We closed out the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 134 – Blessing, and we pick up the same theme with Psalm 135, which starts and ends:
Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD, give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God! Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. (Psalm 135.1 – 4, ESV)
…
O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD! O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 135.19 – 21, ESV)
Why? Why praise the LORD and bless the LORD? Because he acts:
Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. (verse 6)
- Struck down the firstborn of Egypt (verses 8, 9)
- Struck down kings so that Israel could possess the land (verses 10 – 12)
What’s the alternative to a God who acts?
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. (Psalm 135.15 – 18, ESV)
Compare Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s all the rage. It appears to speak. The #1 hit songs, both Christian and secular are purely AI-generated. It has appeal, apparently, but I agree with Christian singer Forrest Frank:
At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it. So I think that it’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.
I think we’ll find that “Those who make them become like them.” Can’t speak, can’t see, can’t hear.
We are already into Advent Season. Celebrating the coming of the God who is real and who acts. More on that tomorrow.
I hate to admit this, but recently my college-freshman, godly, grandson recently asked me what to do in a situation. I prayerfully thought what would be the wise thing, and offered some things to consider. Just before hanging up, I suggested he ask Ai. The second I hung up the phone, I realized the foolishness of my suggestion. I told him later I was wrong, and that I should have told him to ask the Holy Spirit what He wants him to know and what He wants him to do.
Thanks for sharing this, David. I know you use AI for things like writing code for MS Word macros, and asking asking questions you used to ask Google in the past. I use it to do book and article summaries or to write a short bio on a historical figure. AI is a tool, and we are all learning what to use it for (and what NOT to use it for).