

Calvin's Commentary

1. Praise ye the name of Jehovah, [153] praise him, O ye servants of Jehovah! 2. Ye who stand in the house of Jehovah, and ye who stand in the courts of the house of our God. [154] 3. Praise God, for good is Jehovah: sing unto his name, for it is pleasant. 4. For God hath chosen Jacob [155] unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

1. Praise ye the name of Jehovah Though this Psalm begins almost in the same manner with the preceding, the Psalmist would not appear to be addressing the Levites exclusively, but the people generally, since the reasons given for praising God are equally applicable to all God's children. No mention is made of night watching, or of their standing constantly in the Temple. But indeed, as it was the special duty of the priests to take the lead in this devotional exercise, to give out, if we might use such an expression, and sing the praises of God before the people, there is no reason why we should not suppose that they are primarily addressed, and stirred up to their duty. We need only to examine the words more closely in order to be convinced that the people are included as next in order to the priests. [156] For the Psalmist addresses the servants of God who stand in the temple, then those who are in the courts, whereas no notice was taken of the courts in the former Psalm. Mention seems to be made of courts in the plural number, because the priests had their court; and then there was another common to all the people, for by the law spoken of, (Leviticus 16:17,) they were prohibited from entering the sanctuary. To prevent any feeling of disgust which might arise from the very frequent repetition of this exhortation to the praises of God, it is only necessary to remember, as was already observed, that there is no sacrifice in which he takes greater delight than the expression of our gratitude. Thus, (Psalm 50:14,)

"Sacrifice unto the Lord thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High;"

and, (Psalm 116:12, 13,)

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord."

Particular attention is to be paid to those passages of Scripture which speak in such high terms of that worship of God which is spiritual; otherwise we may be led, in the exercise of a misguided zeal, to spend our labor upon trifles, and in this respect imitate the example of too many who have wearied themselves with ridiculous attempts to invent additions to the service of God, while they have neglected what is of all other things most important. This is the reason why the Holy Spirit so repeatedly inculcates the duty of praise. It is that we may not undervalue, or grow careless in this devotional exercise. It implies, too, an indirect censure of our tardiness in proceeding to the duty, for he would not reiterate the admonition were we ready and active in the discharge of it. The expression in the end of the verse -- because it is sweet, admits of two meanings -- that the name of God is sweet, as in the previous clause it was said that God is good -- or, that it is a sweet and pleasant thing to sing God's praises. The Hebrew word nym naim, properly signifies beautiful or comely, and this general signification answers best. [157]

4. For God hath chosen Jacob Other reasons are given afterwards why they should praise God, drawn from his government of the world. But as it was only the children of Abraham who were favored with the knowledge of God at that time, and were capable of praising him, the Psalmist directs them to the fact of their having been chosen by God to be his peculiar people, as affording matter for thanksgiving. The mercy was surely one of incomparable value, and which might well stir them up to fervent gratitude and praise, adopted as they were into favor with God, while the whole Gentile world was passed by. The praise of their election is given by the Psalmist to God -- a clear proof that they owed the distinction not to any excellency of their own, but to the free mercy of God the Father which had been extended to them. He has laid all without exception under obligation to his service, for

"he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good." (Matthew 5:45.)

But he bound the posterity of Abraham to him by a closer tie, such as that by which he now adopts men generally into his Church, and unites them with the body of his only-begotten Son. [158]

Footnotes:

[153] "Perhaps the original, hllv sm yhvh, halelu et shem Jehovah, should be translated, Praise ye the namee Jehovah: that is, praise God in his infinite essence, of being, holiness, goodness, and truth."--Dr. Adam Clarke.

[154] The words ye who stand we have supplied in the second clause, as being necessary to bring out the sense which Calvin attaches to it. The vyt yhvh "the house of Jehovah," mentioned in the first clause, remarks Men-dlessohn in his Beor, is the place where the priests stood; whilst "the courts" surrounding the temple, referred to in the second clause, were occupied by the people when engaged in their public prayers.

[155] The name "Jacob" is here put by metonymy for the posterity of Jacob, as is evident from the parallelism of the two members.

[156] "Et quand on advisera de bien pres aux mots, on y trouvera que le peuple est adjoint, etc."--Fr.

[157] "Signifie proprement chose bien seante ou belle: et ce sens general convient mieux." -- Fr.

[158] "Comme c'est aujourd'huy de tous ceux qu'il adopte en sa bergerie, et ente au corps de son fils unique." -- Fr.

Links

Psalm 135 Commentaries: Barnes • Calvin • Clarke • Darby • Gill • Geneva • Guzik • JFB • Keil / Delitzsch • KJV Translators' • Henry's Concise • Matthew Henry • Scofield • TSK • Treasury of David • Wesley

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