Praising The Lord at Night

Commentary

This short psalm says we are to bless the Lord. This is what we will be doing for all eternity. We will be blessing and praising the Lord who has done great things for us. From the least to the greatest, from the king on the throne to the slave in the field, everyone is to praise the Lord. The word “bless” is the key word in this passage as it is used in each verse. The first two verses ask us to look for ways to bless God and the last verse shows Him blessing us. It is thought that this psalm was prepared for the 24 Levites, the three temple priests and the captain of the guard whose duty it was to keep watch from sunset to sunrise, over the sacred temple and its contents. It would have been easy for them to just waste their time in idle thoughts or to even have fallen to sleep. It seems that he is saying to not just spend the night watching but to use this time to praise the Lord. It would have been easy to think of this as just a laborious task when it was a wonderful opportunity to be praising the Lord.

They were to lift up their hands in the sanctuary and their hands were to be clean. Those who handle holy things are not required to pass an aptitude test, or have a degree in theology but our lives are to be pure. No one can render blessing to the Lord without receiving blessing from the Lord. He doesn’t ask us to serve Him, but to bless Him and worship him. It is impossible for us to bless God  without having Him bless us.

Application

How can each member of my family use their time more wisely. How about memorizing Scripture:

1. While driving a long distance?
2. While washing the dishes?
3. While going for a walk?