Psalm 145:3 shouts: “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom!” The greatness of the Lord is contemplated throughout the book of Psalms and is a frequent topic throughout the Bible. Truly believers should regularly reflect on the Lord’s greatness.
In our present passage, Psalm 135, the greatness of God is presented from the point of view of one who claims personal knowledge of the Lord’s greatness (v. 5). Experiential knowledge always is compelling. Experiential knowledge of the Lord is life transforming for those who believe. One reason the Bible shares such observations is that if one person can attain such personal experiences with God, surely others can as well. Therefore Psalm 135 praises the Lord and commends him to all.
Sometimes the dictionary helps sharpen the usage of common words. The word “great” means “notable, remarkable and exceptionally outstanding.” “Great” gets plenty of use in our world. By one count, 139 historical leaders are known as greats, such as Alexander the Great and Herod the Great. The word “great” is often applied to public figures whose celebrity or life style or accomplishments attract the imagination of people.
This popular use of “great” is demonstrated by NBC’s four-part television series “The Greatest American” which was hosted by Matt Lauer. Millions of viewers were allowed to nominate their greatest American. The show highlighted the top 100 nominees and counted down the top 25.
The top nominee was Ronald Reagan who beat out Abraham Lincoln by one-half of one percent. Curiously Mohammad Ali, who referred to himself as “The Greatest,” came in at number 21. Among the top 25 were 19 Americans who lived at some time in the 60 years prior to the show and were thus still fresh in public memory. Of the remaining 75 nominees, 60 lived in the same 60 year window prior to the show.
All nominees were widely-known public figures, many controversial. This suggests that the popular concept of greatness is more a matter of subjective judgment. No doubt that in a decade the list of top 100 nominees will change.
Biblical writers were aware of the human tendency to exalt public figures on the basis of subjective popular impression that can fade and shift over time. Against this sentiment, the Bible labors to present God as truly great and above all in greatness. In the midst of competing popular estimates of greatness, this is an important lesson for the believer to learn and frequently review.
Psalm 135 speaks significantly about God’s greatness and is a good place to meditate upon the greatness of God.
The psalm opens with a summons to the Lord’s servants to praise the Lord. Verse 2 indicates these servants are the workers of the temple, who represent the people to the Lord in restricted inner sanctums of the temple. For their part, the people want the Lord to be praised as the sacrificial ministrations on their behalf are presented to God.
It is a perceptive moment for the congregation. Now that the sacrificial system has been abrogated, because of Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross, believers now must stand in the roles as the Lord’s servants and must serve the Lord in the midst of praise. A great God is worthy of attentive, sacrificial, worshipful service.
Verse 3 gives the reason for this praise: “because the Lord is good.” Goodness must be understood in a context. In the Bible, and certainly this passage, the context of God’s goodness is the relationship he has established with his people. God’s activities are good for his people because they promote his relationship with them.
Verse 4 remembers this relationship, the unreferenced covenant, which has made Jacob and Israel to be God’s relational people. In fact, Israel is the nation’s covenant name and “the Lord” refers to God’s covenant name. So without direct indication, the covenant between God and his people has been referenced and God’s covenant activities have been celebrated.
Contemplating how God is good in his relationship with people always is a rewarding exercise. Because God knows his people, he accomplishes certain things for them. The Psalms frequently concentrate on this theme, mentioning numerous acts of the Lord that promoted his relationship with his people.
Today, believers should carefully observe how God acts to move in their relationship with him. God is not merely impressive for delivering an ancient people from slavery. He is even more impressive because he consistently works in the lives of contemporary people. A believer’s walk with the Lord provides fertile ground for praiseworthy moments.
Verses 5-7 provide the climactic statement of truth for the psalm. The phrase, “I know that the Lord is great,” places strong emphasis on the pronoun “I.” The writer asserts his personal knowledge of the Lord’s greatness. Furthermore, God is found greater than other gods for three reasons: He is unconstrained by any other authority in that he can do whatever he pleases; he can do this wherever he pleases; and he can manipulate all of creation to accomplish what he pleases.
The Lord truly is great. With such unfettered abilities, he is enduringly great. The implication is that throughout life a believer should consistently experience new and rich encounters with the Lord to celebrate.
These three points provide a compelling argument supporting God’s greatness. What great human can truly do whatever they please? In fact, much of the mischief many of today’s celebrities get into have to do with the wrong application of doing whatever they please. But as some quietly point out, things will not always be this way for these people—they will pay for their unbridled actions some day as their freedoms eventually become restricted.
In contrast, God’s self-pleasing conduct enhances his relationship with his people. This is so compelling for those who love the Lord and experience his work in their lives. God’s activities are life transforming as Psalm 135 will state.
The case for God’s greatness is built from God’s redemptive activity in Egypt. In Deuteronomy 11:7, Moses said: “But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.” Millions of people saw the Lord’s greatness. The stories of the Lord’s greatness were told to each generation.
Centuries later, David exclaimed in 2 Samuel 7:22: "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. What was seen by the first generation was still being told in David’s day: God is great! Similarly Christians should be ever telling others about the marvelous, saving work of Jesus and how it has transformed their lives.
Verses 8 and 9 refer to God’s work in Egypt, yet what took Moses five books to tell only takes this psalm two verses to recite and celebrate. Furthermore, says the writer, there is more to tell. Verses 10-12 talk about God’s marvelous activity during the wilderness years and the conquest of Canaan. The God who delivered his people from Egypt with great signs also gave his people the land of many kings and nations and firmly established his people in a land they would call their own.
Psalm 135 raises the praise of God’s greatness to another level in verses 13-14. The Lord’s great name will endure forever, because God vindicates his people. God is the judge of the universe and all humanity. He will settle all cases in behalf of his people so they will endure as his people. The word “servant” is brought forward from the first two verses. God’s activities in behalf of his people is explained in light of his compassion for them. They are his people and they serve him. This wells up great feelings on God’s part for his people.
It is important for believers to see their praise, prayers and service noticed and received by the Lord. How does God show he notices these things? In a similar grand-scale manner that the Lord established Israel in their own land. Out of compassion, the Lord establishes his people in their lives, their living and their walks in life. God carefully attends to his people. It cannot be overly stressed how important it is that God’s people acknowledge the Lord’s activity in their lives.
The eternal nature of God’s name is declared in verse 13. There are several implications of this statement. The Hebrew reverential style of speech uses the phrase, “the name of the Lord,” in the place of the Lord. Thus if the Lord’s name lasts forever it is because the Lord himself is eternal. This is a great quality that will contrast with the soon to be discussed idols.
To speak of God’s renown perceptively strikes at the core of the discussion about greatness. It is not just the knowledge of the name of the Lord that lasts forever, but the publicly known redemptive acts of the Lord.
The Lord’s renown far outreaches the strength of man-made idols. Verses 15-19 point out several insightful facts about idols. They are creations of human imagination. They are made of precious materials, which normally would suit a king or a deity, yet their value neither equals nor exceeds the cost of their fabrication. Though they have physical attributes and senses, they are not living and cannot experience human beings. They cannot see, hear or even breathe, and in no way can they interact with human beings. Verse 18 then announces an ominous truth: one day those who trust in idols will soon become like them: unliving, unperceptive, unhuman.
Acting out the implied corollary to verse 18, that those who trust in the Lord will live forever like him, Psalm 135 closes out with a vocal summons to praise the Lord. Four summons are issued in rapid succession, encapsulating the complete community of faith: Israel, Aaron, Levi and those who fear the Lord. The great Lord who lives forever is to be praised.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.