Psalm 134
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 134
Psalm 134 is the last of the psalms of ascent, or the songs of degree.
It was written to the priest and Levites who served int he temple at night.
They were the servants of God in the day.
They were chosen by God by being placed in the lineage that they were in to serve God “full time”.
Today we have Pastors who serve often night and day to meet the needs of the churches.
Scriptures are clear that God’s people are to hold their pastors in high esteem.
I say this not with pride, but actually a very humbling and unworthy statement of fact of God’s Word.
When Paul had sent Epaphroditus, a fellow labourer, to Philippi to help the church there, he told them...
29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:
He told the church of Thessalonica,
12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
He told Timothy,
17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
Most church members love their pastors and support them well.
I thank God for our church members and faithful attenders who have supported and loved me and my family.
There are, sadly, some who profess to know Christ but disobey these commands.
They criticize, gossip, malign, the pastors and their families and treat them disrespectfully.
I thank the Lord those are far and few between in our church.
But even the most supportive church member can forget that the Pastor is a person.
Be careful not to put your pastors on a pedestal and expect them never to fail.
They will fail, I will fail!
Not only that, but we tend to forget that they too need the same things we need…appreciation, affirmation and encouragement.
Here in Psalm 134 we know, as a song of Degree, it was sung by the Pilgrims as they travelled for the feasts.
But this song stands out from the rest as it was often sung as they departed from the temple after the feasts.
One commentary said, “Imagine the beautiful scene that might have been the setting for singing Psalm 134: the feast had come to an end, and the people filed out of the temple to return to their homes. Tired, but overflowing with joy, they looked back on the equally-exhausted ministers who remained behind in the temple. Their day was not over, for the worship of God continued around the clock. Out of their zeal for the LORD and gratitude to these dedicated servants, the people encouraged them to continue praising God with all their might (vv 1–2). Then, they prayed for the LORD to bless His faithful ministers (v. 3).”
Although it is easy to apply this Psalm to our pastors, we must remember that it was written for the priests in the temple…we are all the priests of God now...
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
So truly this Psalm applies to every one of us.
But I do want to focus on the Pastors and spiritual leaders in this Psalm.
We ought to...
I. Encourage Them to Praise the Lord
I. Encourage Them to Praise the Lord
1 Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, Which by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.
The worshippers, as they departed the temple, sang this encouragement to the Priests that continued laboring in the temple throughout the night.
Some cleaned the temple after the great festivals where thousands gathered…you can just imagine the mess.
Some made preparations for the next days activities in the temple.
Although there wasn’t a festival every day, there was worship everyday.
I know after VBS it’s hard to jump back in to my normal schedule after such an exhausting week.
But there are things that need to be done, things that need to be cleaned, sermons that need to be preached, visits that need to be made.
We can be so busy that we may forget why we are doing it in the first place - God.
We need to take the time to Bless the Lord
To bless the Lord means to praise Him.
It’s easy to praise God when you are on the high or the mountaintop, but on the other side of that peak, when you start going down in the valley, it gets more difficult.
The encouragement of the people to continue to praise the Lord is important!
Why is this important?
A. Because They are God’s Servants
A. Because They are God’s Servants
...”ye servants of the Lord.”
Now, all of God’s people are the servants of God, and let’s not forget this…but the priests and the Levites served God in a very special way!
They were the ones in “full-time” ministry.
It is vital that the spiritual leaders not lose their spiritual focus during the ending of these high times.
So praying for your spiritual leader, and encouraging them to keep their focus on God and praising God is vital.
B. Because They Stand in the House of God
B. Because They Stand in the House of God
I don’t ever want to lose sight of the privilege that I have to stand in the House of God and proclaim the Truth of God!
The priests had a privilege and responsibility to oversee the worship of the Lord.
It’s easy, when you are born into service, to lose sight of the privilege that you have in serving the Lord.
It’s easy for those who grow up having the church building be their second home to become too familiar with the church building and lose the respect it deserves.
When we grow up serving the Lord, if we are not careful we can lose sight of how important it is and how special it is to have the privilege.
C. Because the Lord Deserves Praise
C. Because the Lord Deserves Praise
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.
The people encouraged the priests to lift up their hands in praise to the Lord.
Baptist don’t do a lot of hand raising, because they are afraid they are going to turn Pentecostal.
But it is clearly all throughout scripture.
There is something about a heartfelt, sincere, not planned hand raising while you worship.
It is a sign of surrender to God.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
The Lord deserves our praise, so we ought o give it!
Every believer ought to encourage their pastor in the their work.
It’s easy to see them as the example, and think of them more than human and faulty.
But Pastors like any human need encouragement and uplifting.
One of Satan’s most effective weapons is discouragement.
Just a simple word of encouragement, a note sent in the mail or placed on my desk goes a long way to keep your pastor from falling into a pit of discouragement.
A simple word or note cost so little, but can make such a difference!
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Paul told the church at Rome...
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
If the apostle Paul need the churches prayer how much more do I!
The ministry has many rewards!
But it also has many challenges.
So let’s lift each other up in prayer and in word and in action every chance we get!
Lift me as your pastor, and I will lift you as the royal priesthood of God.
II. Ask God to Bless Them
II. Ask God to Bless Them
3 The Lord that made heaven and earth Bless thee out of Zion.
The first two verses were the challenge to the priests to keep blessing the Lord, now it is turned to ask God to bless them.
There are some who believe that this last verse was a response from the priests to the encouragement of the people.
Others believe it was a request from the people for God to bless His servants as they left.
Either way, it would be appropriate and right to pray these prayers
God’s ministers should pray for God’s blessings on His people.
and God’s people should pray to the Lord for their spiritual leaders.
The request is made to the LORD - Yahweh, Jehovah - The covenant name of God.
The God who keeps His promises.
Whoever is praying this prayer pray that the God who has promised to take care of us, and has covenanted to keep us, will bless.
Secondly the speaker not only invokes the covenant name of God but invokes His omnipotent power, specifically the creative power of God.
....The Lord that made heaven and earth...
The one who has the power to speak you and everything around you into existence is the same God who has the power to bless His servant.
Faithful pastors covet the prayers of their people.
over and over Paul asked the people to pray for him.
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
25 Brethren, pray for us.
1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
Over and over again Paul, the greatest Christian who has ever lived, asked for prayer and coveted the prayer of God’s people.
How much more does your pastor, faulty and limited, need your prayer!
Set aside time each day to remind yourself to pray for your pastor.
Set an alarm at a certain time - Maybe 7:09 (my birth date) to go off and say a quick prayer for your pastor.
Pray that God will keep me clean from sin
Pray that God will keep the devil and his demons from attacking me
Pray that God will give me the strength to weather any attack that God sees fit to allow me to go through.
Pray that my family will stay well, and close to the Lord.
Pray that all of our needs are met, sot that we remain undistracted from serving Him.
Pray that your pastor would fear God and not man - and always do right.
Pray that I will have wisdom in God’s Word and clarity in how to present God’s Word.
Pray that I will love my family and be the kind of husband and father that I ought to be.
Pray that God would help me grow closer to him and more like Him.
Pray that God would help me love you more, and have wisdom on how to serve you better.
Pray that God would help me rest and pull away to have my time of rest.
And so much more!
Commit to God to pray for me!
Secondly commit to encourage your pastor.
faithful attendance
words of encouragement
send a note, email or text message.
But in all of this, let’s not forget to do the same thing to the others in the church.
Those who have served along side their pastors for many years, even decades.
Pray for one another.
Encourage one another
Edify one another!
Ask the Lord to bless one another.