Psalms

5/7/19

Tom Lowe

 

Psalm 115: Idolatry Exposed

Another of the psalms which date from the Captivity era.

Scripture:

Psalm 115 (NIV)

1. Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
2.  Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3. Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
4. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
5. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
6. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
7. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
9. All you Israelites, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.
10. House of Aaron, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.
11. You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.
12. The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
13. he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike.
14. May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.
15. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
16. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.
17. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence;
18. it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Praise the Lord.

 

Introduction:

Tradition says that this psalm, like its immediate companions [116-118] belonged to the Hebrew, Hymnbook and was one of the psalms designated as Hallel. It was sung at the annual Passover feast in Israel after the meal was finished. We can see at a glance that it makes a contrast between idolatry and the true God.

The people of the surrounding nations were all idolaters. Even Judah itself had been infected with the same foolishness but King Jehoshaphat had brought the nation back to God.

 

Commentary:

(115:1) Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

(115:1a) “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory.”

The name “LORD” [Jehovah] is forever associated with the Passover and the exodus. God had revealed Himself to Moses as the great I AM. When Moses first confronted Pharaoh with God’s demand that he let His people go, Pharaoh’s reply was a disdainful “Who is the Lord [Jehovah], that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Ex. 5:2). By the time God was through with Pharaoh, he knew who He was. Then He said, “Rise up, and get ye forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord [Jehovah], as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also” (Ex. 12:31).

Israel’s redemption was therefore forever associated with the name of the Lord, and so is ours. “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory.”

(115:1b) because of your love and faithfulness.

The psalmist makes it clear that God deserves glory because of His love and faithfulness. God’s mercy and truth are indissoluble.

 

(115:2) Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”

There have always been plenty of people prepared to mock divine things. We live in an age of atheism when terrible things are being said about our God by people who are influencing the thinking of millions.

One wonders why God does not smite His detractors where they stand. But He has His reasons for not doing so: immaturity in the offender, extenuating circumstances, the innocence of others who would suffer if the judgment were imposed, His grace in giving time for repentance and, above all, the fact that this is not the age of judgment.

“Where is their God?”

Those accustomed to some visible embodiment of God are always amazed at spiritual worship. God’s good pleasure is never arbitrary but always conditioned by the highest welfare of His creatures. Let us ask Him to work that pleasure out in us that we may please Him (*Heb. 13:21, 11:5).

Idolatry was a recurring temptation for the Israelites. They were surrounded by other nations with their various gods. And many times when some disaster or difficulty befell Israel, those nations would question the presence of Israel’s God.

The glory of the Lord, not the honor of His people alone, is at stake in the scoffing of the Heathen who say, “Where is their God?” Because God could not be seen or handled, idolatrous nations would raise such a question. The answer is given immediately; “our God is in heaven” (v. 3).

 

*Equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Heb. 13:21)

 

(115:3). Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

God goes straight to the mark of His own sovereign will. He is under no obligation to explain to anyone why or what He does. He is above the taunts and tirades of men. How foolish their prideful protests must seem to God who pursues His own unwavering purposes in spite of the noisy unbelief of His foes, and without the slightest obligation to respond. He is an unseen God who rules from Heaven, yet He is in complete control. This would have been a foreign concept to the polytheistic nations around Israel.

He has always done “whatever pleases Him; His will is sovereign, and is “good, and acceptable, and perfect” (*Rom. 12:2). Whatever pleases God is always good.

 

*All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. (Rom. 2:12)

(115:4-7)

4. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands

5. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see

6. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

7. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Although the blind heathen are made to believe, by their priests who pretend that their Idols have the spirit of their gods dwelling within the wood and metal images that they worship and pray to; the truth of the matter, confirmed by long and constant experience is that they can do nothing for they cannot see, hear, speak, move, smell, or use their hands. Thus, they cannot take anything away from you, nor can they give anything to you, and they will not give the least thought to your condition and your petitions.

People show as much sense talking to a stump as they do addressing a piece of metal or wood which happens to be shaped something like a human being. Especially when they know some craftsman made it. Mouths, eyes, ears, noses, hands, feet, throats. Blind, deaf, senseless, helpless, immobile, and silent. Such is an idol. The worship of idols is a form of insanity.

A stone idol might be unimpressive and unshapen by human hands; it might be regarded as having fallen down from heaven (*Acts 19:35). A wooden idol might be a rough-hewn post, and can hardly be distinguished, from a natural object, but where silver and gold were used, the craftsman’s hand would be conspicuous on the figure of the God

One can sympathize with a pagan who worships the sun. The sun rules the daylight sky. It chases away the darkness, fills the earth with light and warmth, makes the grass grow and grain to ripen. But for a man to take a piece of wood and shape it to look like a cow or crocodile and then to worship it is insane. But such foolishness is not a passing phase of Human history, confined to Stone Age peoples. All you have to do is visit a Catholic church and see people praying to a stone virgin, or to the image of a man nailed to a cross-shaped piece of wood. The figure, whatever it is, has a mouth and throat that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, a nose that cannot smell, hands that cannot handle, feet that cannot walk. It is only a piece of wood, metal, stone or plastic.

Almost all the surrounding nations worshiped visible, tangible idols that reminded them of their gods. They made them as lifelike as possible.  The psalmist makes it clear in verse 4 that the Idols are carved by humans - totally inanimate and impotent.

 

*The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Fellow Ephesians, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? (Acts 19:35)

 

 (115:8). Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

“Those who make them; or, those who observe or worship them.

Idolatry has a fearful hold over the minds and the hearts of millions of people in all parts of the world. It has had for countless centuries. Human beings seem to continually surrender their reasoning powers and become wrapped in gross superstition. Some of the world’s fiercest wars have been fought in defense of idols.

On a more distressing note, the psalmist observes that those who put their trust in idols [or worship idols] become like those idols - helpless and ineffective; mortal, weak, and miserable creatures that are infinitely inferior to the true God. The makers and worshipers of them show by their absurd and foolish actions that they are as ignorant, as stupid, and void of all sense and reason as are their images. And though we may not in our day be tempted to prostrate ourselves before the idols of the heathen, yet there are idols that fascinate us (*1 Cor. 10:14; Col.3:5; 1 John 5:21). The idols we have today are sex, money, power, pleasure. We must not trust gold or success, or any earthly thing; but God in Christ, till we become like Him (*2 Cor. 3:18). The best idol you can have is the Lord Jesus Christ, kneel before Him, praise and worship Him, for He can do all those things and infinitely more than man-made idols. I wonder, how can anyone make an image out of wood and then proceed to worship it.

In contrast, those who trust in Israel’s powerful God are empowered, and those who put their faith in the compassionate God receive help (vv. 9-11).

 

*Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. (1 Cor. 10:14)

*And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)

 

 (115:9). All you Israelites, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.

“All you Israelites,” do not follow the example of these brutish idolators, but you serve the Lord only.

“He is their help and shield,” for even the greatest men can not do without God. But the least of men may appropriate Him. Trust in taking what God gives. “Help” and “shield’ together make a very assuring combination: the one for help in every moment of need; the other for defense.

 

(115:10). House of Aaron, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.

The psalmist is speaking to everyone who worships the true God, not only Israelites and Aarounites but even Gentile proselytes, who are said to come to trust under the wings of the God of Israel (*Ruth 2:12). And, there were many of these brutish idolators.

“The house of Aaron” refers to the priests.

“He is their help and shield” refers to those who trust in God, as He now required.

If the people must trust in the Lord, how much more should the priests trust Him? We have every right to expect that those who have devoted their lives to the Lord’s service should be able to set an example for the rest of the family of faith in trusting the Lord. Such trust is justified because the Lord had been mindful of His people (v. 12); He had remembered His own and will continue to bless them . . . both small and great (v. 13) - one and all without distinction of rank or condition.

 

*May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:12)

 

(115:11). You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.

The whole family of faith - even the newest converts, the God-fearers among the Gentiles - are put on the same footing before God. There is no difference between the person brought up in a believing home, the full-time minister or missionary, and the untaught convert. One and all are to trust in the Lord and prove Him for themselves to be a help and shield. But if we worship anything other than God, we become mercenary and hard, or trifling and shallow

 (115:12-13)

12. The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,

13. he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike.

“The Lord remembers us” and our former perils and calamities, and therefore we believe He will still bless us; though He has severely chastened us, He has not cast us out of the care of His providence.

The blessing of the Lord does not depend on how much we know, or on whether or not we have had a spiritual education. It does not depend on our coming from a privileged family or on our being in full-time Christian ministry. Rather, it depends upon His faithfulness to those who trust Him. God finds such trust irresistible, no matter what its source.

Israel’s God is unseen, but  He is living and active. He has proven to be ever present with His people and will continue to respond to their needs.

 (115:14-15)

14. May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.

15. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Here the psalmist prays for God to bless His people, both those who are listening and their families. His prayer is for God to increase Israel in number in spite of all their enemies attempts to diminish and destroy them. The maker of heaven and earth is the only One qualified to help them. The God of the trusting heart is “the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (v. 15)” and who is therefore abundantly able to do what He has promised.

Verse 16 is thought to be an explanation of the last clause of verse 15. The Lord made heaven and earth and reserves the heavens for Himself (*1 Kings 8:27) but places the earth under the control of the children of men, a Hebraism for the entire human race (*Gen. 1:28-30; Ps. 8:6).

Is someone brokenhearted because one of their children is far from  God, dead in trespasses and sins, wandering in the far country with a heart set against the Lord? Take courage and hold onto this verse. Note its content. Trust in the Lord. Remember who it is that makes the pledge - the Lord who made heaven and earth. Can any situation be too hard for Him? Of course not. If He can fling Billions of stars billions of light-years into space, and control the destinies of each one, surely He can increase you more and more - you and your children.

 

*"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1 Ki. 8:27)

* 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29  Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. (Gen. 1:28-30)

(115:16). The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.

Heaven belongs to the Lord. He created it. He owns it. It is His home. It is to be our home someday, but right now it is His home where He dwells. It is where Jesus is, where he has been for more than 2000 years. But He has given the earth to human beings for their habitation, possession, and use but what a mess we have made of it. This tiny planet is the focus of great interest in heavenly places. And no wonder. It was here that God was made flesh. Here he lived for 33½ years. Here is the place where He forged our redemption, where Jesus’ blood was shed, the spot to which He will return. This place will be the center of everything for all eternity.

 

(115:17) used even that. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence;

This gloomy view of the grave {1] is characteristic of the Old Testament. Jesus had not yet brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Still, the Holy Spirit used even that limited understanding to urge his hearers to praise God while they could. “The grave” in some versions is “the dead.” Sheol, the place of the dead is translated generally either hell or the grave by the KJV. It was regarded as a place of silence and gloom, a shadowy underworld. While there are clear intimations in the Old Testament of an afterlife for the righteous in the fellowship of God, it must be remembered that “life and immortality” were brought to light only through Christ and the gospel (*2 Tim. 1:10). One such intimation from the gloom and loss of Sheol is found in verse 18, Where the righteous express determination to praise the Lord “both now and forevermore.”

We know now that the grave is not silent. We only need to read the last book in our Bible and note the singing and shouting in praise of God to recognize that.

 

*but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Tim. 1:10)

(115:18) it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Praise the Lord. [hallelujah]

The dead no longer have voices with which to express appreciation, so in verses 16-18 the psalmist challenges people to offer their praise while they are able.