Psa 135:13-18 | KingComments | STEP | The Name LORD is the Name of God by which He has made Himself known to His people and committed Himself to them ( ). In that Name He sent Moses to deliver His people from bondage and declared that this would be His Name forever, “throughout all generations” ( ). In that Name He has taken upon Himself the care of them forever. The Name here is associated with “Your remembrance, O LORD”. This is also the case with the Supper in the New Testament, of which the Lord Jesus said to eat the bread and drink the wine “in remembrance of Me” ( ). That Name is the guarantee that He will provide justice for His people after the people have utterly failed ( ). They have turned their backs on Him and begun to serve idols. Moses describes this in his song in Deuteronomy 32 ( ). On that basis, the LORD should, by the exercise of justice, exterminate them. Moses also sings that the LORD “will have compassion on His servants”. “His servants” are those among the people who have remained faithful to Him, a remnant. To them He will fulfill His covenant. He will provide them justice on the basis of Christ’s work on the cross. Through this, reconciliation has been established between them and God and God can fulfill His promises to them.

‏ Psalms 135:13-18

The Name LORD

The Name LORD is the Name of God by which He has made Himself known to His people and committed Himself to them (Psa 135:13). In that Name He sent Moses to deliver His people from bondage and declared that this would be His Name forever, “throughout all generations” (Exo 3:15 ; Exo 6:3 ; 6-8). In that Name He has taken upon Himself the care of them forever. The Name here is associated with “Your remembrance, O LORD”. This is also the case with the Supper in the New Testament, of which the Lord Jesus said to eat the bread and drink the wine “in remembrance of Me” (1Cor 11:23-26).

That Name is the guarantee that He will provide justice for His people after the people have utterly failed (Psa 135:14). They have turned their backs on Him and begun to serve idols. Moses describes this in his song in Deuteronomy 32 (Deu 32:36-39). On that basis, the LORD should, by the exercise of justice, exterminate them.

Moses also sings that the LORD “will have compassion on His servants”. “His servants” are those among the people who have remained faithful to Him, a remnant. To them He will fulfill His covenant. He will provide them justice on the basis of Christ’s work on the cross. Through this, reconciliation has been established between them and God and God can fulfill His promises to them.

The Ridiculousness of the Idols

In this section the judgment on the idols is presented (cf. Psa 115:4-8). This is a warning to the people and should keep them from placing any value at all on those idols. Unfortunately, they closed their eyes to that. They have committed fornication with the idols (Hos 2:2-15 ; Hos 4:17). As a result, these idols also became the cause of their fall (cf. Deu 32:37-39). For this the ten tribes were taken away into the scattering by the Assyrians. For this the two tribes were taken away into exile to Babylon by the Babylonians.

“The idols of the nations” prove to be worthless in the defense of Canaan. God completely makes an end to them and gives the land to His people. The whole world belongs to Him and He determines who lives where, starting from the area He has reserved for His own people (Deu 32:8).

The idols, because they are of “silver and gold”, may look as shiny and valuable as ever, they are nothing more than “the work of man’s hands” (Psa 135:15; Isa 40:19). It is folly at its best to trust in something of one’s own making, for which the material was taken from a perishable creation (Isa 44:9).

The description of the idols is full of sarcasm. Look at these images: “They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see” (Psa 135:16). You can ask them whatever you want, but you won’t get an answer, because they don’t speak. You can bow down to them and ask for their attention, but they will not see you, because they cannot see.

There are also ears made on their head (Psa 135:17). You may think they hear you if you shout loudly, but they do not hear you, for they are made of dead matter. Don’t you see then that there is not “any breath at all in their mouths”? Breathing generally means life, but idols are totally lifeless.

These dumb, blind, deaf, lifeless human products are nothing but a representation of the thinking of their makers. Therefore, their makers will become like them (Psa 135:18). “Everyone who trusts in them”, anyone who worships these dumb idols and expects anything from them, will become as dumb, blind, deaf, and lifeless as they are. That is what happened to the people of Israel (Isa 43:8; Jer 5:21). This is generally the condition of humanity in the end time (Rev 9:20).