“Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord.”
Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, O servants of the Lord. This opening summons creates an emphatic call to praise God and His name, addressing the servants who minister in the sanctuary. The doubling of Praise the Lord (Hallelujah) at beginning and end of verse emphasizes the fundamental imperative: to praise is the primary response to God's being and acts. The invocation of God's name connects praise to God's revealed character and covenantal history; to praise His name is to honor the God whom Israel knows through history and experience. The identification of the addressees as servants (עבדים) suggests that praise is the essential function of those in service to God. This verse establishes praise not as optional response but as constitutive of proper covenant relationship.
Church Fathers on Psalms 135:1
1. Very pleasant ought it be to us, and we should rejoice because it is pleasant, to which this Psalm exhorts us. For it says, “Praise the name of the Lord” Psalm 134:1. And it immediately appends the reason, why it is just to praise the name of the Lord. “Praise the Lord, you servants.” What more just? What more worthy? What more thankful?...For if He teaches His own servants who have deserved well of Him, the preachers of His Word, the rulers of His Church, the worshippers…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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