Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord!
May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!
Psalm 134: 1-3 [ESV]
I first came across this Psalm when it was being sung to a very rocky tune in a large independent church in Leicester. Since then I have found the words of this Psalm powerful and instructive. It is one of the Psalms categorized as a ‘Song of Ascents’, these were the Psalms that were sung as pilgrims entered the city of Jerusalem and climbed the temple mount. I have always found it particularly meaningful that a song of praise calls those who stand ‘by night’ in the house of the Lord to praise and bless him. Standing by night in the house of the Lord can mean simply that. It can be a call to those who wait on the Lord night and day in the temple to praise him. In fact I always think of Simeon and Anna when I hear this Psalm. They were two faithful people who spent their days and nights waiting on the Lord in the temple. Their faithful vigil was certainly rewarded. But standing waiting on the Lord by night can mean more than that. Night doesn’t simply mean the hours of darkness. It can also mean the hours of the powers of darkness. The Psalm calls those who are standing waiting on the Lord in the troubles of their lives to be faithful to him and to continue to give God the praise that he is due.
It is interesting to note that this call to faithfulness in the hard times is being sung during a Psalm of ascent. It is a call to faithfulness to be sung by those on the spiritual high of completing a pilgrimage to the temple to those who are struggling in more difficult times. The challenge laid down to us is obvious: can we help those are struggling while we are having a good time?
For prayer: talk to God about standing in his house by night, or about standing with those who do so.
If you would like to listen to a good modern take on the Psalm, the click on this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BRpuxWd1T8
John Martin-Jones
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