Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake.
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God, now?”
But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear. They have noses, but they don’t smell.
They have hands, but they don’t feel. They have feet, but they don’t walk, neither do they speak through their throat.
Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them.
Israel, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield.
House of Aaron, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield.
You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield.
Yahweh remembers us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless those who fear Yahweh, both small and great.
May Yahweh increase you more and more, you and your children.
Blessed are you by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.
The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens, but he has given the earth to the children of men.
The dead don’t praise Yah, neither any who go down into silence;
but we will bless Yah, from this time forward and forever more. Praise Yah!
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 1 Not unto us, O Jehovah! It is not…
1 Not unto us, O Jehovah! It is not certain by whom, or at what time, this psalm was composed. We learn from the first part of it, that the faithful betake themselves to God, in circumstances of extreme distress. They do not make known their desires in plain words, but indirectly hint at the nature of their request. They openly disclaim all merit, and all hope of obtaining deliverance otherwise than God’s doing it from a sole regard to his own glory, for these things are inseparably connected. Deserving, therefore, to meet with a repulse, they yet beseech God not to expose his name to the derision of the heathen. In their distress they desire to obtain consolation and support; but, finding nothing in themselves meritorious of God’s favor, they call upon him to grant their requests, that his glory may be maintained. This is a point to which we ought carefully to attend, that, altogether unworthy as we are of God’s regard, we may cherish the hope of being saved by him, from the respect that he has for the glory of his name, and from his having adopted us on condition of never forsaking us. It must, also be noticed, that their humility and modesty prevent them from openly complaining of their distresses, and that they do not begin with a request for their own deliverance, but for the glory of God. Suffused with shame by reason of their calamity, which, in itself, amounts to a kind of rejection, they durst not openly crave, at God’s hand, what they wished, but made their appeal indirectly, that, from a regard to his own glory, he would prove a father to sinners, who had no claim upon him whatever. And, as this formulary of prayer has once been delivered to the Church, let us also, in all our approaches unto God, remember to lay aside all self-righteousness, and to place our hopes entirely on his free favor. Moreover, when we pray for help, we ought to have the glory of God in view, in the deliverance which we obtain. And it is most likely they adopted this form of prayer, being led to do so by the promise. For, during the captivity, God had said, “Not for your sake, but for mine own sake will I do this,” Isaiah 48:11. When all other hopes fail, they acknowledge this to be their only refuge. The repetition of it is an evidence how conscious they were of their own demerit, so that, if their prayers should happen to be rejected a hundred times, they could not, in their own name, prefer any charge against him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17 Because God promised to deliver them, not for their…
Because God promised to deliver them, not for their sakes, but for his Name, Isa. 48:11, therefore they ground their prayer upon this promise.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–18 Psa 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto…
Psa 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, [and] for thy truth’s sake.
Ver. 1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us] This is the godly man’s motto, and his daily practice. See Gen 41:16 Act 3:12; Act 3:16 1Co 15:10 Luk 19:16. Not we, but thy talents, have gained other five, and other two (Georg. Fabric. Chenmieenses virus de seipso).
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Fabricius studuit bene de pietate mereri;
Sed quicquid potuit, gloria, Christe, tua est.
There is no merit at all in us, saith the Chaldee here; the bowls of the candlestick had no oil but that which dropped from the olive branches. It is therefore very good counsel that Austin gives his friend Boniface, In omnibus bonis actibus tuis illi da claritatem, tibi humilitatem, In all thy good deeds give God the glory, and take up lowly thoughts of thyself.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 As we entreat thy favour and aid, and that…
As we entreat thy favour and aid, and that thou wouldst work gloriously on our behalf to bring us out of our present straits and extremities; so we do not desire this out of a vain-glorious humour, as usually men do in such cases, that we may get renown by the conquest of our proud and mighty enemies, but that thy honour may be vindicated from all their contempts and blasphemies; and if thou wilt deliver us, we will not arrogate the praise and glory of it to our own worth or valour, but only to thy mercy and truth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 9 Sufficient care is here taken to answer both the…
Sufficient care is here taken to answer both the pretensions of self and the reproaches of idolaters.
I. Boasting is here for ever excluded, Psa 115:1. Let no opinion of our own merits have any room either in our prayers or in our praises, but let both centre in God's glory. 1. Have we received any mercy, gone through any service, or gained any success? We must not assume the glory of it to ourselves, but ascribe it wholly to God. We must not imagine that we do any thing for God by our own strength, or deserve any thing from God by our own righteousness; but all the good we do is done by the power of his grace, and all the good we have is the gift of his mere mercy, and therefore he must have all the praise. Say not, The power of my hand has gotten me this wealth, Deu 8:17. Say not, For my righteousness the Lord has done these great and kind things for me, Deu 9:4. No; all our songs must be sung to this humble tune, Not unto us, O Lord! and again, Not unto us, but to thy name, let all the glory be given; for whatever good is wrought in us, or wrought for us, it is for his mercy and his truth's sake, because he will glorify his mercy and fulfil his promise. All our crowns must be cast at the feet of him that sits upon the throne, for that is the proper place for them. 2. Are we in pursuit of any mercy and wrestling with God for it? We must take our encouragement, in prayer, from God only, and have an eye to his glory more than to our own benefit in it. "Lord, do so and so for us, not that we may have the credit and comfort of it, but that thy mercy and truth may have the glory of it." This must be our highest and ultimate end in our prayers, and therefore it is made the first petition in the Lord's prayer, as that which guides all the rest, Hallowed be thy name; and, in order to that, Give us our daily bread, etc. This also must satisfy us, if our prayers be not answered in the letter of them. Whatever becomes of us, unto thy name give glory. See Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28.
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II. The reproach of the heathen is here for ever silenced and justly retorted.
1. The psalmist complains of the reproach of the heathen (Psa 115:2): Wherefore should they say, Where is now their God? (1.) "Why do they say so? Do they not know that our God is every where by his providence, and always nigh to us by his promise and grace?" (2.) "Why does God permit them to say so? Nay, why is Israel brought so low that they have some colour for saying so? Lord, appear for our relief, that thou mayest vindicate thyself, and glorify thy own name."
2. He gives a direct answer to their question, Psa 115:3. "Do they ask where is our God? We can tell where he is." (1.) "In the upper world is the presence of his glory: Our God is in the heavens, where the gods of the heathen never were, in the heavens, and therefore out of sight; but, though his majesty be unapproachable, it does not therefore follow that his being is questionable." (2.) "In the lower world are the products of his power: He has done whatsoever he pleased, according to the counsel of his will; he has a sovereign dominion and a universal uncontrollable influence. Do you ask where he is? He is at the beginning and end of every thing, and not far from any of us."
3. He returns their question upon themselves. They asked, Where is the God of Israel? because he is not seen. He does in effect ask, What are the gods of the heathen? because they are seen. (1.) He shows that their gods, though they are not shapeless things, are senseless things. Idolaters, at first, worshipped the sun and moon (Job 31:26), which was bad enough, but not so bad as that which they were now come to (for evil men grow worse and worse), which was the worshipping of images, Psa 115:4. The matter of them was silver and gold, dug out of the earth (man found them poor and dirty in a mine, Herbert), proper things to make money of, but not to make gods of. The make of them was from the artificer; they are creatures of men's vain imaginations and the works of men's hands, and therefore can have no divinity in them. If man is the work of God's hands (as certainly he is, and it was his honour that he was made in the image of God) it is absurd to think that that can be God which is the work of men's hands, or that it can be any other than a dishonour to God to make him in the image of man. The argument is irrefragable: The workmen made it, therefore it is not God, Hos 8:6. These idols are represented here as the most ridiculous things, a mere jest, that would seem to be something, but were really nothing, fitter for a toy shop than a temple, for children to play with than for men to pray to. The painter, the carver, the statuary, did their part well enough; they made them with mouths and eyes, ears and noses, hands and feet, but they could put no life into them and therefore no sense. They had better have worshipped a dead carcase (for that had life in it once) than a dead image, which neither has life nor can have. They speak not, in answer to those that consult them; the crafty priest must speak for them. In Baal's image there was no voice, neither any that answered. They see not the prostrations of their worshippers before them, much less their burdens and wants. They hear not their prayers, though ever so loud; they smell not their incense, though ever so strong, ever so sweet; they handle not the gifts presented to them, much less have they any gifts to bestow on their worshippers; they cannot stretch forth their hands to the needy. They walk not, they cannot stir a step for the relief of those that apply to them. Nay, they do not so much as breathe through their throat; they have not the least sign of symptom of life, but are as dead, after the priest has pretended to consecrate them and call a deity into them, as they were before. (2.) He thence infers the sottishness of their worshippers (Psa 115:8): Those that make them images show their ingenuity, and doubtless are sensible men; but those that make them gods show their stupidity and folly, and are like unto them, as senseless blockish things; they see not the invisible things of the true and living God in the works of creation; they hear not the voice of the day and the night, which in every speech and language declare his glory, Psa 19:2, Psa 19:3. By worshipping these foolish puppets, they make themselves more and more foolish like them, and set themselves at a greater distance from every thing that is spiritual, sinking themselves deeper into the mire of sense; and withal they provoke God to give them up to a reprobate mind, a mind void of judgment, Rom 1:28. Those that trust in them act very absurdly and very unreasonably, are senseless, helpless, useless, like them; and they will find it so themselves, to their own confusion. We shall know where our God is, and so shall they, to their cost, when their gods are gone, Jer 10:3-11; Isa 44:9, etc.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–18 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but…
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,.... There is no glory due to men; no, not to the best of men, not to be given them on any account whatever; neither on account of things natural, civil, and temporal, nor on account of things spiritual and eternal; but all to be given to the Lord: for, as for their beings and the preservation of them, with all the mercies of life, food, raiment, &c. they are not of themselves, but of the Lord; and so are the salvation of their souls, their election and redemption, their regeneration, conversion, and sanctification, their justification and pardon; whatsoever good thing is in them, or done by them: nor have they anything for the sake of righteousness done by them; nor do they desire to take the glory of past favours to themselves; nor request deliverance from present evils for their own merits, which they disclaim; nor for their own sakes, or that they may be great and glorious; but for the Lord's sake, for his name's sake, that he may be glorified; which is the principal sense of the passage. So the Targum,
"not for our sakes. O Lord, not for our merit, but to thy name give glory.''
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Good men desire to glorify God themselves, by ascribing to him the perfections of his nature, and celebrating them; by giving thanks to him for mercies, spiritual and temporal; by exercising faith upon him, as a promising God; and by living to his glory: and they are very desirous that all others would give him the glory due unto his name; and that he would glorify himself, and get himself a glorious and an everlasting name. And indeed the words are addressed to him, and not to others; and particularly that he would glorify, or take the glory of the following perfections:
for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake; so very manifest in the salvation of his people, and in all their deliverances, and therefore ought to have the glory of them. His "mercy", or his "grace" (w), as it may be rendered, is displayed in the salvation of his people by Christ, in their regeneration, justification, pardon, and eternal life: and so is his truth, or faithfulness in all his promises; and particularly in the mission of his Son as a Saviour, so long promised and expected; and who is "truth" himself, the truth of all promises and prophecies; and by whom the truth of the Gospel came, the Word, which God has magnified above every name.
(w) "propter gratiam tuam", Cocceius, Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17 We are to give glory to God, not to…
We are to give glory to God, not to ourselves or idols, ver. 1-8. By trusting in his promise and blessing, ver. 9-15. And by praising him, ver. 16-18.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 God alone is to be glorified, 1-3.
PSALM CXV
God alone is to be glorified, 1-3.
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The vanity of idols, 4-8.
Israel, the house of Aaron, and all that fear God, are exhorted
to trust it the Lord, 9-11.
The Lord's goodness to his people, and his gracious promises,
12-16.
As the dead cannot praise him, the living should, 17, 18.
NOTES ON PSALM CXV
This Psalm is written as a part of the preceding by eighteen of Kennicott's and fifty-three of De Rossi's MSS.; by some ancient editions; the Septuagint, the Syriac, the Vulgate, the AEthiopic, the Arabic, and the Anglo-Saxon. The old Anglo-Scottish Psalter reads it consecutively with the foregoing. Who the author of both was, we know not, nor on what occasion it was written. It seems to be an epinikion or triumphal song, in which the victory gained is entirely ascribed to Jehovah.
Verse 1. Not unto us, O Lord] We take no merit to ourselves; as thine is the kingdom, and the power in that kingdom, so is thy glory.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.] Thy mercy gave thy promise, thy truth fulfilled it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17 Psa 115:1-2. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto…
Psa 115:1-2. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us — By the repetition of these words the psalmist humbly expresses his sense of the unworthiness of the Jews to receive the signal blessings with which the Lord had favoured them; or rather, which they were now entreating him to bestow upon them, and which they expected to receive. For, as Dr. Horne justly observes, “it is evident from these two verses, that the Psalm is not a thanksgiving for victory, but a petition for deliverance.” Unto thy name give glory, &c. — As we entreat thy favour and aid, and that thou wouldest work gloriously on our behalf, so we do not desire this out of a vain-glorious disposition, that we may get renown by the conquest of our proud enemies, but that thy honour may be vindicated from all their contempts and blasphemies. For thy mercy and thy truth’s sake — If thou wilt deliver us we will not arrogate the praise and glory of the deliverance to our own merit or valour, but to thy mercy, which inclines thee to pity, pardon, and be gracious to us, and to thy truth, which disposeth thee to fulfil thy promises. Wherefore should the heathen say — Why shouldest thou give them any colour or occasion to say, with their lips, or in their hearts, Where is now their God? — Where is he who undertook to be their God and Saviour, and whom they worship, and of whom they used to boast, insulting over us, and over our gods.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but…
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory - This apparently abrupt commencement of the psalm was undoubtedly in reference to some circumstances which would be well understood at the time when the psalm was composed, but which cannot be definitely ascertained now. It seems to have been in view of some existing troubles, and the language at the same time expresses a hope of the divine interposition, and a feeling that the praise of such interposition would belong wholly to God. The phrase “give glory” means, give all the honor and praise. See the notes at Psa 29:1-2.
For thy mercy - The mercy or the favor which we seek and look for - thy gracious help in the time of trouble.
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And for thy truth’s sake - Thy faithfulness to thy promises; thy faithfulness to thy people. The psalmist anticipated this manifestation of faithfulness with confidence; he felt that all the praise for such an anticipated interposition would belong to God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 115
Psalms 115
1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
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But unto thy name give glory,
For thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
2 Wherefore should the heathen say,
Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens:
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
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 are like unto them;
So is every one that trusteth in them.
9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord:
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord:
He is their help and their shield.
11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord:
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord 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 the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 The Lord shall increase you more and more,
You and your children.
15 Ye are blessed of the Lord
Which made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s:
But the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17 The dead praise not the Lord,
Neither any that go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and for evermore.
Praise the Lord.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.—Jehovah is called upon for the sake of His mercy and truth, and not on account of the worthiness of His people, to manifest His glory which had been reviled or brought into question by heathen (Psa_115:1-2). For He is the heavenly, almighty God, while the idols of the heathen are worthless images of men’s hands, of whose worthlessness those partake, who have made them and yet trust in them (Psa_115:3-8). But those who belong to God’s house, and who fear Him, may be called upon to trust in Him (Psa_115:9-12) with the assurance that He who has been mindful of them will bless and increase them (Psa_115:12-14), in order that they, as the blessed of the Lord, may continue preserved in life upon the earth which has been given to them by God who dwells in heaven, and may give Him the glory forever (Psa_115:15-18).
The matter and style of this Psalm differ so greatly from those of the preceding that the union of the two into one whole (Sept. and others) cannot have been the original form, and must have been made later for liturgical purposes. The liturgical character is strongly marked, especially in Psa_115:9 ff. But there is no sure ground for a distribution among different choirs (Köster, Ewald).
The time of composition is no less uncertain, since the invocation to God for help against the heathen is altogether general in its character. It is possible that the thrice-pronounced refrain, “He is their help and their shield,” instead of “our help,” as in Psa_33:20, may have had some connection with a host going forth to war, (Hitzig). But nothing follows from this in favor of the military expedition of the Maccabæan prince Jonathan, since the supposition, that the three following Psalms are connected with the same event, and are to be explained from 1 Maccabees 11 has not been established. It is likewise possible that this was an antiphony sung by the same voice (Delitzsch), which had announced the propitious acceptance of the sacrifice supposed to have been offered (Ewald); but there is not the least indication or the offering of a sacrifice in these Psalms. [See the Introduction to the exposition of Psalms 113—J. F. M.] It is possible, finally, to divide the antiphony, Psa_115:9 ff. so as to make, first, the whole people, then, the priests, and, lastly, the laity speak. (Köster). But on this point nothing more certain can be said, especially as it is not even decided whether “those who fear God” refer to the laity as distinguished from the house of Aaron, or to the whole priesthood (Hitzig), or to the whole nation of Israel, in the sense of God’s servants (De Wette, Hengst., Hupfeld) or to those in the nation who are truly pious (Calvin), or to the proselytes, according to the later Judaistic and New Testament usage (Isaaki and others, Ewald, Delitzsch). Still more arbitrary is the supposition that in Psa_115:12-13 the laity sing, then in Psa_115:14-15 the priests, and in Psa_115:16-18 the whole people end in chorus (Köster). In Psa_118:2; Psa_118:4 the same triple classification is given: Israel, the house of Aaron, and those that fear God. In Psa_135:19 f. the house of Levi is, in addition, distinguished from the house of Aaron. [Perowne and Alexander agree with Hengstenberg in thinking it probable that the Psalm was composed after the return from Exile and before the Temple was built. Delitzsch offers no conjecture as to the date.—J. F. M.]
Psa_115:2 is the same, verbatim, as Psa_79:10. It must not be too confidently maintained that it was taken from that Psalm (Hengst.), for the same expression occurs also in Joe_2:17. Similar in thought are Psa_42:4; Mic_7:10.
[Psa_115:3. Perowne: “The answer to the taunt of the heathen, who, seeing no image of Jehovah, mocked at His existence. First, He is in heaven, invisible indeed, yet thence ruling the universe: next, He doeth what He will, in fine contrast to the utter impotence of the idols of the heathen. The last expression denotes both God’s almighty power, and His absolute freedom. This, truthfully accepted, does away with all a priori objections to miracles.”—J. F. M.]
Psa_115:4 ff. Idols. Literally: carved images. The assertion that the polemic of the Psalmist was directed only against the images and not the gods of the heathen (De Wette) is not justified by this expression. For, as images of men’s mistaken faith, these gods have no real existence. They are really only represented in their images, the work of men’s hands. In both respects these gods fall under the common idea of human construction, and of being inanimate. It is just against these points that the attack is directed after Deu_4:28, in the same manner as in Isa_44:9 ff.; Jer_10:3 ff.: Wis_15:15, in order to make it clear that their lifeless gods are nothings, whose fate shall be shared by those who trust in such idols.
[Psa_115:7. Alexander: “The sameness of this long enumeration, the force of which is logical and not poetical, is partially relieved by a change in the form of the original, which cannot well be imitated in translation: Their hands and they feel not, their feet and they walk not. Some make the first words in each clause nominatives absolute, their hands—they feel not; their feet—they walk not. But in the preceding parts of the description the verbs relate not to the particular members, but to the whole person. It is better, therefore, to supply a verb: their hands (are there) and (yet) they feel not; their feet (are there), and (yet) they go not. The English feel is to be taken in its outward and physical sense, answering to the Latin palpo, here used by the Vulgate and Jerome. A less equivocal translation would be touch. … The meaning of the last clause is, that they cannot even make the faintest and most inarticulate guttural noise, like the lower animals, much less speak as men do.”—J. F. M].
Psa_115:14-17. Psa_115:14 does not refer to an increase of the blessing (Aben Ezra, Luth., Calv., Geier, and others), but to an increase in the population after Deu_1:11; 2Sa_24:3; comp. Gen_30:24. [In Psa_115:16 translate: “The heavens (are) heavens for Jehovah, and the earth He has given to the children of men.” If God, while reserving the heavens to Himself, gives the earth to men, that they may multiply and replenish it, He will increase them.—J. F. M.] Silence in Psa_115:17 is that of the underworld, as in Psa_94:17.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The pious are not concerned for their own honor, which they are not worthy to have (Eze_36:22 f.), but for the glory of God. This seems to suffer when it fares ill with those who fear God. Then unbelievers appear to be justified in deriding the faith of the Church. But her members do not rely upon their worthiness or desert, but upon the fact that the cause and the glory are not theirs, but their God’s. This God, who has made Himself an unequalled name in the world, cannot allow it to be dishonored with impunity, and just as little can He leave those in distress who confess and call upon it. His mercy and His truth are the foundations of this belief.
2. Unbelievers have not, in any respect, the slightest cause for derision or self-laudation. For the God of historical revelation is the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. He not only lives, but He is a self-conscious, active Person, as unlimited in His power as in His will. The gods of the heathen, on the contrary, are idols fashioned by human hands, without life and being. They have only the outward appearance of personality, only the semblance of life and of power to act, but no reality and no efficiency.
3. To trust in such effigies of humanity, and such works of human hands, is not merely foolish but ruinous. Idolatry, in a refined or in a grosser sense, brings its votaries inevitably to destruction. But that people which is wholly devoted to God, is blessed in all its members, and increases constantly by the blessing of that God, who has reserved for His special dwelling the heavens which He has created, but has portioned out to mankind (Act_17:26) the earth which He has created, and will receive their praise, presented to Him willingly and unceasingly by the members of His Church, who will encourage each other to the performance of this holy and blessed service.
4. As long as the redemption of the world and its reconciliation with God remain uncompleted, so long must the separation between God’s dwelling-place and that of men remain in actual fact unremoved. Heaven and earth still continue distinct, and the believer in revelation indulges no illusions, as do the heathen, concerning this relation and its future conditions. As with regard to God’s being, power, and will, so with regard to this he does not fondly cherish or indulge any ideas, or speculations, or visions of his own fancy. He adheres simply and entirely to God’s word. As long as he has no clear word of promise he knows nothing of the Church which praises God eternally in heaven. His hopes are directed towards the possession of the promised land, a long life upon earth, God’s blessing in the increase of his generation, and the continued existence of God’s Church in the world. And even though the prophetic vision and announcement of an indestructible personal and vital communion of believers with God, or even of the Idea of the resurrection, have been presented to him, yet their appropriation and the introduction into the life of faith enjoyed by the Church remain a subject of anxious thought, upon which, as the Psalms show, light is but slowly scattered, and which becomes only gradually cleared up by successive revelations.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
We are unworthy of any glory. God is worthy of all; but it is our part to ascribe it to Him.—Faith is in opposition and conflict not merely with unbelief, but also with false belief.—God is never weary of hearing, helping, and blessing; but how often and how soon do men cease to pray, to trust, and to give thanks!—God dwells in heaven, wouldst thou not go to Him? Now, while thou livest, seek and serve Him upon earth, and trust His mercy and truth.—The Almighty, who dwells in heaven, has given the earth to the children of men, not merely as a residence while they live, but also as the place where He has revealed Himself, and where they shall serve Him. The relation of the questions, where is our God? and, who is our God?
Starke: There is no idol in the world so great as inordinate self-love. Self-denial thrusts this god from its throne.—God’s mercy and truth are the foundation of our faith and hope, and of all our help and comfort.—There is no child of God so poor and forsaken as not to be able to point with his finger on high, and say: behold my witness is in heaven, and He who knows me, on high (Job_16:19). Those who serve idols are much more liberal in devoting their substance to their false gods, than worshippers of the true God are, in giving theirs to churches and schools.—No man’s curse can injure him whom God blesses.—None can receive God’s blessing but those who fear the Lord.—God is not so much confined to heaven as to be shut out from the government of the world.—As the earth is not the property of men, but they have received it from the great God only as a trust, they are to use it, as not abusing it.—Do good while you live and have opportunity; death shuts the mouth from speaking and the hand from doing good.—Only wait a little, and see how the lofty speeches of God’s enemies end. They are surely followed by great stillness, by eternal silence.—Hallelujah! Who will join in the song? This harmonious praise on earth is as it were the prelude to the heavenly hallelujah (Rev_19:6).
Frisch: Let the living not neglect to do what the dead can no longer do.—(Œtinger: God has given the earth to the children of men, especially for this end, that they may most earnestly devote their short and transitory lives to the praise of the living God, and not to that of dead idols, and thus learn that, in view of the future world, the earth fulfils a special purpose, and that is, that God’s wisdom may be glorified.—Rieger: Urged by the fear of God, men must cast away many natural and unnatural grounds of hope, but for these they receive a rich compensation from God’s mercy and truth. But, unless they trust in His mercy and truth, they treat our beloved God no better than a dumb idol.—Tholuck: It is the curse which follows all false belief with regard to God, that man in a manner, becomes his own God.—Guenther: Different ages have different customs. This is true also with regard to sin. Its essential nature is always the same, departure from the true God, but the forms of its manifestation are determined by the circumstances of education and culture.—Diedrich: God’s Church needs the help of her King against more powerful heathenism, but not for her own merit, or that she should receive the praise, but only for the sake of the glory of God’s name.—Taube: One sad consequence of the fall is the band, by which man, separated from communion with the invisible God, lies fettered beneath the influence of the temporal and visible.
[Matt. Henry: Wherever there is an awful fear of God, there may be a cheerful faith in Him. They that reverence His word may rely upon it.—Scott: When conscious unworthiness is ready to extinguish our hopes, we have a never-failing plea, and we may entreat the Lord to serve and bless us, for the glory of His mercy and truth in Jesus Christ, when all our other arguments are silenced.—Barnes: It is always a sufficient answer to the objections which are made to the government of God, as if He had forsaken His people in bringing affliction on them, and leaving them, apparently without interposition, to poverty, to persecution and to tears, that He is “in the heavens;” that He rules there and everywhere; that He has His own eternal purposes; and that all things are ruled in accordance with His will. There must, there fore, be some good reason why events occur as they actually do.—J. F. M.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 1. Not unto us—Not to us the glory, nor…
1. Not unto us—Not to us the glory, nor for our sakes. The repetition of this is for emphasis, showing how thoroughly the nation disclaimed any desert or merit as the ground of their prayer for help. The “glory” was wholly the Lord’s.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake—Two distinguishing attributes displayed in redemption, (Joh_1:7,) for the vindication of which God is now called to interfere.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 1. Not unto us] Strictly speaking, this is not…
1. Not unto us] Strictly speaking, this is not a deprecation, but a protestation. ‘Not for ourselves or for our own sake do we ask.’ We have no merits of our own to plead; we do not ask for our own aggrandisement. But unto thy name give glory: work mightily on behalf of Thy people, and vindicate Thine honour, for if they are despised, Thy name is dishonoured. Cp. the similar plea in Dan_9:18-19; and see Isa_48:9; Isa_48:11; Eze_20:9; Eze_20:14; Eze_36:21-23.
for thy lovingkindness, and for thy truth’s sake] If Jehovah does not interfere on behalf of His people, it must seem as though His fundamental attributes of love and faithfulness (Exo_34:6), exemplified in His choice of Israel (Deu_7:7-8), had vanished. Cp. Psa_77:8-9.
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1–3. An appeal to God to vindicate His honour by succouring His people.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 17 (1) Not unto us . . .—This rejection of…
(1) Not unto us . . .—This rejection of all self-praise is implied in all Hebrew poetry.
Mercy . . . truth . . .—Both a distinct reference to the covenant. Both these covenanted blessings were assailed by the heathen taunt, “Where is now their God?”
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It is difficult for us to reproduce in imagination the apparent triumph, which the idolater, who could point to his deity, felt he had over the worshipper of the invisible God, when outward events seemed to be going against the latter. But we may estimate the strength of the conviction, which even under the apparent withdrawal of Divine favour, could point to the heavens as the abode of the Invisible, and to misfortune itself as a proof of the existence and power of One who could in everything do what pleased him.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 A LITURGICAL psalm, in which a divided choir, together…
A LITURGICAL psalm, in which a divided choir, together with a leader a priest or precentor take separate parts. The occasion is one of danger (ver. 2), but, at the same time, of confident hope and trust (vers. 3, 9-15). A portion of the choir begin with an appeal to God for help against the heathen, whose vain worship of idols they cover with scorn (vers. 1-8). The leader then exhorts to trust in God in the first clause of three consecutive verses (vers. 9, 10, 11), half the choir responding in the second clause. The whole choir raises a joyful strain in vers. 12, 13, the leader re-spending in vers. 14-16, and the choir and congregation together concluding the whole with a final burst of praise in vers. 17, 18.
Metrically, the psalm falls into four stanzas or strophes the first of three verses (vers. 1-3), and the other three of five verses each (vers. 4-8; 9-13; and 14-18).
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Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give glory. God is prayed to help Israel, but not for their sakes, not to cover them with glory rather for his own sake, that glory may rest on his Name, and himself, among the nations. For thy mercy, and for thy truth"s sake. In order to be true to his qualities of mercifulness and truthfulness.
Vers. 1-11. True and false worship.
In strong, nervous language we have here presented to us
I THE MAJESTY AND THE POWER OF GOD. (Ver. 3) The heathen, in their ignorance, want to know where Jehovah is; they cannot see him. The reply is that he does not dwell in temples made with hands; that he is not confined to one building, larger or smaller; that no earthly trappings or grandeurs in any sacred city give any notion of his state. Our God is in the heavens;" he dwells in celestial glory; he is high above us; his throne is not found here or there, but everywhere; beneath every sky you may look up and say, "God reigns on high." But not only does majesty belong to him, all power is his. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." The psalmist does not state, but he suggests, that everything the idols could not do was within the power of the living God. He was speaking to men everywhere and at all times in the sunshine and in the storm, in the dew and in the snow, in the con sciences of men, in the words of his prophets, in the divinely given Law. He saw all things and all men: His eyes beheld, and his eyelids tried, the children of men." He heard everything; to his ears came the faintest whisper that proceeded from the lip of the lowliest, as well as the songs of the great congregation. He wrought every thing; his hands fashioned us ourselves, and made all things about and above and beneath us: he "lays his hand upon us," to inspire and renew us. And though it never pleases God, and never can please him, to do anything that is unholy or unjust or unkind, yet is there no limit to his power. "All things are possible" to him. The spheres of nature, providence, and grace supply ample evidence that apparent impossibilities give way before his Divine wisdom and overcoming might.
II THE FOLLY AND THE DOOM OF THE IDOLATER. (Vers. 2, 48)
1. He thinks that God cannot be anywhere because his eyes have not rested on his form (ver. 2).
2. He continues to worship an image which owes its existence to his own cunning (ver. 4), and which cannot use its own organs (vers. 4-7), which are helpless and powerless. (see Isa_44:9-20)
3. He is destined to be miserably disappointed in the object of his trust; he will gain no help in his time of need, and, being thus unbefriended, he will himself lose heart and strength; the impotence of the idol will be conveyed to its deluded worshipper.
4. He will become like his idol in the moral character he ascribes to the deity. "Like priest, like people" is not so true an adage as "Like god, like people." Men always tend to become such, in character and life, as is the deity they adore.
III THE PRIVILEGE AND THE DUTY OF THE DEVOUT. (Vers. 9-11) The worshippers of the true and living God:
1. Have at their right hand an Almighty Friend, one who
(1) will enable them to spend their powers and their life in usefulness and happiness, God is their Help;
(2) will be their Defense in time of trouble, guarding them from evil, or sustaining them in sorrow, God is their Shield.
2. Should place in him an unfaltering trust. It becomes all the people of God (ver. 9), especially all those who hold any position of prominence in Israel (ver. 10), and particularly those who know and who declare themselves to be his servants, to put their trust in him. It is a painful spectacle when the avowed children of God begin, even at the very outbreak of trouble, to show signs of agitation and alarm. That does not "become the gospel"; (Php_1:27) it does not "become saints". (Eph_5:3) It is unworthy of those to whom Christ has spoken such words as those he uttered. (Mat_6:25-34 Mat_28:20 Joh_14:1, Joh_14:2, Joh_14:21-23)
IV PIETY IN ITS MATURITY. (Ver. 1) We may begin our Christian life by an earnest craving for the salvation of our own soul. Later on, when we have learnt some thing of the wisdom which is in Christ, we make our personal hope second and subordinate to the glory of Christ. We pray that his great and holy Name may be magnified. We are willing to be nothing, that he may be all in all.
1. Because of all that we have experienced of his mercy and his truth the mercy that redeemed and restored us, the truth that has nourished and strengthened us we long and pray for this.
2. In order that his mercy and his truth may be extended to every land and every home, this is our prayer. We may test the progress we have made in our Christian course by the unselfishness, the Christwardness, of our devotion.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 1. Honor in honoring God.
This psalm evidently belongs to the time when the restoration from Babylon was only partially accomplished. The little colony settled in Jerusalem and the district immediately round the city, were the scorn of the neighboring petty nations, which were all heathen, and of the Samaritans, whose assistance in building Jehovah"s temple they, perhaps unwisely, had refused. This psalm in a way meets scorn with scorn. Jehovah"s people scorn the idol-worship of the nations, and the idol-nations scorn the insignificance of the company that talked so grandly about restoring the kingdom of David. But that is the darker side of the psalm. It is better to see that the scorn was but an unworthy expression of a state of mind and feeling that was good and right. Among the restored exiles there was great zeal for God, great jealousy for the honor of Jehovah; and it was this that made them refuse association with the semi-heathen Samaritans, and think so scornfully of the idol-worshippers. Not limiting ourselves to the state of mind of him who wrote, and those who sang, this psalm, let us regard the psalm as expressing generally the humble, loyal, zealous feeling of all true Jehovah-worshippers, and then three things are suggested.
I PUTTING OUR HONOR ASIDE. "Not unto us... give glory." It is a universal experience that when God is really apprehended, self goes into the second place. It must be so. God can be in no place but the first. In the sphere of morals it is true that the most miserable of men is he who is anxious about his own dignity. He will turn everything into offence. In the sphere of religion it is true that the first sign of regeneration is the humility that claims nothing for self. "Not by works of righteousness which we had done;" "Not of works, lest any man should boast.
II SEEKING GOD"S HONOR. "Unto thy Name give the praise." Dr. Chalmers spoke of "the expulsive power of a new affection." It is fully true of the soul"s affection for God. It expels self and everything else, and compels a man to set God"s honor first, to live for God (compare St. Paul"s exclamation, "To me to live is Christ"). God"s honor is sought by being good and by doing good; in relations, worship, and work. This aim glorifies all forms of life.
III FINDING THAT WE GAIN OUR HONOR IN SEEKING GOD"S. In two ways.
1. The very effort to seek God"s honor cultures us in the character that wins for us honor.
2. And God makes the honor of men come to us as his benediction. on our loyalty. R.T.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-18. The honor due to God.
A call to the God of Israel, the living God, to rescue the honor of his Name from the reproach of the heathen.
I GOD IS WORTHY OF THE HIGHEST HONOR. In contrast to heathen idols.
1. Because of his loving-kindness or mercy. (Ver. 1)
2. Because of his truth or faith fullness. (Ver. 1) Emphatically "truth and grace came by Jesus Christ.
3. Though invisible, he reigns and rules from the exalted heaven. (Ver. 3) The idols are earthly things, and have no power.
4. God is omnipotent, able to execute his own will. (Ver. 3) The idols are dead things, with no will; and their worshippers become as dead as they are.
II GOD IS WORTHY OF TRUST. (Vers. 9-14)
1. Because he is the Helper and Defender of those who trust in him. (Vers. 9-11)
2. Because his past goodness is the pledge for future blessing. (Vers. 12-14) He will bless and multiply both the great and the small together.
III GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP. (Vers. 15-18)
1. As the Creator of heaven and earth. (Ver. 15) And the heavens are for the dwelling-place of Jehovah.
2. Because he hath given the earth to men for their possession.
3. God must be praised now and forever before we go down into the silence of Hades. (Vers. 17, 18) "The Old Testament," says Delitzsch, "knows nothing of a heavenly exclusion that praises God without intermission, consisting not merely of angels, but also of the spirits of all men who die in the faith". (but see Psa_103:20-22) S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–18 In the former psalm the past wonders which God…
In the former psalm the past wonders which God had wrought were recounted to his honour, and in the present psalm he is entreated to glorify himself again, because the heathen were presuming upon the absence of miracles, were altogether denying the miracles of former ages, and insulting the people of God with the question, "Where is now their God?" It grieved the heart of the godly that Jehovah should be thus dishonoured, and treating their own condition of reproach as unworthy of notice, they beseech the Lord at least to vindicate his own name. The Psalmist is evidently indignant that the worshippers of foolish idols should be able to put such a taunting question to the people who worshipped the only living and true God; and having spent his indignation in sarcasm upon the images and their makers, he proceeds to exhort the house of Israel to trust in God and bless his name. As those who were dead and gone could no longer sing psalms unto the Lord among the sons of men, he exhorts the faithful who were then living to take care that God is not robbed of his praise, and then he closes with an exulting Hallelujah. Should not living men extol the living God?
For the better expounding of it, the psalm may be divided into an entreaty of God to vindicate his own honour, verses 1, 2; a contemptuous description of the false gods and their worshippers, 3-8; an exhortation to the faithful to trust in God and to expect great blessings from him, 9-15; an explanation of God's relationship to their present condition of things, verse 16; and a reminder, that, not the dead, but the living, must continually praise God here below,
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17-18.
Ver. 1. It will be well to remember that this psalm was sung at the Passover, and therefore it bears relationship to the deliverance from Egypt. The burden of it, seems to be a prayer that the living God, who had been so glorious at the Red Sea and at the Jordan, should again for his own name's sake display the wonders of his power.
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. The people undoubtedly wished for relief from the contemptuous insults of idolaters, but their main desire was that Jehovah himself should no longer be the object of heathen insults. The saddest part of all their trouble was that their God was no longer feared and dreaded by their adversaries. When Israel marched into Canaan, a terror was upon all the people round about, because of Jehovah, the mighty God; but this dread the nations had shaken off since there had been of late no remarkable display of miraculous power. Therefore Israel cried unto her God that he would again make bare his arm as in the day when he cut Rahab and wounded the dragon. The prayer is evidently tinctured with a consciousness of unworthiness; because of their past unfaithfulness they hardly dared to appeal to the covenant, and to ask blessings for themselves, but they fell back upon the honour of the Lord their Godan old style of argument which their great lawgiver, Moses, had used with such effect when he pleaded, "Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people." Joshua also used the like argument when he said, "What wilt thou do unto thy great name?" In such manner also let us pray when no other plea is available because of our sense of sin; for the Lord is always jealous of his honour, and will work for his name's sake when no other motive will move him.
The repetition of the words, Not unto us, would seem to indicate a very serious desire to renounce any glory which they might at any time have proudly appropriated to themselves, and it also sets forth the vehemence of their wish that God would at any cost to them magnify his own name. They loathed the idea of seeking their own glory, and rejected the thought with the utmost detestation; again and again disclaiming any self glorifying motive in their supplication.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. These attributes seemed most in jeopardy. How could the heathen think Jehovah to be a merciful God if he gave his people over to the hands of their enemies? How could they believe him to be faithful and true if, after all his solemn covenant engagements, he utterly rejected his chosen nation? God is very jealous of the two glorious attributes of grace and truth, and the plea that these may not be dishonoured has great weight with him. In these times, when the first victories of the gospel are only remembered as histories of a dim and distant past, sceptics are apt to boast that the gospel has lost its youthful strength, and they even presume to cast a slur upon the name of God himself. We may therefore rightly entreat the divine interposition that the apparent blot may be removed from his escutcheon, and that his own word may shine forth gloriously as in the days of old. We may not desire the triumph of our opinions, for our own sakes, or for the honour of a sect, but we may confidently pray for the triumph of truth, that God himself may be honoured.
Whole Psalm. Several manuscripts and editions, also the Septuagint, the Syriac, and many of the old translators join this Psalm to the preceding, and make one of them. But the argument and the arrangement of the two Psalms do not allow of the least doubt as to their original independence of each other. Justus Olshausen.
Ver. 1. Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. The Psalmist, by this repetition, implies our natural tendency to self idolatry, and to magnifying of ourselves, and the difficulty of cleansing our hearts from these self reflections. If it be angelical to refuse an undue glory stolen from God's throne, Re 12:8-9; it is diabolical to accept and cherish it. "To seek our own glory is not glory, "Pr 25:27. It is vile, and the dishonour of a creature, who, by the law of his creation, is referred to another end. So much as we sacrifice to our own credit, to the dexterity of our hands, or the sagacity of our wit, we detract from God. Stephen Charnock.
Ver. 1. Not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, etc. This is not a doxology, or form of thanksgiving, but a prayer. Not for our safety or welfare, so much as for thy glory, be pleased to deliver us. Not to satisfy our revenge upon our adversaries; not for the establishment of our own interest; but for the glory of thy grace and truth do we seek thine aid, that thou mayest be known to be a God keeping covenant; for mercy and truth are the two pillars of that covenant. It is a great dishonouring of God when anything is sought from him more than himself, or not for himself. Saith Austin, it is but a carnal affection in prayer when men seek self more than God. Self and God are the two things that come in competition. Now there are several sorts of self; there is carnal self, natural self, spiritual self, and glorified self; above all these God must have the preeminence. Thomas Manton.
Ver. 1. There are many sweet and precious texts of Scripture which are so endeared, and have become so habituated to us, and we to them, that one cannot but think we must carry them with us to heaven, and that they will form not only the theme of our song, but a portion of our blessedness and joy even in that happy home... But if there be one text which more especially belongs to all, and which must, I think, break forth from every redeemed one as he enters heaven, and form the unwearying theme of eternity, it is the first verse of this Psalm. I am sure that not one of the Lord's chosen ones on earth, as he reviews the way by which he has been led, as he sees enemy after enemy prostrate before his utter feebleness, and has such thorough evidence and conviction that his weakness is made perfect in the Lord's strength, but must, from the very ground of his heart, say, Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise and the glory ascribed. And could we see heaven openedcould we hear its glad and glorious hallelujahscould we see its innumerable company of angels, and its band of glorified saints, as they cast their crowns before the throne, we should hear as the universal chorus from every lip, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. I know not why this should not be as gladly and as gratefully the angels' song as the song of the redeemed: they stand not in their own might nor power, they kept not their first estate through any inherent strength of their own, but, like their feebler brethren of the human race, are equally "kept by the power of God"; and from their ranks, I doubt not, is reechoed the same glorious strain, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. Even our blessed Lord, as on that night of sorrow he sung this hymn of praise, could truly say, in that nature which had sinned, and which was to suffer, "Not unto us, "not unto man, be ascribed the glory of this great salvation, which I am now with my own blood to purchase, but unto thy name and thy love be the praise given. Barton Bouchier.
Ver. 1. "Non nobis, Domine, sed tibi sit gloria." A part of the Latin version of this Psalm is frequently sung after grace at public dinners, but why we can hardly imagine, except it be for fear that donors should be proud of the guineas they have promised, or gourmands should be vainglorious under the influence of their mighty feeding. C.H.S.
Ver. 1-2. He, in a very short space, assigns three reasons why God should seek the glory of his name in preserving his people. First, because he is merciful; secondly, because he is true and faithful in observing his promise; thirdly, that the Gentiles may not see God's people in a state of destitution, and find cause for blaspheming him or them. He therefore says, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake, show thy glory, or give glory to thy name, for it is then thy glory will be exhibited when you show mercy to thy people; and then thou wilt have carried out the truth of the promise which thou hast made to our fathers. Lest the Gentiles should say, Where is their God? lest the incredulous Gentiles should get an occasion of detracting from thy power, and, perhaps, of ignoring thy very existence. Robert Bellarmine.
Ver. 1. The passage may be used as,
1. A powerful plea in prayer.
2. An expression of the true spirit of piety.
3. A safe guide in theology.
4. A practical direction in choosing our way of life.
5. An acceptable spirit when surveying past or present success.
Ver. 1.
1. No praise is due to man. Have we a being? Not unto us, etc. Have we health? Not unto us, etc. Have we outward comforts? Not unto us, etc. Friends? Not unto us, etc. The means of grace? Not unto us, etc. Saving faith in Christ? Not unto us, etc. Gifts and graces? Not unto us, etc. The hope of glory? Not unto us, etc. Usefulness to others? Not unto us, etc.
2. All praise is due to God. (a) Because all we have is from mercy. (b) Because all we expect is from faithfulness. G. R.
Psalms 115:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but…
Psa_115:1-18
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory.
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Genuine religious consciousness
I. A consciousness of Gods greatness leading to a contempt for all idols.
1. The majesty of God.
(1) God is great in His moral excellence (verse 1). Mercy and truth lie at the foundation of all moral greatness. The grand mission of Christ was to bring these into the world in the most impressive forms. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ. All sound beliefs or convictions are based on truth or reality. Without love all is selfishness, and selfishness is the essence of sin. Without truth all is sham, and sham is the curse of the world. In God these two exist in essential unity and in infinite perfection.
(2) God is great in His sovereignty (verse 3). He is over all. There is no being above Him, the highest are infinitely below Him, and in all His operations He is absolutely free. He hath no counsellor to teach Him new methods of action, no power to restrain Him in any course. He acts according to His own good pleasure, the only being who is absolutely free, independent, and irresponsible.
2. The worthlessness of idols (Psa_115:4-8).
(1) Material productions.
(2) Human productions.
(3) Worthless productions.
(4) Lying productions.
(5) Symbolic productions. They are but the visible forms of the brutish ignorance, stupidity, and depravity of those who made and worshipped them, mere embodiments of their ideas and wishes.
II. A consciousness of Gods goodness inspiring the highest philanthropy. What is the highest philanthropy? That whose main object is to draw men to the One True and Living God; and the man who is conscious of Gods goodness, who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good, will surely address himself to this work--the work of drawing men to God (Rom_10:1). This is what the psalmist felt (Psa_115:9-15).
III. A consciousness of Gods property leading to a sense of our stewardship (verse 16). He who created the universe owns it, is is His absolute property, and how vast, how immeasurable it is! (1Ch_29:11). But this sense of Gods unbounded wealth leads to the impression of our stewardship of the earth which He hath given us. To the children of men, not to a class, but given to them as air and light, and fire and water are given for their common use.
IV. A consciousness of lifes termination urging the discharge of religious duty (verses 17, 18). (Homilist.)
Non nobis, Domine !
Every careful reader can see the connection between this 115th psalm and the one which precedes it. In the 114th psalm we see the gracious and grateful Jews sitting around the passover table, having eaten of the lamb, and singing of the miracles of Jehovah at the Red Sea and the Jordan. It must have been a very jubilant song that they sang, What ailed thee, O thou sea, etc. When that joyful hymn was finished, and the cup of wine was passed round the table, they struck another note. They remembered their sad condition, as they heard the heathen say, Where is now their God? They recollected that, perhaps, for many a year there had been no miracle, no prophet, no open vision, and then they began to chant a prayer that God would appear--not for their sakes, but for His own names sake, that the ancient glory, which He won for Himself at the Red Sea and the Jordan, might not be lost, and that the heathen might no longer be able tauntingly to say, Where is now their God?
I. A powerful plea in prayer: Not unto us, etc. There are times when this is the only plea that Gods people can use. There are other occasions when we can plead with God to bless us, for this reason or for that; but, sometimes, there come dark experiences, when there seems to be no reason that can suggest itself to us why God should give us deliverance, or vouchsafe us a blessing, except this one,--that He would be pleased to do it in order to glorify His own name. You may be emboldened to urge that plea, notwithstanding the vileness of the person for whom you plead. In fact, the sinfulness of the sinner may even be your plea that Gods mercy and lovingkindness may be seen the more resplendently by all who know of the sinful souls guilt.
II. The true spirit of piety. Not unto us, O Lord, etc. That is to say, true religion does not seek its own honour. For instance, suppose, in preaching the Gospel, a man has, even as a small part of his motive, that he may be esteemed an eloquent person, or that he may have influence over other mens minds;--for it is lamentably true that this mixture of motives may steal over the preachers soul. Ah! but we must fight against this evil with all our might. Somebody once told Master John Bunyan that he had preached a delightful sermon. You are too late, said John, the devil told me that before I left the pulpit. Satan is a great adept in teaching us how to steal our Masters glory. Glory be to God, should always be the preachers motto. And as it should be so with our preaching, do you not think that the same thing is true concerning our praying?
III. A safe guide is theology. When I am going to read the Scriptures, to know what I am to believe, to learn what is to be my creed, even before I open my Bible, it is a good thing to say, Not unto us, O Lord, etc. This is, to my mind, a test of what is true and what is false. If you meet with a system of theology which magnifies man, flee from it as far as you can. This is why I believe in the doctrines of grace. I believe in Divine election, because somebody must have the supreme will in this matter, and mans will must not occupy the throne, but the will of God. The words of Jehovah stand fast like the great mountains.
IV. A practical direction in life.
1. This text will help you in the selection of your sphere of service. You will always be safe in doing that which is not for your own glory, but which is distinctly for the glory of God.
2. Sometimes my text will guide you as to which you should choose out of two courses of action that lie before you. What flesh revolts against, your spirit should choose. Say, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory. I will do that which will most honour my Lord and Master, and not that which would best please myself.
V. The acceptable spirit in which to review the past.
1. This is the spirit in which to live. Has God blessed us? Do we look back upon honourable and useful lives? Have we been privileged to preach the Gospel, and has the Lord given us converts? Then, let us be sure to stick to the text: Not unto us, O Lord, etc.
2. Aye, and when the time comes for us to die, this is the spirit in which to die, for it is the beginning of heaven. What are they doing in heaven? If we could look in there, what should we see? There are crowns there, laid up for those that fight the good fight, and finish their course; but do you see what the victors are doing with their crowns? They will not wear them; no, not they; but they cast them down at Christs feet, crying, Not unto us, etc. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Glory to God for public blessings
The inspired author seems to have had his thoughts employed in the contemplation of some public blessing vouchsafed to the house of Israel, and to the house of Aaron; some late and remarkable instance of Gods having been their help and their shield; a devout sense of which made him break out into these words, fall of great humility and pious gratitude: Not unto us, O Lord, etc.
1. When the psalmist denies that the glory of those mighty and wonderful successes, wherewith Gods people are at any time blessed, doth belong to them, he intimates that men are apt to ascribe the praise thereof to their own merits, counsels or achievements.
2. When he with earnestness and vehemence repeats that denial, he doth by such reiterated negation imply the great folly and impiety of mens thus ascribing the glory of such successes to themselves, or to any of the children of men.
3. When he expresses his desire that the glory thereof may be given to Gods name, he directs us to pay the tribute of praise and thanksgiving to that sovereign Being, to whom only of right it is due.
4. When he requires that this glory should be given to God for His mercy and for His truths sake, he instructs us that when we receive such blessings from the hands of God, we derive them, not from His justice, but from His clemency; they are not such as we can of right claim, but such as He, out of His unbounded goodness, and regard to those gracious promises, which He hath made to His Church, vouchsafes to grant. (Bishop Smalridge.)
Giving God the glory
I was reading of the battle of Agincourt, in which Henry V figured; and, it is said, after the battle was won--gloriously won--the king wanted to acknowledge the Divine interposition, and he ordered the chaplain to read the psalm of David, and when he came to the words, Not unto us, O Lord, but unto Thy name be the praise, the king dismounted, and all the cavalry dismounted, and all the great host of officers and men threw themselves on their faces. Oh, at the story of the Saviours love and the Saviours deliverance, shall we not prostrate ourselves before Him to-night, hosts of earth and hosts of heaven, falling upon our faces, and crying, Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name be the glory. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 115
Psalms 115
ISRAEL is in straits from heathen enemies, and cries to Jehovah to vindicate His own Name by delivering it. Strengthened by faith, which has been stung into action by taunts aimed at both the nation and its Protector, the psalmist triumphantly contrasts Jehovah in the heavens, moving all things according to His will, with idols which had the semblance of powers the reality of which was not theirs. Sarcastic contempt, indignation, and profound insight into the effect of idolatry in assimilating the worshipper to his god, unite in the picture (Psa_115:3-8). The tone swiftly changes into a summons to withdraw trust from such vanities, and set it on Jehovah, who can and will bless His servants (Psa_115:9-15); and the psalm closes with recognition of Jehovahs exaltation and beneficence, and with the vow to return blessing to Him for the blessings, already apprehended by faith, which He bestows on Israel.
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Obviously the psalm is intended for temple worship, and was meant to be sung by various voices. The distribution of its parts may be doubtful. Ewald would regard Psa_115:1-11 as the voice of the congregation while the sacrifice was being offered; Psa_115:12-15 as that of the priest announcing its acceptance; and Psa_115:16-18 as again the song of the congregation. But there is plainly a change of singer at Psa_115:9; and the threefold summons to trust in Jehovah in the first clauses of Psa_115:9, Psa_115:10, Psa_115:11, may with some probability be allotted to a ministering official, while the refrain; in the second clause of each of these verses, may be regarded as pealed out with choral force. The solo voice next pronounces the benediction on the same three classes to whom it had addressed the call to trust. And the congregation, thus receiving Jehovahs blessing, sends back its praise, as sunshine from a mirror, in Psa_115:16-18.
The circumstances presupposed in the psalm suit many periods of Israels history. But probably this, like the neighboring psalms, is a product of the early days after the return from Babylon, when the feeble settlers were ringed round by scoffing foes, and had brought back from exile a more intimate knowledge and contemptuous aversion for idols and idolatry than had before been felt in Israel. Cheyne takes the psalm to be Maccabean, but acknowledges that there is nothing in it to fix that date, which he seeks to establish for the whole group mainly because he is sure of it for one member of the group, namely, Psalms 118. ("Orig. of Psalt.," 18 sq.).
The prayer in Psa_115:1-2, beautifully blends profound consciousness of demerit and confidence that, unworthy as Israel is, its welfare is inextricably interwoven with Jehovahs honour. It goes very deep into the logic of supplication, even though the thing desired is but deliverance from human foes. Men win their pleas with God, when they sue in forma pauperis. There must be thorough abnegation of all claims based on self before there can be faithful urging of the one prevalent motive, Gods care for His own fair fame. The under side of faith is self-distrust, the upper side is affiance on Jehovah. God has given pledges for His future by His past acts of self-revelation, and cannot but be true to His Name. His lovingkindness is no transient mood, but rests on the solid basis of His faithfulness, like flowers rooted in the clefts of a rock. The taunts that had tortured another psalmist long before {Psa_42:3} have been flung now from heathen lips, with still more bitterness, and call for Jehovahs thunderous answer. If Israel goes down before its foes, the heathen will have warrant to scoff.
But from their bitter tongues and his own fears, the singer turns, in the name of the sorely harassed congregation, to ring out the proclamation which answers the heathen taunt, before God answers it by deeds. "Our God is in heaven"-that is where He is; and He is not too far away to make His hand felt on earth. He is no impotent image; He does what He wills, executing to the last tittle His purposes; and conversely, He wills what He does, being constrained by no outward force, but drawing the determinations of His actions from the depths of His being. Therefore, whatever evil has befallen Israel is not a sign that it has lost Him, but a proof that He is near. The brief, pregnant assertion of Gods omnipotence and sovereign freedom, which should tame the heathens arrogance and teach the meaning of Israels disasters, is set in eloquent opposition to the fiery indignation which dashes off the sarcastic picture of an idol. The tone of the description is like that of the manufacture of an image in Isa_44:9-20. Psa_135:15-18 repeats it verbatim. The vehemence of scorn in these verses suggests a previous, compelled familiarity with idolatry such as the exiles had. It corresponds with the revolution which that familiarity produced, by extirpating forever the former hankering after the gods of the nations. No doubt, there are higher weapons than sarcasm; and, no doubt, a Babylonian wise man could have drawn distinctions between the deity and its image, but such cobwebs are too fine spun for rough fingers to handle, and the idolatry both of pagans and of Christians identifies the two.
But a deeper note is struck in Psa_115:8 in the assertion that, as is the god, so becomes the worshipper. The psalmist probably means chiefly, if not exclusively, in respect to the impotence just spoken of. So the worshipper and his idol are called by the same name, {Isa_44:9, vanity} and, in the tragic summary of Israels sins and punishment in 2Ki_17:15, it is said, that "they followed after vanity and became vain." But the statement is true in a wider sense. Worship is sure to breed likeness. A lustful, cruel god will make his devotees so. Men make gods after their own image, and, when made, the gods make men after theirs. The same principle which degrades the idolater lifts the Christian to the likeness of Christ. The aim and effect of adoration is assimilation.
Probably the congregation is now silent, and a single voice takes up the song, with the call, which the hollowness of idolatry makes so urgent and reasonable, to trust in Jehovah, not in vanities. It is thrice repeated, being first addressed to the congregation, then to the house of Aaron, and finally to a wider circle, those who "fear Jehovah." These are most naturally understood as proselytes, and, in the prominence given to them we see the increasing consciousness in Israel of its Divine destination to be Gods witness to the world. Exile had widened the horizon, and fair hopes that men who were not of Israels blood would share Israels faith and shelter under the wings of Israels God stirred in many hearts. The crash of the triple choral answer to the summons comes with magnificent effect, in the second clauses of Psa_115:9, Psa_115:10, Psa_115:11, triumphantly telling how safe are they who take refuge behind that strong buckler. The same threefold division into Israel, house of Aaron, and they who fear Jehovah occurs in Psa_118:2-4, and, with the addition of "house of Levi," in Psalms 135.
Promises of blessing occupy Psa_115:12 and Psa_115:15, which may probably have been sung by priests, or rather by Levites, the musicians of the Temple service. In any case, these benedictions are authoritative assurances from commissioned lips, not utterances of hopeful faith. They are Jehovahs response to Israels obedience to the preceding summons; swiftly sent, as His answers ever are. Calm certainty that He will bless comes at once into the heart that deeply feels that He is its shield, however His manifestation of outward help may be lovingly delayed. The blessing is parted among those who had severally been called to trust, and had obeyed the call. Universal blessings have special destinations. The fiery mass breaks up into cloven tongues and sits on each. Distinctions of position make no difference in its reception. Small vessels are filled, and great ones can be no more than full. Cedars and hyssop rejoice in impartial sunshine. Israel, when blessed increases in number, and there is an inheritance of good from generation to generation. The seal of such hopes is the Name of Him who blesses, "the Maker of heaven and earth," to whose omnipotent, universal sway these impotent gods in human form are as a foil.
Finally, we may hear the united voices of the congregation thus blessed breaking into full-throated praise in Psa_115:16-18. As in Psa_115:3 Gods dwelling in heaven symbolised His loftiness and power, so here the thought that "the heavens are Jehovahs heavens" implies both the worshippers trust in His mighty help and their lowliness even in trust. The earth is mans, but by Jehovahs gift. Therefore its inhabitants should remember the terms of their tenure, and thankfully recognise His giving love. But heaven and earth do not include all the universe. There is another region, the land of silence, whither the dead descend. No voice of praise wakes its dumb sleep. {Isa_38:18-19} That pensive contemplation, on which the light of the New Testament assurance of Immortality has not shone, gives keener edge to the bliss of present ability to praise Jehovah. We who know that to die is to have a new song put into immortal lips may still be stimulated to fill our brief lives here with the music of thanksgiving, by the thought that, so far as our witness for God to men is concerned, most of us will "descend into silence" when we pass into the grave. Therefore we should shun silence, and bless Him while we live here.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 1. Date and authorship uncertain. Has been ascribed to…
INTRODUCTION
1. Date and authorship uncertain. Has been ascribed to the immediate post exilie psalmists, and to the poets of the time of the Maccabees.
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2. Characteristics. Allusion to or quotation of Isaiah. The iterations (Psa_115:9-13) suggest Temple service.
3. Ewald conjectures that the Psalm was sung while the sacrifice was offered, and that Psa_115:12-15 were spoken by the priest declaring the acceptance of it; Psa_115:1-11; Psa_115:16-18 sung by the congregation.
THE SOLE GLORY OF GOD, AND THE ABNEGATION OF MAN
(Psa_115:1)
The Bible everywhere gives bold prominence to the glory of God. That glory is said to be the end of all the divine works and ways. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” “The whole earth is filled with His glory.” Says the Old Testament Psalmist: “Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength; give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.” Says the New Testament Apostle: “Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever.” Notice—
I. That God’s glory consists in His own supreme and solitary perfection. “Thy name.” שֵׁם denoting internal essence, authority, rank, and dignity. When Moses inquired, “What is Thy name?” the reply was, “I AM THAT I AM.” The divine glory consists in God being Himself. There is no glory in imitation. The glory of man consists in his being a man. When he becomes a child or a beast he loses his glory. So God’s glory consists in His being what He is and nothing else; perfect and incapable of improvement in dignity, by time or through the homage of His creatures.
II. That God’s glory is expressed in the mercy and truthfulness of His works and ways. These two expressions sum up the divine perfections, and illustrate two sides of the divine character. Their harmony in action—forgiving, yet not so as to violate the law of righteousness; truthful, yet not so as to deprive the guilty of hope—is God’s glory, revealed to and manifested towards His creatures. This receives its full expression only in Christ, who is the “brightness of His glory,” &c. in His ministry and death.
III. That God’s glory should he apprehended and acknowledged by man. It must be apprehended before it can be acknowledged. No man can glorify God till he has some sense of His perfections as revealed in Jesus Christ. He must see the King in His beauty before he can admire Him. He must feel, in penitence and faith, that God is “just and the Justifier,” “a just God and a Saviour,” before he can adore Him. Then the honour due unto God’s name will be a thankful and spontaneous tribute, and herein will God “be glorified that we bear much fruit.”
IV. That God’s glory is not the object of God’s solicitude, but man’s.
1. God has no need to seek His own glory. That comes in the nature of things. Even evil in some mysterious way subserves this end.
2. When God is spoken of as doing this or that for His name’s sake and for His glory, it means that He is not indifferent to what we think of Him, and that it is only by our right thoughts and actions towards Him that our well-being can be secured.
3. When man it solicitous to promote God’s glory, God’s object is secured.
4. Man’s blessedness. “The glory which thou gavest Me I have given them,” &c. (Rev_7:9-12.)
V. That God’s glory removes all ground of boasting on the part of man. “Not unto us.” Boasting is here for ever excluded.… All the good we do is done by the power of His grace, and all the good we have is the gift of His mercy, and therefore He must have all the praise.… All our songs must be sung to this humble tune.… All our crowns must be cast at the feet of Him that sitteth on the throne.”—M. Henry.
A GODLESS INQUIRY AND A GODLY RESPONSE
(Psa_115:2-3)
This is an everyday question, asked by various people and on various grounds, and should be met every day with its all-sufficient answer. While a Christian man should not court controversy for its own sake, he should be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in him.
I. The question, “Where is now their God?”
1. Why is it asked?
(1.) Because of the spirituality of God. God is invisible, and beyond the reach of man’s physical sense.
(2.) Because of the fancied independence and power of man. Pharaoh in his vain pride asked a similar question. So did Sennacherib. Surrounded by marshalled hosts, or protected by material forces, man sees no need of God; hence this question.
(3.) Because of the disinclination of depraved humanity to serve God (Job_21:14-15). Man is a sinner, and feels if there be a God that God must have vengeance on his crimes, and that that God has strong claims upon his gratitude and service.
(4.) Because of the folly of the human heart. If the evidences written on the heavens above and in the earth beneath are not enough, the question of our text must be regarded as the outcome of mental incapacity or moral obliquity.
(5.) Because of the apparent inequalities of God’s providential rule. (See Asaph’s mournful wail, Psalms 73.)
2. By whom is it asked? By
(1) The Atheist who, as the Antetheist, dogmatically denies the divine existence; or, as the Agnostic and Positivist, maintains that God is unknown and unknowable.
(2) The Pantheist, who denies the divine personality, and if God be impersonal He must be unintelligent and unconscious, and therefore virtually non-existent.
(3) The Deist, who would acknowledge the existence of God as an hypothesis to account for the universe, but would deny his power to interfere with His works or the laws by which they are controlled. As Sir I. Newton remarked: “A God without dominion, providence, and final causes, is nothing but fate and nature.”
(4) Unitarian; for the only God we know of is He whom Christ reveals.
(5) By the Idolater. All these sections of modern heathenism are asking the question to-day.
II. To this question there is an all-sufficient answer (Psa_115:3). The answer to the taunt of the heathen, who, seeing no image of Jehovah, mocked at His existence, is “
(1) He is heaven, invisible indeed, yet thence ruling the universe;
(2) He doeth what He will, in fine contrast to the utter impotence of the idols of the heathen.
(3) God’s almighty power and absolute freedom. This, truthfully accepted, does away with all à prioriobjections to miracles.”—Perowne.
1. God exists; as against the non-existence of idols. The world is full of thought and beauty and design which bespeak an intelligent mind and a powerful will. The universe is without a rational explanation on any other theory; and the human heart and mind are vacant without the thought of God.
2. God exists in the heavens. That accounts for His spiritual invisibility. God’s being is too great to be within the comprehension of our poor faculties, and too holy to be perfectly manifested to our sinfulness. It is irrational to question the unseen because it is unseen.
3. God does according to HIS pleasure, not according to MAN’S. This accounts for
(1) the fact that men question His existence. He permits it that He may ultimately show its vanity, and confirm His people’s faith. “A grand old Methodist preacher, called John Nelson, was obliged to become a soldier, and as he was arrayed, a mocking, bad woman came to him and said, ‘Nelson, where is now thy God? Thou didst say at Shent’s door that thou hadst no more fear of all His promises failing than thou hadst of falling through the centre of the earth. Where is now thy God?’ Nelson, in whom the Word of God dwelt richly, said, ‘You will find the answer in Mic_7:8-10 : “Rejoice,” ’ &c. I have some reason to believe that the answer was literally fulfilled.”—Dr. J. Parker.
(2) For the apparent inequalities of His providential government. God bears with tyrants, hoping that their repentance may avert His vengeance (Luk_17:1, &c). God permits the suffering of His people as the chastisement for their sin, the trial of their faith, or because His just designs for the whole of mankind could not be otherwise fulfilled.
“IDOLS AND THE LIVING AND TRUE GOD”
(Psa_115:3-7)
The Psalmist having replied to objectors now carries the war into the heart of their camp. Nothing can exceed the contempt which the old Hebrew prophets poured on the various systems of idolatry. (Deu_4:28; 1Ki_18:27-29; Isa_37:19; Isa_40:19-24; Isa_44:9-20; Jer_10:3-5, &c.) The irony of Juvenal is very fine: “Dost thou hear, O Jupiter, these things? Nor move thy lips when thou oughtest to speak out, whether thou art of marble or of bronze! Or why do we put the sacred incense on thy altar from the opened paper, and the extracted liver of a calf, and the white caul of a hog? As far as I can discern there is no difference between thy statue and that of Bathyllus.” Bathyllus was a fiddler.
I. Idols vary in every age and among various nations. God remains the same. The inhabitants of the old Pantheon grew in number with the years. First the elements, then deceased heroes, then good things, then evil things, and finally everything. Idolatry still lives on. Men worship themselves, their friends, wealth, pleasure, power, &c. But all fluctuate and die. Only God lives on.
II. Idols are numerous and conflicting; God is one and in harmony with Himself. Olympus was a house divided against itself. The great Jove was supreme only in name. The suggestions of the patrons of all the virtues were met by the counter suggestions of the patrons of all the vices. The decrees of the goddess of wisdom were neutralised by the passions of the god of war; and so with the idols of modern England. The living and true God, on the other hand, is one, and eternally self-consistent.
III. Idols are the work of men’s hands; God is eternal and uncreated. The same power which could make an idol can unmake it. An image can be worshipped one moment, used as a footstool the next, and destroyed the next. The living and true God is untouched by His creatures, and from everlasting to everlasting is God.
IV. Idols at best can occupy only “temples made with hands.” “God is in the heavens.” Men may erect their splendid temples and fashion their golden shrines. They may adorn them with the magnificent conceptions of human genius, with breathing canvas and speaking marble, and celebrate their worship with grand and costly ritual. But all is of the earth, earthy. The living God from His high and holy place looks down with pity and contempt on all.
V. Idols are senseless (5–7); but God is keenly sensitive of the wants of His creatures, and kindly attentive to their prayers.
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
THE MORAL CONSEQUENCES OF IDOLATRY
(Psa_115:8)
Men read into nature their own imperfect views of the supernatural, and thus their gods were like themselves; with the same bodies, parts, and passions. The gods again found their reflection in the hearts of their devotees. Both gradually grew worse and worse, till no passion was too vile for a god to feel, and no vice too bestial to be in some measure sanctified (Romans 1). And now a man’s character is formed by the god he worships. “Those that make them, and trust in them, are like unto them:”—
I. In mental incapacity. It would be hard to conceive the utter blindness of the idolater to the utter blindness of his god if it were not too sadly true. Wealth, personal appearance, pleasure, &c., are worshipped, in spite of the universal fact that they can of themselves do nothing for man; and yet man continues his mad and stupid idolatry. This worship blinds man to the inevitable result. He goes on till some rude shock wakens his mind into activity, and sometimes that shock comes too late.
II. In moral insensibility. The miser is as hard against moral impressions as his gold. The Midas fable is only too true. The self-worshipper is hardened in his conceit. The power-worshipper is encased in an ambition which few things can pierce. This insensibility is not of sudden, but gradual growth. The miser may have been tender at one time, but by degrees his love of gold has destroyed it all. Beware lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
III. In deep degradation. All mythologies have deities which are the proper object of execration rather than worship. In the elegant (?) classical mythology the father of the gods was a buffoon and a sensualist, his father devoured his offspring; the god of valour was an example of domestic treason; and the patron of commerce was the special favourite of thieves. The Egyptian and Oriental gods are even worse. Their worship is consistent with their character, and makes their votaries like themselves. What degradation does the worship of Isis, Bacchus, Venus, Vishnu, Baal, and Astarte, &c., reveal. And so with the idols of a mis-called Christian civilisation. Gold and pleasure are hardly less animalising.
IV. In malign harmfulness. Idols can of course do nothing of themselves. But the influence of their supposed example can have but one effect. What the effect is heathenism in all ages abundantly shows. Bloody, impure, and implacable deities have produced men who rivalled them in debauchery and crime. And the influence of the lust of power, pleasure, or gain, is to wither the affections, blight the intellect, and blast the soul.
V. In spiritual death. Idols having no life cannot nourish or sustain it. The soul goes to them in vain for pardon and purity. The mind finds no base for its operation, no satisfaction for its craving; the life no authoritative rule, no guide in perplexity, no encouragement in duty. Everything upon which this Upas casts its shadow, dies. Learn—
(i.) The danger of idolatry. In itself and in the condemnation that rests upon it “Ephraim is joined to his idois, LET HIM ALONE.” (ii.) The missionary duty of the Churches towards heathenism abroad and at home.
(Psa_115:9-11)
I. The nature of trust בָּטַח is need in two senses.
(1.) To hang upon something, to rely, to trust.
(2.) To live secure, careless, and calm.
1. The believer depends fully on the help and protection which God affords, and avails himself of them at all times and everywhere. He feels that there is no other security or strength but in the power and goodness of God.
2. Consequently he abandons all other refuges, and fearlessly casts himself on God’s care, and lives calmly in the midst of all his foes.
II. The grounds of trust. “He is their help and their shield.”
1. The divine help is omnipotent, and therefore sufficient; wisely made, and therefore to be depended upon; ever present, and therefore available; willingly vouchsafed, and therefore fearlessly accepted. This help is offered when wanted, and therefore never superfluously; in sin, to pardon it; in perplexity, to remove it; in physical distress, to alleviate it; in trials, to safely conduct us through.
2. The divine protection. This was specially God’s covenant character (Gen_15:1; Deu_33:29).
(1.) The believer wants provision for his safety in his warfare, and not simply help. The mightiest warrior is at the mercy of his weakest foe without a shield. So while the Christian wields the “sword of the Spirit,” he wears other accoutrements, and “over all” the “shield of faith.”
(2.) The believer needs protection in time of exhaustion. The strength of the stoutest warrior must give way in time, and woe to him if the fortified camp or citadel is not within reach. So, for the exhausted believer, “the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe.”
III. Those who trust. “Israel.” “House of Aaron.” “Ye that fear the Lord.”
1. The whole body of God’s people. Because
(1) they are warranted in their trust.
(2) It is their duty to trust.
(3) Their trust is necessary to their safety.
2. God’s ministers. In whatever sphere, let those who are working for God
(1) Trust in the help of God, in the study and proclamation of His word; in their contest with infidelity; in their conflict with sin.
(2) Trust in the protection of God against temptations, spiritual monotony, indolence, doubt, and fear.
IV. The consequences of trust.
1. The believer is confident. “He knows whom he has believed,” &c.
2. The believer is TRUSTY. He is faithful; full of faith. Fulness of faith means full reliance on God, which guarantees fulness of sufficiency, hence fidelity.
IN CONCLUSION.—(i.) A warrant. “The Lord God is a sun and shield.” (ii.) A command. “Trust ye in the Lord forever,” &c. (iii.) A promise. “Be thou faithful unto death,” &c. (iv.) A prayer. “Lord, increase our faith.”
GOD MINDFUL OF MAN
(Psa_115:12)
This is a continuation of the controversy between the believer and the idolater. In answer to the question, “Where is now your God?” the Psalmist replies, “In heaven, where yours is not. Your gods are silver and gold, articles of human manufacture, devoid of both sympathy and sense; but our God has been mindful of us, and will bless us.”
This is one of the many proofs that the Hebrew faith was not an abstract monotheism, and that the Incarnation was its logical development. Jehovah was not some grand inaccessible power. He was their Father, brought into familiar contact with them, careful of their wants, and joyful when they were glad. This doctrine is followed by the revelation of Him who is the great expression of the mindfulness of God.
I. Why is God mindful of man? Scepticism scoffs at the idea as it did of old. Religious men sometimes wonder at it. The vastness of the universe, the enormity of man’s guilt, the apparent insignificance of his age, size, actions, ever suggest the question, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him,” &c. God is mindful of man—
1. Because He is God.
(1.) He is the Father of man, and naturally solicitous of the interests of His children.
(2.) He is the ruler of men, and it therefore behoves Him to protect and regulate His subjects.
(3.) He is the creator of man, and it is but natural that He should care for that which He was at the trouble to make.
2. Because of man’s dignity. When He created him He pronounced him to be very good. Alas! it is not so now. Nevertheless, compared with the rest of the universe, he is still “crowned with glory and honour.” “There is but one object greater than the soul, and that one is its Creator.”—Augustine. “Man is a feeble reed trembling in the midst of creation.… It does not need the universe to arm for his destruction. A breath of wind, a drop of water, would suffice to kill him. But, though the universe were to fall on man and crush him, he would be greater in his death than the universe in its victory; for he would be conscious of his defeat, and it would not be conscious of its triumph.”—Pascal.
3. Because of man’s sinfulness. Sin is the disturbance of the moral order of the universe. The moral governor cannot be indifferent to this disturbance, and must as such endeavour to restore harmony.
4. Because of man’s needs. Man comes into existence and continues a creature with wants which Omnipotence only can satisfy.
II. When and how is God mindful of man?
1. In need. This indeed covers the whole of his life. From the moment of his birth to that of his death. God provides for helpless infancy by natural love and paternal strength; for nakedness by the skins of animals, and the flax and cotton of the field; and for his food, drink, habitation, sickness, &c., all creation seems to have reference.
2. In sin. He has come so near to him as to be born of a woman. He has given His Son to be a sacrifice for his guilt; His Spirit to regenerate his heart; and His means of grace to support and strengthen the new spiritual life, so that he may resist sin and triumph over it.
3. In His moral capacity. Man cries out for the living God. God has given a revelation of Himself in His Word. Man needs laws, hopes, guidances, and God’s Word is revealed as a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path.
4. In trouble. God has given him the Comforter and the consolations and promises of His Word.
5. For ever. “O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place,” &c. “This God is our God for ever and for ever,” &c.
III. For what purpose is God mindful of man? That man may be mindful of Him. “I have created thee for Myself.”
DIVINE BENEDICTIONS
(Psa_115:12-14)
The Psalmist, drawing upon past experience, looks forward into the future and sees it luminous with the presence and blessing of God. So may the believer. God has been mindful of him; he may expect that God will bless him
I. The subjects of the blessing.
1. His covenant people as a whole. That is God’s part of the covenant. The Church undertakes to fulfil the divine commands, and God undertakes to crown that fulfilment with success and benediction.
2. His chosen ministers. Those whom He has called to arduous duty.
3. The great among His people. Those distinguished by extraordinary talent may expect that blessing without which all their talents are vain.
4. The small among His people. The weak. The lambs of the flock.
II The characteristics of the blessing.
I. It is a blessing. The pure, spontaneous gift of God, which can neither be merited, purchased, nor earned.
It is a suitable blessing. Given with exact references to need. His ministers may expect blessings which will help them in their work; enlarged views of truth, deep insight into the Word, power and success in its proclamation, strength in weariness, comfort in depression, and the crown of righteousness at the close. His people may expect spiritual enrichment and establishment; power to resist sin, subdue it, and triumph over it. The great among His people may expect special consecration for special talents, and special help in putting them to accent. The small among His flock may expect help in their weakness; and as for the lambs, did He not “take them up in His arms, and bless them”? He does so still.
3. It is an increasing blessing.
(1.) It increases those and theirs upon whom it falls. It enlarges every capacity, and widens every sphere of influence and usefulness.
(2.) It increases in proportion to the enlargement of their capacity.
It is grace upon grace, blessing upon blessing, until the whole nature is filled with the fulness of God.
4. It is a personal blessing. “He will bless.” All mediatory benedictions, except in His name and declaratory of His promise, are an impertinence. The blessings fall direct from God’s hands.
5. It is an hereditary blessing. “Your children.”
III. The conditions of the blessing. “Them that fear Him.” The God-fearing man is the God-blessed man, and as long as he fears God, and no longer, is he warranted in expecting the divine blessing.
THE CREATOR, THE CREATION, AND THE CREATURE
(Psa_115:15)
A leading tenet of Jewish belief was the creatorship of God. This, too, is a foundation article of the Christian creed. All the blessings that man has enjoyed under all the dispensations may be traced to this
I. The Creator. “The Lord.”
1. The Creator is One. The dualistic theory is here answered by anticipation. “God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good.” The evil that is in the world has been introduced by the creature, and not by an equal or subordinate deity.
2. The Creator is yet the Divine Trinity. “Lord, Thou art God which hast made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is.” “One Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things.” “The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.”
II. The creation. “Which made heaven and earth.”
1. Everything, Himself only excepted (1Co_15:27; Col_1:16; Heb_3:4; Exo_31:17, &c). “Whatsoever hath any being is either made or not made; whatsoever is not made is God; whatsoever is not God is made. One independent, uncreated essence, all others depending on, and created by it; one of eternal and necessary existence; all others indifferent either to be or not to be, and that indifferency determined by the free and voluntary act of the first cause.”—Pearson.
2. “The action by which the heaven and the earth were made was the production of their total being, so that whatsoever entity they had when made, had no real existence before they were so made, a manner of production we usually term Creation, as excluding all concurrence of any material cause, and all dependence on any kind of subject, as presupposing no privation, as including no motion, as signifying a production out of nothing.”—Pearson. (Rom_4:17; Heb_11:3.)
3. The manner of creation.
(1.) Absolute (Gen_1:1).
(2.) The adaptation of existing materials to special ends (Gen_1:11-12; Gen_2:7).
III. The Creator’s benediction on the creature. “Ye are blessed of the Lord.” God’s end in creation was the enjoyment of the creature. “The earth hath He made for the children of men.” There is no natural gift from which man is debarred, and none but will in some way promote his wellbeing. It is nature’s gifts polluted and perverted that are the cause of misery. “To the Christly man nature becomes a wonderful organ, and the opening of every stop can yield some tone of joy. The beauty of the wild flowers, the stars—‘the forget-me-nots of the angels,’ the loveliness of the butterfly’s wing, the glory of the forest foliage, the music of the bee as it hums, of the birds as they warble, of the wind as it sings among the trees and hills, or of the sea, in ‘the everlasting thunder of the long Atlantic swell,’ will make him feel that all that beauty, all that music, is the gift and revelation of ‘God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;’ and, overborne by emotions utterly unknown to others, he will—
“Lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye,
And, joyful, say, My Father made them all.”
—Thomas.
THE DIVINE DWELLING-PLACE
(Psa_115:16, clause 1)
NOTE.—“The heavens (are) heavens (i.e., a dwelling-place) for the Lord” (Act_17:24).
I. The divine dwelling-place is exalted. The exact locality of heaven the Bible has nowhere chosen to reveal. The expressions “high,” “lifted up,” &c., are probably to be interpreted morally. God dwells at an infinite remove from the constant mutations and moral imperfections of the children of men.
II. The divine dwelling-place is holy. It is emphatically the “holy place.” Nothing that is defiled can enter there. Those who enter there have either never sinned, or have been purged from sin, and share the holiness of Deity.
III. The divine dwelling-place is to be the dwelling-place of man.
1. Now spiritually. “Set your affections on things above,” &c.
2. Hereafter perfectly. “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” &c. “Father, I will that them which Thou hast given Me be where I am,” &c.
THE EARTH: GOD’ S GIFT, AND MAN’S INHERITANCE
(Psa_115:16, clause 2)
The earth is man’s inheritance. No one disputes this. But how and why he came by it has been fiercely contested. He did not have it always, and science seems to prophesy a time when it will be no longer his. Why is earth his more than the heavens! And how? Most property has been either purchased or won by conflict. But how did it become theirs who had neither money, strength, nor arms? The Bible affords the only solution. God made man out of the dust of the earth, and therefore earth, and not heaven, became his sphere. God then gave him that with which he had so much in common, and told him to replenish and subdue it.
I. The earth, then, is God’s gift to man.
1. It is an equitable gift. Belonging to God by the right of creation, God could do as He chose with His own. In doing this the right of no other creature was invaded. No other creature had the capacity for this possession. Birds and beasts can enjoy the harvests, but they cannot till the soil or sow the seed. Upon man’s possession of it, therefore, largely depends the good of the inferior creation.
2. It is a magnificent gift. Compared with the largest planet and the universe, the earth may be very small. But with his faculties, it is all that he can enjoy, and God has given him that all. If he cannot enjoy the fruits of other worlds, yet this earth is a platform upon which he can enjoy the warmth and splendour of the sun, the light of the stars, and the influence of the moon, and his mind can be uplifted and enlarged by all that astronomy reveals. But in and of itself it is a magnificent gift. It affords science for his mind, beauty for his taste, trade for his practical instincts, material produce for his a wants; yes, and if he has eyes to see it, religion for his heart.
3. It is a prepared gift. “They were necessary those enormous stretches of time, during which matter was consolidating into worlds; those vast geologic periods of fire and flood, of volcanic fury, of awful convulsion, of slow subsidence, of slow upheaval; those dark mysterious epochs of conflict between the inferior types of life;—in order that at last I might have a clear heaven above my head, a firm earth beneath my feet; that I might have an atmosphere to breathe; that I might have rivers to fish, and fields to plough; that I might have wood and iron for use, and flowers and precious stones for beauty.”—R. W. Dale.
4. It is an universal gift. “To the children of men.” Not to the children of the noble, &c. Nowhere more than in this sphere has man been robbed of his natural rights. Sometimes he has robbed himself, and by a succession of degenerate descendants the wide acres which thrift has gained, have been drunk, gambled, or idled away. Sometimes others have plundered him, or outwitted him. But all the inequalities introduced by sin will be re-adjusted in that new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.
II. The earth is God’s gift to man for certain definite uses. Man is not the absolute owner of the earth. True, within certain limits, he may do what he likes with it, but he is morally bound to consider the ends for which it was given. It is let to him on lease. That lease expires with life; and then he will have to render an account of his stewardship.
1. The world has been given to promote religious ends. “The invisible things of God are clearly seen,” &c, and thus the soil which man treads is holy ground.
2. The earth has been given for the enlargement and education of his mind. “The Astronomer has learned the thoughts that are written in that starry universe. The Geologist goes down and reads many thoughts in the rocky crust of the earth. The Botanist unveils the structures of flowers, and explains the actions and peculiarities of living plants; but all these things were written before he examined them. So with the Anatomist: he has discovered volumes of thought in this body which is fearfully and wonderfully made; but every thought was there before ever man looked within.… This vast universe exhibits thoughts in every leaf and every grain of sand, in every drop of water, in the mountains and in the heavens. Whence came those thoughts?”—Alex. Stewart.
3. The earth has been given for man’s use and enjoyment. The air for his lungs; food to supply his bones with strength and his veins with blood; occupation for his exercise; stones, metals, wood, for the necessities and elegancies of life, &c.
4. The earth has been given to be evangelised for Christ. Since the original donation man has become marred by sin. But Christ has died for him, and now He says, “Go ye into all the world,” &c.
LIFE AS THE SPHERE OF DIVINE SERVICE
(Psa_115:17-18)
A part of this text has been quoted to support the opinion that the Old Testament saints were in the dark on the subject of immortality. The whole text goes to prove the very opposite. The Psalmist contemplates man in his material sphere. The earth has been given him; and on that earth it is his duty to serve the only living and true God. That ministry is over when he dies. “Nothing is more impressive than the utter silence of the grave. Not a voice, not a sound is heard there—of bards or men, of SONG or conversation, of the roaring of the sea, the sighing of the breeze, the fury of the storm, the tumult of the battle. Perfect stillness reigns there; the first sound that shall be heard will be the archangel’s trump.”—Barnes. The dead, as such, do not praise God. But who are the dead? The physical organs, limbs &c. These cannot praise God, because they have no object to praise. “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” But worship may go in with different organs, and in a different sphere. The Psalmist goes on to say, “But we will praise the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.” עוֹלָם is a word of very frequent use and has but one meaning, and that meaning is Eternity. When our Lord said, “I must work,” &c., He did not imply surely that He had no work to do beyond the grave. Notice—
I. The characteristic features of divine service. “Praise.” “Bless.”
1. Praise. הָלַל throws light on the moral character of this service; to be bright, to shine. This splendour is borrowed from Him in whom is no darkness at all. Those who worship “walk in the light as He is in the light,” &c. Hence (again true to the original) the Christian boasts not of his own excellences, but of the divine excellence which illuminates him (2Co_12:1-21). Through them his soul makes her boast in God: “God forbid that I should glory,” &c. The Piel of our text יָהַלְלוּ means
(1) to diffuse brightness. The beauty of Christian holiness, and the splendour of Christian life and worship, are so that we may be “lights of the world” and “show forth the praises of Him who hath called us,” &c.
(2) Hence a large portion of worship consists in the most beautiful art; viz., music, the only art as far as is revealed to us in the upper and better world.
2. Blessing, נְבָרֵךְ Piel of בָרַךְ. To bow, to do homage, to utter blessing.
(1.) Our blessing must be based upon our homage. Religious rhapsody is often profane. To bless God is a very solemn thing. A benediction on the King of kings and Lord of lords should be pronounced with bared head and on bended knee, and should not degenerate into mere ejaculation.
(2.) Our homage should be acknowledged by joyous gratitude. Solemnity is not inconsistent with joy. As we acknowledge God’s sovereignty we may remember that that sovereignty is the basis of all our blessings.
II. The sphere of divine service. Life. “The dead praise not the Lord.” With the occupation of their glorified spirits the Psalmist has here nothing to do. His ministry is for living men, and suggests that the sphere of religious activity is—
1. The whole of the man. His living entity. The aim of the Bible is to bring all the faculties of man into subordination to the will of God, and into full consecration to His service (1Th_5:23, Mar_12:29, &c.). And what is worship but the harmonious action of all man’s powers. Music is harmony. One note by itself, or clashing with another note, the treble only, or the bass only, is not perfect music. So intellectual, or ethical, or emotional religion exclusively, is not perfect, much less so when the mental belief clashes with the ethical action.
“Let Knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell,
That mind and soul, according well,
May make one music as before.”
—Butvaster.
2. The whole of man’s time. Every moment there are reasons and opportunities for service.
(1.) “This time.” Here and now God supplies our need; here and now the fact should be acknowledged.
(2.) To eternity.
III. Exceptions to divine service. (Psa_115:17.) The exact reference is not to the morally dead, yet the whole Bible is full of the doctrine that spiritual life is necessary to spiritual service. The morally dead are incapable of divine service for ever. Now they lack the motive, the will, and the power. And no new faculties, and no stronger desires, and no brighter opportunities will be vouchsafed beyond the grave. Our text may be used as (i.) a plea for deliverance, (ii.) a call to instant decision, (iii.) an expression of full consecration, (iv.) an expectation of future blessedness.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 The heavens and the earth are set in contrast…
Psa 115:16
The heavens and the earth are set in contrast with each other. And their contrast is in this, that, while the heavens are out of the reach of man, the expression and result of forces which he cannot control, the earth is what man makes it. David’s verse has in it the lofty description of the great philosophy of the universe that the source of all power is beyond man’s reach, and that the place of man is just to furnish in his faithful and obedient life a medium through which the power that is in the heavens may descend and work upon the earth.
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I. Here is the fundamental difference in the lives of men. Man finds the world in his hands. Everywhere the world is his. But everywhere the difference of man lies here, in whether this mastery seems to be absolute or whether it seems to be a trust. Absolute mastery means self-indulgence. The mastery of trust means humility, conscientiousness, elevation, charity, the fear of God and love of man.
II. It is in connection with this higher and true view of the giving of the world by God to man that the coming of Christ into the world gains its true meaning. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." The Giver came with clear assurance of Himself, making the men who saw Him know that it was He, touching the earth which was His own with a wise power that called out from it capacities which the poor tenant had never discovered, not taking it back out of man’s keeping, but making Himself man, so that all men might see what it might really mean for man to keep, and use, and work the earth of God. So God came to His world.
III. What has all this to do with foreign missions? The fact which Christ comes to establish, the consciousness which He comes to renew, is one that belongs to all the earth. The desire to let the whole redeemed world know of its redemption moves in the heart of every man vividly conscious of the redemption in himself.
Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 173.
References: Psa 115:17, Psa 115:18.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Genesis to Proverbs, p. 160. Psa 116:1.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. v., No. 240. Psa 116:3-4, Psa 116:8.—Ibid., vol. xxi., No 1216. Psa 116:6.—G. Dawson, Sermons on Daily Life and Duty, p. 76.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 In contrast with the idols of men.
In contrast with the idols of men.
The next psalm takes up the old controversy between God and man; which (not merely in Israel’s history) proves the truth of the sentence passed upon man. He turns from God, when knowing Him, -turns then to the darkness; and out of this comes the substituting for the true God all the idols of his own heart. He manufactures the god he worships, -a thing so inherent in man that the light of Christianity has not sufficed to banish it from the world. Up to the time of the Babylonish captivity this was Israel’s besetting sin. After this, indeed, this unclean spirit went out of them, according to the Lord’s words (Mat 12:43-45): alas, it was not cast out; nor the house possessed by One stronger than he. It is ready, therefore, to be occupied afresh by him; and this will take place in the last days, when idolatry will be again set up in the very temple of God, in the midst of those returned to their own land; and the open defiance given to Him there will bring in the desolating judgment which has been so often spoken of
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In this psalm we have, however, no allusion to the circumstances of that time. But the predictions which assure us of it, both in the Old Testament and the New, enable us better to understand the coming up of this subject of idolatry in the psalms of the latter days. Nor, indeed, is an evil done with till it has been judged: it is never allowed merely to drop out of sight unnoticed; but "God requireth," as the preacher says, "that which is past." (Ecc 3:15.) A solemn consideration! Nothing but a real judgment of a thing before God can give it effectual burial.
1. The psalm begins with a pleading that Jehovah will act for Himself and for the glory of His Name, and not allow the heathen to taunt His people, as if Jehovah were one of their own gods, not to be found in the time of need. It is, in fact, Israel’s sin which has given even the appearance of this; and therefore they urge that He give glory to His own Name, if He cannot to theirs: and this, not as if the account men made of Him were of such importance, save to them, and to the love therefore in Him which cared for them. And then again, He had pledged Himself to faith; and thus they could plead with Him for His truth’s sake also.
Israel’s God, after all, if for the nation’s sin He were not found now in His place on earth, was still in heaven. He was a reality, accomplishing whatever He would, spite of all opposition. And this leads naturally to the comparison with idols.
2. What were they, these idol-images? Matter simply -silver and gold -shaped by men’s hands! Mouth and eyes there all right: both things that are said to "speak," and are in different ways "witness" for the man himself, an index of what is in the heart. But the idol gives no response to his worshiper by word or look. Nay, he realizes nothing: the voice that cries to him he hears not, the odor of incense or of sacrifice he perceives not. No hand can tie stretch out to help, no foot of his will stir to bring relief, no murmur of sound even is in the idle throat. What can these senseless deities do but degrade the men who bow before them into beings as senseless? And this is the just penalty upon those who can forsake God, to follow palpably their own inventions.
3. From this the psalmist turns to exhort the people of God to cleave fast to Him who is not impotent nor impassive, but the help and shield of all that trust in Him. Israel, the house of Aaron; acid those that fear Jehovah, are separately exhorted nor is this mere amplification or embellishment. "Israel" is at once the nation as a whole, the people of Jehovah, the objects of His grace, who, crippled like their father in their human, strength, cleave to Him in their helplessness, and find it not in vain. The house of Aaron; on the other hand, are the recognized ministers of this grace, who speak of sacrifice -of the work of Another for them. While "those that fear Jehovah" declare by this character the work of the Spirit in them. Thus the living God has indeed shown Himself out for the people of His choice, not only in the grace which invites confidence, but in the activity of grace in Son and Spirit, -the work done for them; and the work done in them. I need hardly point out how completely the numerical structure justifies these thoughts.
4. After this exhortation; in which so much encouragement is wrapped up, we have the argument of experience as to this living God. To say "Jehovah has been mindful of us," is, for those who know his unchangeableness, to be entitled to say "He will bless us." But in accordance with this line of thought, the circles of blessing are differently divided. "Those that fear Jehovah" stand by themselves, I think, to show that under this as a principle blessing can come to others than to Israel, -with whom yet the house of Aaron remains, as in fact having the priesthood by which the whole earth draws near to God. (Isa 61:6.)
5. After this the blessedness of man with God can be told out. Blessing is continuous, just because it is Jehovah’s blessing, unchangeable as Himself, and they are in covenant-relation with the Creator of all.
But the sphere of this blessing, as the Old Testament reveals it, is definitely pointed out: not the heavens, which are Jehovah’s, but the earth: this He has given to the children of men. But the dead then are out of it: the wicked have been turned into sheol, and the resurrection of the just has taken place, though the psalm says nothing of this. The New Testament here comes fully in to explain and supplement the Old. Death is now the doom only of those away from God; but "we," says the psalmist, "we [the living] will praise Jehovah: from this time and forever."
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 In LXX 114, 115 are one Ps., while 116…
In LXX 114, 115 are one Ps., while 116 is divided into two. Apparently Psalms 115 was written to be sung antiphonally: cp. the responses in Psa_115:9-10, Psa_115:11—the first eight and the last three verses to be sung by the congregation. Probably it is a very late Ps. The writer proclaims the vanity of idols, and ascribes all help and blessing to Jehovah alone.
1. Israel is reviled by idolatrous foreigners, and appeals to God to vindicate His honour.
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3. God is the God of heaven, therefore He can save His people.
4. This the idols cannot do.
9. A Levite sings, 'O Israel, trust thou in the Lord.' The choir respond, 'He is their help and their shield': so 10, 11.
12-15. is sung by a different person.
16. 'The heavens are the heavens of Jehovah,' etc.: His peculiar dwelling as opposed to the earth, which is the habitation of men.
17. Silence] i.e. Sheol, where there is no communion with God.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 17 Also; Psa 115:11. (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trust
Also; Psa 115:11. (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 115
Psalm 115
Who Their God is?
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1. Israel’s God (Psa 115:1-3)
2. In Contrast with Idols (Psa 115:4-8)
3. O Israel Trust in the Lord (Psa 115:9-18)
Here Israel acknowledges her Saviour-Lord, unto Him alone is glory due. The nations had asked, Where is now their God? (Psa 43:3; Psa 79:10) The Contrast between the God of Israel and the dumb idols of the nations follows. But Israel’s God, the Lord, who has delivered them, is the living God and therefore the exhortation to trust Him who blesseth His people. Israel’s resolve closes this Psalm: “But we will praise the LORD, from this time forth forevermore. Hallelujah.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Vindication of God’s Glory over against the Idols.
Vindication of God’s Glory over against the Idols.
This psalm may have been a cry of Israel for the assistance of the Lord in the face of invading enemies, who placed their confidence in their heathen idols.
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v. 1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, the repetition of the cry serving for emphasis, but unto Thy name give glory, so that His essence and His attributes might properly be proclaimed before all men, for Thy mercy, His free, unmerited favor, and for Thy truth’s sake, on account of the faithfulness set forth in the promises of His Word. It is God’s glory, and that alone, about which the faithful are ever concerned, not about their own honor.
v. 2. Wherefore should the heathen say, in mockery on account of the sorry plight of God’s people forsaken by their God, Where is now their God? This taunt was actually used by the messengers of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, in his campaign against Hezekiah, Isa 36:15-20. But while the psalmist records the mockery of the enemies, he also sets over against it the trust of the believers.
v. 3. But our God is in the heavens, invisible indeed, but nevertheless ruling the world; He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased, for He alone is the almighty God, in contrast with the utter impotence of the idols of the heathen.
v. 4. Their idols are silver and gold, carved images, manufactured out of precious metals, indeed, but without real existence, the work of men’s hands, constructed, poured, carved, by weak and puny human beings, not even created, but made.
v. 5. They have mouths, as fashioned by the artist making them, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
v. 6. they have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not;
v. 7. they have hands, but they handle not, or, "their hands are there, yet they feel not"; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat, they cannot even mutter, utter an articulate sound. Note the pairing of the members and the effective way of grouping each pair, in order to bring out strongly the inanimate, dead character of the idols. Cf Psa 135:15-17; Isa 44:9-17; Jer 10:3-6.
v. 8. They that make them are like unto them, devoid of proper understanding; so is everyone, whether maker or worshiper, that trusteth in them. Idolatry lowers not only the religious and moral, but also the intellectual standard of a people.
v. 9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord, the admonition coming in all the more strongly after the contrast just presented; He is their Help and their Shield, safe to depend upon for purposes both of defense and of offense.
v. 10. O house of Aaron, a name used for Israel as a people of priests and therefore applicable to all believers, trust in the Lord; He is their Help and their Shield. The general application is now made:
v. 11. Ye that fear the Lord, no matter where and when, in either the Old or the New Testament, trust in the Lord; He is their Help and their Shield, on their side both for protection and for battle.
v. 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us, turned His thoughts in mercy upon His children; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel, His people as a whole; He will bless the house of Aaron, His people as a congregation of priests.
v. 13. He will bless them that fear the Lord, the Church of all times, both small and great, the prominent and the leaders in the Church together with the lowly.
v. 14. The Lord shall increase you more and more; for the Church, by the blessing of Jehovah in the Word, is bound to grow, you and your children.
v. 15. Ye are blessed of the Lord; richly supplied with the gifts of His goodness and mercy, which made heaven and earth, the worth and the greatness of His blessings being measured only by His immeasurable essence.
v. 16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s, the throne of His power; but the earth hath He given to the children of men, to enjoy the fullness of His favor and to praise Him for His grace.
v. 17. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence, into the realm of the dead; for then, for a season, their mouth is stilled, they are no longer physically able to join in the praise of Jehovah. All the more reason, then, for us, who are living, to be engaged in this necessary work.
v. 18. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth, while still living here on earth, and forevermore, beyond the grave, after the Last Day, when soul and body will be reunited throughout eternity. Praise the Lord, our hallelujah sounding before the throne of the God of our salvation, world without end, in heaven’s glorious halls.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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Not to us, Yahweh, not to us
The writer repeats the phrase "Not to us" in order to emphasize that they are not worthy to receive the honor that is due only to Yahweh. If necessary, a verbal phrase may be supplied here. AT: "Do not bring honor to us, Yahweh" (See: Doublet and Ellipsis)
to us
The word "us" refers to the people of Israel.
but to your name bring honor
Here the word "name" represents Yahweh, himself. AT: "but bring honor to yourself" (See: Metonymy)
for your covenant faithfulness and for your trustworthiness
The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated as an adjective. The abstract noun "trustworthiness" can be translated with a verbal phrase. AT: "because you are faithful to your covenant and you are worthy of people trusting you" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"
This rhetorical question emphasizes that there should be no reason for the nations to say what they say. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "The people of the nations should not be able to say, 'Where is their God?'" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Where is their God?
The people of other nations use this question to mock the people of Israel and to express that they do not see Yahweh helping them. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Your God is not here to help you." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
Yahweh
name
honor
covenant faithfulness
trust
nation
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16 Ps 115 In this hymn of thanksgiving for God’s…
Ps 115 In this hymn of thanksgiving for God’s blessings, the community ascribes all glory to the name of the Lord, who is the true source of hope and blessing. Meanwhile, those who trust in idols are greatly disappointed. The blessing of the Creator of heaven and earth extends to future generations (115:14), and especially to the priesthood (115:12).
115:1-3 The community confesses their faith that God will rescue them for the glory of his name.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.