#DailyDevotion To Worship The LORD Is To Look To Him For Every Good
Psalm 135 13O LORD, Your name is forever. O LORD, You will be remembered through all the ages. 14The Lord provides justice for His people, and has compassion on His servants.
The name of the LORD is forever. Here we are, still worshiping it and calling upon it. Even if we fall away, He will always keep a remnant for Himself who worships Him. The LORD, YHWH, is remembered still to this day and no one, no matter how hard they try can wipe it off the earth. He has revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the LORD. When we call upon Jesus’ name, we keep the LORD’s name forever, for no one can call Jesus LORD except by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is always calling us to faith in Him and He brings us to the Father. The Holy Spirit, through the word and sacraments brings us to Jesus who presents us to the Father. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the LORD, YHWH, we are talking about here.
We expect the LORD to provide justice and compassion for us as His holy people. The LORD promised this through Moses in Deut. 32, “36The LORD will do justice for His people and feel sorry for His servants when He sees their strength is gone and only the imprisoned and forsaken are left.” Hebrews recalls this in ch. 10, “30We know Him Who said: ‘I have the right to punish: I will pay back,’ and again: ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ 31It is terrifying to fall into the hands of the living God.” But for those who put their trust in Jesus the LORD’s judging is for us not against us. He has vengeance on those who persecute His people. His judging is our salvation as we see what the judges do for God’s people in the book of Judges.
15The idols of the nations are silver and gold made by human hands. 16They have a mouth but can’t talk, eyes but can’t see, 17ears but can’t hear, and there is no breath in their mouths. 18Those who make them are like them, and so are all who trust them.
The psalmist makes fun of and mocks the gods of the other nations. The worship idols which they themselves have made. Such gods have mouths that can’t talk and eyes that can see, ears that can’t hear and there is no life in them. He is taking his cue most likely from Deut. 4, “28and there you will serve gods that human hands have made of wood and stone, that can’t see, hear, eat, or smell.” If it was written later, perhaps he is also thinking of the following verses from Isaiah 44, “9All who form idols are nothing, and their precious idols are good for nothing. They are their own witnesses that they see and know nothing,..15It’s something for a man to burn. And he takes some of it to get warm. With some of it he makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it. He makes it an image and bows down before it. 16A part of it he burns; on another part he roasts meat that he eats, satisfying his hunger. He sits by its coals, gets warm, and says, “Ah! I am warm before the fire.” 17What is left he makes into a god, his idol.”
We perhaps don’t worship idols of wood, stone, silver or gold. Our idols today are just as dead. We worship sex, drugs, alcohol, money, power, happiness, work, politics, credit, and the like. We seek from these things what the LORD has promised us. They ultimately become our masters if we don’t turn from them and turn to Jesus Christ and the Father for every good thing.
19O Israel’s family, bless the LORD! O Aaron’s family, bless the LORD! 20O Levi’s family, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! 21Blessed be the Lord in Zion! Blessed be He Who lives in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD
Here we have a final blessing upon the people of God, those who serve Him, those who fear, love and trust in Him above all things. We are called to bless Him, that is to give Him thanks.
Heavenly Father, may we always remember You are the giver of every good gift. Keep in the faith so we may give thanks to You always. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.