An exhortation to God's servants to bless him.
0A Song of 1degrees.
1 See Psalm 120 in the title.
1BEHOLD, bless ye the LORD, all ye 2servants of the LORD, which 3by night 4stand 5in the house of the LORD.
2 Understand here by the servants of the LORD principally the priests and the Levites, whose charge it was to rise also by night, and to serve before the Lord. See Exod. 27:21; Lev. 8:35; 1 Sam. 3:3; 1 Chron. 9:33.
3 Hebr. in the nights, that is, every night.
4 To stand is often used for to serve in Holy Writ. 2 Kings 25:8 has: a servant of the king, Jer. 52:12, which served the king.
5 Namely, to keep the watch in the temple and its courts according to God’s command. See Lev. 8:35; Num. 1:53; 1 Sam. 3:3; 1 Chron. 9:33.
26Lift up your hands 7in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
6 That is, call upon the Lord, and pray for the people, as Psalm 28:2.
7 Namely, towards the ark of the Lord, standing in the sanctuary, whence the Lord hears the prayers of His people. Other, in holiness, as 1 Tim. 2:8.
3The LORD that made heaven and earth bless 8thee 9out of Zion.
8 This is spoken in the singular, signifying as much as: The Lord blesses every one of you, one by one. Thus God commanded the priests to bless the people, Num. 6:24. Some take this to be David’s wish, for or upon the priests who served in the house of God.
9 That is, from the ark, which stands on mount Zion. See the annotation Psalm 128 on verse 5.