In this message we will consider Psalms 135 through 139. Before we come to these psalms, I would first like to say a word concerning the arrangement of the one hundred fifty psalms.
The first one hundred nineteen psalms talk about the law. Psalm 1 is on the law, and Psalm 119 also is on the law. Regarding the law, Psalm 1 is an excellent beginning, and Psalm 119 is an excellent ending. In speaking about the law, Psalm 119 uses seven synonyms of the word law: testimony or testimonies, word, statutes, ordinances, precepts, judgments, and commandments. These seven synonyms issue in the way.
In particular, Psalm 119 is on the law as the testimony of God. According to the Bible this testimony is the testimony of what God is. The law is a type, a symbol, of Christ as the testimony of God. In order to understand this, we need to consider another type of Christ—the ark of the testimony (Exo. 25:10-11, 16, 21-22). The ark of the testimony was put into the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, which is called the tabernacle of the testimony (Exo. 38:21). The Bible does not say that the law was put into the ark; rather, the Bible tells us that the testimony was put into the ark (Exo. 40:20). The law contained, or concealed, in the ark is called the testimony.
Psalm 119 is followed by fifteen psalms called Songs of Ascents (Psa. 120—134). The remaining sixteen psalms may be clustered into three groups—Psalms 135 through 139, Psalms 140 through 145, and Psalms 146 through 150. Psalm 135 and Psalms 146 through 150 are "hallelujah" psalms, for each of these psalms begins and ends with "Hallelujah." However, as we will see, the nature of the content of Psalm 135 is different from that of Psalms 146 through 150. These six psalms are all hallelujah psalms, but their contents are different.
In this message we will cover Psalms 135 through 139. Each of these psalms has a striking point or significance. The striking point of Psalm 135 is the praise of Jehovah for His virtues. The striking point of Psalm 136 is Jehovah's everlasting lovingkindness. The second part of every verse in this psalm says, "For His lovingkindness is forever." The striking point of Psalm 137 is the remembrance of Zion and the non-forgetting of Jerusalem. The psalmist said that the captives wept by the rivers of Babylon when they remembered Zion (v. 1). The psalmist went on to say that he could not forget Jerusalem (v. 5). The striking point in Psalm 138 is the thanking of Jehovah in the worship of His holy temple. Psalm 139 speaks of God's omniscience and omnipresence. However, the striking point of this psalm is neither God's omniscience nor His omnipresence but the psalmist's asking Jehovah for His searching and trying. Here the psalmist seemed to be saying, "O Jehovah, search me and try me to see what is within me. Only You can search me in this way because only You are omniscient and omnipresent. Only You are qualified to search me and try me."