Psalms · psalm 115 of 150
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Psalm 115 asks that glory go to the Lord's name and not to his people, and answers the nations who ask where their God is: he is in the heavens and does whatever he pleases. It contrasts idols of silver and gold, which have mouths, eyes and hands but cannot use them, with the Lord who is help and shield, and ends with the Lord's blessing on those who trust in him.
Psalm 115 is the fourth of the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113-118) in Book V. Some ancient versions join it with Psalm 114 as a single psalm, but in the Hebrew text they are two. It has no title. The poem may have been sung in a public celebration, with alternating voices, since it moves from the nations' questions to the people's answer and to a blessing at the end.
The psalm opens with a plea: not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. The nations ask mockingly where Israel's God is. The answer is that our God is in the heavens and does all that he pleases.
Verses 4-8 make a contrast. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see; ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell; hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them, and so do all who trust in them.
Verses 9-11 call three groups, Israel, the house of Aaron and those who fear the Lord, to trust in the Lord, who is their help and shield. Verses 12-15 promise blessing: the Lord remembers us, he will bless, and may he give increase to you and your children. Verses 16-18 close: the heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man; the dead do not praise the Lord, but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Not to us but to the Lord's name be the glory, for his steadfast love and faithfulness. The people refuse to take the credit and acknowledge that every good comes from God's faithfulness.
Our God is in the heavens and does all that he pleases. In the face of the nations' mockery, the psalm affirms that God is sovereign, even though he is not visible like an idol.
Those who make idols and trust in them become like them: without voice, sight or life. What we worship shapes us, for good or for ill.
Those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord, who is their help and shield. It is an invitation repeated to three groups, so that no one among the people feels excluded.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To the Lord's name, not to his people, for his steadfast love and faithfulness. — Psalm 115:1
Answer: Where is Israel's God. — Psalm 115:2
Answer: In the heavens, and he does all that he pleases. — Psalm 115:3
Answer: Silver and gold, the work of human hands. — Psalm 115:4
Answer: Like them. — Psalm 115:8
Answer: The living, not the dead; they will bless the Lord. — Psalm 115:17-18
Psalm 115 asks the church an honest question: to whom do we give the glory? In a small group we can examine how we claim credit for what God has done through us, and practice the habit of returning glory to his name. It can also help identify modern idols, such as money, success or image, which promise much but do not hear or answer.
The warning of verse 8 is serious: we become like what we worship. Whoever trusts lifeless things ends up cold and lifeless, and whoever trusts the Lord lives. And the psalm encourages trust: he is our help and our shield, and he remembers us.
Psalm 115 ends with the Lord's blessing on the living who praise him. Psalm 116 is the personal thanksgiving of someone delivered from death who wants to fulfill his vows before all the people.
In the Old Testament, Sheol was the place of the dead, where public praise in the community was no longer possible. The psalm does not deny a future life but stresses that praise is the task of the living, and so it encourages us to bless the Lord while there is time.
That they are human-made and therefore have no life or power, even if they take the shape of a person. Whoever makes them and trusts them becomes like them. The New Testament extends the warning: putting anything in God's place includes greed, which Paul calls idolatry in Colossians 3:5.