1 <A Song of the going up.> Give praise to the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who take your places in the house of the Lord by night.
And these were those who had the ordering of the music and songs, heads of families of the Levites, who were living in the rooms, and were free from other work, for their work went on day and night.
Let the Lord be praised. O you servants of the Lord, give praise to the name of the Lord. You who are in the house of the Lord, and in the open spaces of the house of our God,
<A Song of the going up.> In my trouble my cry went up to the Lord, and he gave me an answer.
Give praise to the Lord, all you his armies; and you his servants who do his pleasure.
<A Song of the going up.> Out of the deep have I sent up my cry to you, O Lord.
This is why they are before the high seat of God; and they are his servants day and night in his house: and he who is seated on the high seat will be a tent over them.
Give praise to the Lord, O children of Israel: give praise to the Lord, O sons of Aaron: Give praise to the Lord, O sons of Levi: let all the worshippers of the Lord give him praise. Praise be to the Lord out of Zion, even to the Lord whose house is in Jerusalem, Let the Lord be praised.
<A Song of the going up. Of David.> See how good and how pleasing it is for brothers to be living together in harmony!
<A Song of the going up. Of David.> Lord, there is no pride in my heart and my eyes are not lifted up; and I have not taken part in great undertakings, or in things over-hard for me.
My soul is watching for the Lord more than those who are watching for the morning; yes, more than the watchers for the morning.
<A Song of the going up.> Great have been my troubles from the time when I was young (let Israel now say);
<A Song of the going up.> Happy is the worshipper of the Lord, who is walking in his ways.
<A Song of the going up.> When the Lord made a change in Zion's fate, we were like men in a dream.
<A Song of the going up.> Those whose hope is in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion, which may not be moved, but keeps its place for ever.
<A Song of the going up.> To you my eyes are lifted up, even to you whose seat is in the heavens.
<A Song of the going up. Of David.> I was glad because they said to me, We will go into the house of the Lord.
My sons, take care now: for you have been marked out by the Lord to come before him and to be his servants, burning offerings to him.
They had to take their places every morning to give praise and make melody to the Lord, and in the same way at evening; At every offering of burned offerings to the Lord, on Sabbaths, and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts, in the number ordered by the law, at all times before the Lord; And they had the care of the Tent of meeting and the holy place, under the direction of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the work of the house of the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 134
Commentary on Psalms 134 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Night-Watch Greeting and Counter-Greeting
This Psalm consists of a greeting, Psalms 134:1-2, and the reply thereto. The greeting is addressed to those priests and Levites who have the night-watch in the Temple; and this antiphon is purposely placed at the end of the collection of Songs of degrees in order to take the place of a final beracha. In this sense Luther styles this Psalm epiphonema superiorum . It is also in other respects (vid., Symbolae , p. 66) an appropriate finale.
The Psalm begins, like its predecessor, with הנּה ; there is directs attention to an attractive phenomenon, here to a duty which springs from the office. For that it is not the persons frequenting the Temple who are addressed is at once clear from the fact that the tarrying of these in the Temple through the night, when such a thing did actually occur (Luke 2:37), was only an exception. And then, however, from the fact that עמד is the customary word for the service of the priests and Levites, Deuteronomy 10:8; Deuteronomy 18:7; 1 Chronicles 23:30; 2 Chronicles 29:11 (cf. on Isaiah 61:10, and Psalms 110:4), which is also continued in the night, 1 Chronicles 9:33. Even the Targum refers Psalms 134:1 to the Temple-watch. In the second Temple the matter was arranged thus. After midnight the chief over the gate-keepers took the keys of the inner Temple and went with some of the priests through the little wicket of the Fire Gate ( שׁער בית המוקד ). In the inner court this patrol divided into two companies, each with a burning torch; one company turned west, the other east, and so they compassed the court to see whether everything was in readiness for the service of the dawning day. At the bakers' chamber, in which the Mincha of the high priest was baked ( לשׁכת עשׂי הביתין ), they met with the cry: All is well. In the meanwhile the rest of the priests also arose, bathed, and put on their garments. Then they went into the stone chamber (one half of which was the place of session of the Sanhedrim), where, under the superintendence of the chief over the drawing of the lots and of a judge, around whom stood all the priests in their robes of office, the functions of the priests in the service of the coming day were assigned to them by lot (Luke 1:9). Accordingly Tholuck, with Köster, regards Psalms 134:1. and Psalms 134:3 as the antiphon of the Temple-watch going off duty and those coming on. It might also be the call and counter-call with which the watchmen greeted one another when they met. But according to the general keeping of the Psalm, Psalms 134:1. have rather to be regarded as a call to devotion and intercession, which the congregation addresses to the priests and Levites entrusted with the night-service in the Temple. It is an error to suppose that “in the nights” can be equivalent to “early and late.” If the Psalter contains Morning Psalms (Psalms 3:1-8, Psalms 63:1-11) and Evening Psalms (Psalms 4:1-8, Psalms 141:1-10), why should it then not contain a vigil Psalm? On this very ground Venema's idea too, that בּלּילות is syncopated from בּהלּילות , “with Hallels , i.e., praises,” is useless. Nor is there any reason for drawing ἐν ταῖς νυξίν , as the lxx does, to Psalms 134:2,
(Note: The lxx adjusts the shortening of Psalms 134:1 arising from this, by reading בחצרות בית אלהינו העמדים בבית ה after Psalms 135:2.)
or, what would be more natural, to the בּרכוּ that opens the Psalm, since it is surely not strange that, so long as the sanctuary was standing, a portion of the servants of God who ministered in it had to remain up at night to guard it, and to see to it that nothing was wanting in the preparations for the early service. That this ministering watching should be combined with devotional praying is the purport of the admonition in Psalms 134:2. Raising suppliant hands ( ידכם , negligently written for ידיכם ) towards the Most Holy Place ( τὰ ἅγια ), they are to bless Jahve. קדשׁ (according to B. Sota 39a , the accusative of definition: in holiness, i.e., after washing of hands), in view of Psalms 28:2; Psalms 5:8; Psalms 138:2 (cf. רום in Habakkuk 3:10), has to be regarded as the accusative of the direction.
Calling thus up to the Temple-hill, the church receives from above the benedictory counter-greeting: Jahve bless thee out of Zion (as in Psalms 128:5), the Creator of heaven and earth (as in Psalms 115:15; Psalms 121:2; Psalms 124:8). From the time of Numbers 6:24 jebaréchja is the ground-form of the priestly benediction. It is addressed to the church as one person, and to each individual in this united, unit-like church.