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Psalms 115

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A Plea for God's Glory 1–3

1
Not unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us, But unto thy name give glory, For thy lovingkindness, and for thy truth’s sake. ​
2
Wherefore should the nations say, Where is now their God? ​
3
But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he pleased. ​

The Impotence of Idols 4–8

4
Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. ​
5
They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;
6
They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not;
7
They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. ​
8
They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them. ​

Call to Trust the LORD 9–11

9
O Israel, trust thou in Jehovah: He is their help and their shield. ​
10
O house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah: He is their help and their shield. ​
11
Ye that fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah: He is their help and their shield. ​

Assurance of Blessing and Perpetual Praise 12–18

12
Jehovah hath been mindful of us; he will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. ​
13
He will bless them that fear Jehovah, Both small and great.
14
Jehovah increase you more and more, You and your children. ​
15
Blessed are ye of Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.
16
The heavens are the heavens of Jehovah; But the earth hath he given to the children of men. ​
17
The dead praise not Jehovah, Neither any that go down into silence; ​
18
But we will bless Jehovah From this time forth and for evermore. Praise ye Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 115

Verse 1

Not unto us… but unto thy name — The glory (kabod) is asked for the LORD's name (shem), on the ground of two covenant words, chesed, mercy, and emeth, truth: 'abundant in goodness and truth' (Ex 34:6). Isaiah gives the same principle in the LORD's voice: 'for mine own sake… will I do it… I will not give my glory unto another' (Isa 48:11).

Verse 2

Where is now their God? — The nations (goyim) taunt Israel with the question, in the words of Ps 79:10; Joel has the priests plead that the heathen not say it among the people (Joel 2:17). Moses used the same ground when he asked, 'Wherefore should the Egyptians speak' (Ex 32:12). The psalm answers it in v.3.

Verse 3

in the heavens — The answer to 'Where?' is not a place on earth to be pointed at. The LORD is in heaven and 'hath done whatsoever he hath pleased' (chaphets, to delight in). Ps 135:6 has the same line: 'Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth'. Nebuchadnezzar learned it: he 'doeth according to his will' (Dan 4:35).

Verse 4

silver and gold, the work of men's hands — Atsab, an idol, a thing shaped; here its material is the whole account of it. The same wording opens Ps 135:15, 'The idols of the heathen are silver and gold', and Moses had warned of 'gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone' (Deut 4:28). The maker is greater than the made.

Verse 7

neither speak they through their throat — The list of vv.5–7 runs through mouth, eyes, ears, nose, hands, feet and throat (garon). The failures are of exactly the organs they have. Jeremiah says the same of the idols of wood: 'speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go' (Jer 10:5).

Verse 8

like unto them — These words are repeated word for word in Ps 135:18. 'Trusteth' is batach, the same verb as in the next three verses, 'trust thou in the LORD' (vv.9–11), so the psalm's turning point is where trust is placed. Habakkuk asks what the graven image profits 'that the maker thereof hath graven it' (Hab 2:18).

Verse 9

he is their help and their shield — Ezer, help, and magen, shield, a pair used also in 'he is our help and our shield' (Ps 33:20). The refrain falls three times, on Israel, the house of Aaron and those who fear the LORD (vv.9–11), the same three groups called to say 'his mercy endureth for ever' in Ps 118:2–4.

Verse 10

house of Aaron — Aaron's sons held 'your priest's office' (Num 18:7), and the house is named in both Ps 118:3 and the blessing of v.12. The priests who stood between the people and the LORD are also told to trust him. The refrain is unchanged: 'he is their help and their shield'.

Verse 11

Ye that fear the LORD — Yare, to fear; the third group stands beside 'Israel' and the 'house of Aaron' here and in Ps 118:4. The promise to it is given again in v.13, 'He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great'. Peter says the same door is open in every nation: 'he that feareth him… is accepted with him' (Acts 10:35).

Verse 12

hath been mindful of us — Zakar, to remember; the LORD acts on the remembered covenant, as 'Who remembered us in our low estate' (Ps 136:23). The threefold 'he will bless' (barak) answers the priestly blessing, 'they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them' (Num 6:27), the name asked for in v.1.

Verse 14

increase you more and more — Yasaph, to add. It echoes Moses's blessing, 'The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are' (Deut 1:11). The promise reaches 'you, and your children', as Peter says at Pentecost: 'the promise is unto you, and to your children' (Acts 2:39).

Verse 16

the earth hath he given to the children of men — 'Children of men' is bene adam. The heavens are the LORD's own dwelling; the earth is given to man, as in Gen 1:28, 'replenish the earth, and subdue it'. It remains the LORD's all the same: 'The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine' (Ps 89:11).

Verse 17

the dead praise not the LORD — Dumah, silence, appears only here and in Ps 94:17, 'my soul had almost dwelt in silence'. The line has parallels in Ps 6:5 and Isa 38:18, 'the grave cannot praise thee'. The LORD is the one praised by the living, who speak and are heard; v.18 begins with 'But we'.

Verse 18

Praise the LORD — Hallelu-Yah: Yah is the short form of the divine name, which the KJV also prints as 'the LORD' in vv.17–18. The final 'from this time forth and for evermore' is word for word the line of Ps 113:2. In Revelation the same cry stands as 'Alleluia' before the throne (Rev 19:1).