Praise the LORD in His House

Psalms 134:1-3
A Song of Ascents.

1 Behold, bless the LORD,
All you servants of the LORD,
Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the LORD.

3 The LORD who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!

This final song of ascents brings worship up the hill of Zion to the sanctuary to meet the LORD God.  We who serve the Lord are to bless His name to honor and glorify Him.  Just as when the worshipers left the Jerusalem temple and left the Levites in charge to guard it and to continue in songs of praise in the night, so should we worship and sing to bless Him.  As Psalm 121:4 reminds us, God never slumbers or sleeps, He does not doze off inattentively or soundly sleep while worshipers vainly try to arouse Him as the heathen do (1 Kings 18:27).  No, rather He is ever present, omnipresent, and ever attentive to His creation.  These songs in the night (Psalm 42:8, 77:6) inspire us to imitate the priests of the former temple, praising our Lord in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, whether in the physical house of the Lord as a building, or in these bodies in which He dwells.  Therefore, may we follow suit by always lifting holy hands (1 Timothy 2:8) in prayerful worship in the sanctuary we are in, day or night.  Yes, the God who dwells in heaven which He created and who looks over the earth beneath, He is the One who blesses us from that lofty height and who dwells within us up close and personal.  Let us vow to continually praise Him in His house to honor and glorify His name above all others (Ephesians 1:20-21, Isaiah 45:23-25, Philippians 2:9-11).  Praise the Lord in His house!