Come Bless the Lord

Sermon on Ascent Psalm 134

Introduction:
Psalm 134 is the last and concluding psalm in the series of psalms (from Ps. 120-134) known as the Songs of Ascent. We know that these psalms were often used mainly in the form of songs, prayers, blessings and encouragements for those pilgrims who are making long journeys away from home. We do not know exactly who wrote these psalms but it is possible that they have been written by several people. Generally, they are like the hymns we sing in church today. They often tell of stories of ages past and provide hope for the people who may be in present times of persecution. But no matter how much Israel has suffered, they always believed in a faithful God to bring them through their troubled times.

In this final song of praise to God, all the watchmen of Israel, the Levite priests, the servants of the Lord have been commanded by the psalmist to "Come, bless the Lord." This call is not a request but a command, "come!" By order, the priests who have been standing guard in the Temple have been asked by the psalmist to offer prayer and praise to Yahweh during their night guard duty. Because the "house of the Lord" mentioned here in this psalm could either be mobile (like the Ark of the Covenant) or permanent (like the Temple built by King David), the Levite priests provided a 24-hour watch guard over the holy things of the temple, that they might not be profaned, and the rich things of the temple, that they might not be plundered. The Levite priests make sure that neither the fire on the altar nor the lamps in the candlesticks went out.

Can we bless the Lord? How do we bless the Lord? The original meaning of the word for "bless" is to praise and give thanks. To put it in another way, to "bless the Lord," is also to "worship" God. Every Sunday, we gather in church to worship God; we are also, in fact, blessing God. One thing we learn from this psalm is that God can be worshipped anywhere and at anytime. We may think that only Sunday morning is the most appropriate time to worship God but for Israel, this is not so. The Levite priests were called to worship God during the night. This is an important truth about our God. He is to be worshipped throughout the day and even throughout the night. Time should not control when we can worship our Creator God. There is no specific appropriate time to worship God. Every time we worship God, it is appropriate time. It is God's time!

Sometimes, when we are unable to sleep at night, maybe we can take some time to sing quiet praises to Yahweh. Or spend some quiet moments in meditation and reflection on God and His everlasting Word. Sometimes, in the quiet of the night, it helps us to concentrate better when we read the Bible. There is no distracting, no loud music or noisy chattering. Just the Bible and you. Nothing else. Just focus your thoughts on our God. And learn to be still in the presence of our Lord and know that He is God. (Ps. 46.10) Especially in the quiet night, it is a beautiful experience. If you ever have the opportunity, I hope that you will try this at home some time.

Where can we worship God? Anywhere! In the psalms, even though we are told that the servants of the Lord worshipped God in the house of the Lord, this is because they were performing their night-watch at the Temple than outside. If they were wandering in the wilderness, it would have been translated as in the desert. God is to be worshipped whenever the people were at. And in one translation of v. 2 reads that we are to lift up your hands in the sanctuary, the original meaning should not be a place but a direction towards God. So a better translation should read, "to the holy place", to where God is. As long as our focus of worship is directed to God, it does not matter where we are. We could even be worshipping God in the slums. Church is a holy place not because it is a holy building, but because our holy God is in the house. Where God is worshipped, that place is holy. We are direct our praises to God and not restrict our worship in specific places.

How are we to worship God? The psalmist tells us to "lift up our hands". When we lift our hands in worship, we are engaging in an ancient practice of prayer and praise. This is a traditional gesture for worship. Of course, Israel is not the only nation to use such a gesture. Many Ancient Near Eastern nations also lift up their hands to worship, many of which include out of body trance, subconscious chanting and ritualistic child sacrifices. All of which our God detests. We must know who we are worshipping and our God do not demand such occult practices. Some of us are not used to the idea of kneeling and lifting of hands in worship. When we lift our hands in the direction of the heavens, it symbolizes our submission to the will of God. It is the same with kneeling and prostrating before our God, it also symbolizes our submission and obedience.

One of the most common complains about our lack of quiet time with God is "distractions". We complain that too many distractions take away our attention from God. And very often when we search for the perfect time and place to worship God, we never got down to it because we cannot find such a time and place. I think we ought to learn to worship God in all time and space. We must learn to turn our distractions into moments of peace and quiet. Maybe at times, we learn to tune out the noise, at times, we learn to appreciate that God may speak to us through these "noise". Let me share with you a story by Nancy B. Gibbs, a housewife, who struggles to find a perfect time to be still with God.

Be Still With God
All day long I had been very busy; picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms and scrubbing floors. My grown children were coming home for the weekend. I went grocery shopping and prepared for a barbecue supper, complete with ribs and chicken. I wanted everything to be perfect.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that I was dog-tired. I simply couldn't work as long as I could when I was younger. "I've got to rest for a minute," I told my husband, Roy, as I collapsed into my favorite rocking chair. Music was playing, my dog and cat were chasing each other and the telephone rang.

A scripture from Psalm 46 popped into my mind. "Be still, and know that I am God." I realized that I hadn't spent much time in prayer that day. Was I too busy to even utter a simple word of thanks to God? Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there, I thought. I longed for a few minutes alone with God.

Roy and I had invested a great deal of time and work in the patio that spring. The flowers and hanging baskets were breathtaking. It was definitely a heavenly place of rest and tranquility. If I can't be still with God in that environment, I can't be still with Him anywhere, I thought. While Roy was talking on the telephone, I slipped out the backdoor and sat down on my favorite patio chair. I closed my eyes and began to pray, counting my many blessings.

A bird flew by me, chirping and singing. It interrupted my thoughts. It landed on the bird feeder and began eating dinner as I watched. After a few minutes it flew away, singing another song.

I closed my eyes again. A gust of wind blew, which caused my wind chimes to dance. They made a joyful sound, but again I lost my concentration on God. I squirmed and wiggled in my chair. I looked up toward the blue sky and saw the clouds moving slowly toward the horizon. The wind died down. My wind chimes finally became quiet.

Again, I bowed in prayer. "Honk, honk," I heard. I almost jumped out of my skin. A neighbor was driving down the street. He waved at me and smiled. I waved back, happy that he cared. I quickly tried once again to settle down, repeating the familiar verse in my mind. Be still and know that I am God.
"I'm trying God. I really am," I whispered. "But you've got to help me here."

The backdoor opened. My husband walked outside. "I love you," he said. "I was wondering where you were." I chuckled, as he came over and kissed me, then turned around and went back inside.

"Where's the quiet time?" I asked God. My heart fluttered. There was no pain, only a beat that interrupted me yet again. This is impossible, I thought. There's no time to be still and to know that God is with me. There's too much going on in the world and entirely too much activity all around me.

Then it suddenly dawned on me. God was speaking to me the entire time I was attempting to be still. I remembered the music playing as I'd begun my quiet time. He sent a sparrow to lighten my life with song. He sent a gentle breeze. He sent a neighbor to let me know that I had a friend. He sent my sweetheart to offer sincere sentiments of love. He caused my heart to flutter to remind me of life. While I was trying to count my blessings, God was busy multiplying them.

I laughed to realize that the "interruptions" of my quiet time with God were special blessings He'd sent to show me He was with me the entire time.

Conclusion:
Of course there are numerous ways to worship God. Recently, I have been reading Thomas C. Oden's "Pastoral Theology". In the chapter on "The Teaching Elder", Oden describes beautifully how we can worship God through witnessing His creation in nature.
"Since heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows God's handiwork (Ps. 19:1), there is much in the natural sphere that can assist Christian learning. We can grasp the majesty and glory of God by analogy with the sun, the omnipresence of God by the innumerable stars, the eternity of God by thinking about the fleeting nature of time, the unlimited reach of God by the incredible space of the cosmos, the boundlessness of God's love by the breadth of the ocean, the glory and beauty of God by the visual beauty of the world."
Next time, when we think about the sun, the stars, time, the cosmos, the ocean, we ought to also reflect on His godly attributes: His majesty and glory, His omnipresence and eternity, His unlimited reach and the boundlessness of God's love and his beauty.

In the last verse, v. 3, the psalmist's final prayer for God's blessing concludes the psalms. It is a final request for God to bless His people from Zion, Jerusalem where He is. While the call by the psalmist for us to bless and worship God is an imperative command, to "come and bless the Lord," the plea for God to bless his people is merely only a request and not a demand, "May the Lord bless you from Zion". This is important as it shows God's sovereignty. It is God who blesses us and it is according to His will to do so. We can pray and make our requests to God but never to demand for God to bless us. Ps 134 is not to be used like a formula, two blessings to God and we expect one from Him. No, in fact, when the psalmist reminds us that the God whom we want to be blessed by is also the God who created the heavens and the earth, again emphasizing the sovereignty of God. Every creature in the heavens and on earth is created by Him and belongs to him.

What a beautiful way to complete the 15 Songs of Ascent. It began with repentance in Ps 120 and ends in blessing in Ps 134. In a long road of obedience in the same direction towards God, may we be faithful in all that God has entrusted us to work. May we learn true discipleship amidst this busy, busy society we live in. May we learn to trust God and put our hope in Him especially in these times of uncertainty, turmoil and financial instability. May we learn to worship God, in the day and in the night, anytime and anywhere, in good times and in bad.
Let us pray.