Psalms 135:17-21: in context

Psalm 135 is a hymn of praise, and near the end it turns to mock the gods of the nations. They have mouths, it says, but do not speak; eyes but do not see; ears but do not hear; and there is no breath in their mouths at all. It is a familiar taunt in the psalms, the lifeless idol dressed up as a god. But then the poet adds a line that turns the taunt into a warning. Those who make them become like them, he says, and so does everyone who trusts in them.

That is the sting. Worship is not neutral; it shapes the worshiper. A person grows to resemble what he bows to. Trust something with no breath, and something in you goes breathless and blank; the deadness of the idol seeps into its maker. So the psalm ends by calling everyone it can name, the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, the house of Levi, all who fear the LORD, to praise the living God instead, blessed from Zion. The choice under the whole psalm is not merely which god is real. It is which one you are willing to be remade by.

The psalm warns that we become like whatever we worship. What am I actually giving my trust to, and is it making me more alive, or more like a thing that cannot breathe?