To God be the Glory

Psalm 115

Psalm 115 is a beautiful hymn. It exalts the God of Israel above all other gods. It encourages trust in the One True God and promises blessings to those who do. It’s easy to outline and not difficult to understand. Let’s look at it.

1. God alone deserves glory (1).

“Not to us” repeated two times. Under no circumstances should we give ourselves credit for what god has done. Israel had accomplished much in the eyes of the world.

They had escaped slavery

They had survived the wilderness

They had conquered armies and taken land for themselves

They had survived invasion and deportation

Some might attempt to give the nation glory. The Psalmist opens by saying emphatically that Israel should not receive the glory for anything.

Remember that Psalm 115 is one of the Egyptian Hallel Psalms. That means it was sung during Passover. As Israel remembered their deliverance from Egypt, they would remind themselves through song that God delivered them. They were not to point to their own bravery or skill. God delivered them.

“For the sake of Your steadfast love and your faithfulness” In rescuing and preserving Israel God displayed His own character. He showed His love and faithfulness. God saves people to reveal Himself.

What about us? Do we recognize that we do not deserve any glory?

All that has been accomplished in our lives is by the grace of God and for the glory of God. Particularly our salvation is to the glory of God. We are trophies of grace in God’s home.

When someone compliments us do we say:

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory!”

Do we pray that God would point people away from us and to Himself? Instead of hearing someone say “Look what they have done!” do we long to hear people say “Look what God has done!”?

God alone deserves the glory.

2. Idols are worthless (2-8).

Verse two suggests there was some sort of suffering Israel was experiencing. The argument of verse 2 is the same argument Moses used when God was begging the Lord not to let Israel die in the wilderness (Ex. 32:12). Israel had made an idol and worshipped it. God threatened to wipe out the people and start over. Moses argued that if the Lord did this it would give the Egyptians a reason to speak evil of God. God heard Moses’ prayer and spared Israel.

The question “Where is their God?” is an interesting one. Those who worshipped idols could point to their god. They could take you and show you their god. Israel could not do that. Their God was unique. He was spirit.

Here is something to think of. There has never been a statue of Israel’s God uncovered. In all the archaeological excavation of our world not a single statue of YHWH has been discovered. That is an amazing thought.

Israel could only point people to their God by His actions. His blessings and deliverance were proof of His existence.

v. 3 “Our God is in the heavens” He is not on earth.

“He does all that He pleases” He is sovereign over the earth.

The second part of that verse is an important one. We need to understand that God does as He pleases, not as we please. He will do things we do not think are best, but they are best. In the end we will see that.

v. 4-8 Now let’s look at the idols. This is meant to be insulting to the idols and those who worship them. The Psalmist wants people to understand how foolish it is to worship an idol.

They are the work of human hands. Sure, they are beautiful. They are made of silver and gold. But they are made by humans. Their only worth is the silver and gold. The Jews did not create their God. Their God created the. They are work of the hands of God. He did not make them with silver and gold. He made them from the dust. He made them in His own image which gives them worth.

Now we see the similarities between the idols and people:

They have mouths

They have eyes

They have ears

They have noses

They have hands

They have feet

They have throats

They appear to be human. They look like humans but they cannot do what humans can do.

A mouth but they cannot speak. Their gods cannot give commands. Their gods cannot give promises. Their gods cannot give prophecies. Their gods cannot give them blessings.

They have eyes but cannot see. How will they know if their worshippers are in danger? How can they watch over them?

They have ears but cannot hear. How can they hear the prayers of their worshippers?

They have hands but do not feel. How can they perform any action for their people?

When was in Rome I saw many statues to false gods. Many were impressive. But they are nothing but stone. They are the inventions of man.

Look at verse 8. Both those who create and worship the gods become like the gods they worship. They are:

Spiritually dead

Spiritually cold

Spiritually hardened

Spiritually ignorant

Spiritually impotent

3. A Command to Trust in the Lord (9-11).

There is a threefold call to trust in the Lord in these verses. The call is given to different groups of people.

Israel is to trust in the Lord- this refers to the nation in general.

The house of Aaron is to trust in the Lord (10)- this refers to the priests.

Those who fear the Lord are to trust in the Lord- this probably refers to Gentile converts.

This command comes on the heels of a refutation of idol worship. This implies the Psalmist is calling people away from the worship of idols. Faith is to be exercised in the God of Israel. To do that faith in idols must be renounced.

If we are to be saved, we can trust only Christ. We must cut our allegiance to the false gods of this world.

After the call to trust in God alone a promise is given. The same promise is given three times:

“He is their help and their shield!”

What is good is to Israel, He is to everyone.

What God is to the priests, He is to everyone.

What God is to the Gentile, He is to everyone.

God is no respecter of persons. The Lord has no stepchildren. All who belong to Him share in the same benefits.

Let me point out something else. Notice there is a change from the 2nd to 3rd person in verses 9-11. This suggests that one person or group sang the first part of the verse while another group sang the second part.

Imagine the priests singing:

O Israel trust in the Lord!

The people would sing:

He is their help and their shield!

This helps to give us an understanding of how ancient worship sounded with the Jewish people. The three-fold repetition is important as well. We need to be reminded on a regular basis to trust the Lord. We easily forget to trust Him.

4. The Blessing of the Lord (12-15).

“The Lord has remembered” does not suggest that the Lord had forgotten them. In fact it means the opposite of that. The Lord always remembers His people. He remembers all His people.

He will bless the house of Israel.

He will bless the house of Aaron.

He will bless the Gentiles.

Notice also that it says He will bless the small and the great. Gain, God is no respecter of person. He does not give grace to one particular social class and withholds it from another.

Verses 14-15 appear to be a priestly blessing. The prayer is for increase that extends generations. This should be our prayer. It should be our prayer to see certain things in our children:

Redemption

Joy

Peace

Prosperity

We need the hand of the Lord upon us. We need to see another generation live for God. The blessing of the Lord upon our households should be at the top of our prayer list.

5. We are here to praise God (16-18).

Verse 16 is a reminder that God has given the earth as a stewardship to humans. God s in complete control of the heavens. That does not mean He is not in control of the earth. He is in control of it. But we are not stewards of the heavens.

The earth is the Lord’s. We can plant but God still must make the seed grow. But if we do not plant anything we will not reap anything.

What God allows on this earth is surprising. He allows men to create idols. He allows sin. He allows His own people to be mistreated. He allows His name to be blasphemed. These things are only allowed because of the patience of God. Until Christ returns man will be allowed to sin upon earth.

There is a positive side to this too. What a blessing it is that God has trusted us with the earth. We can grow flowers. We can build homes. We can fish. We can cook and prepare food we have harvested. We can marry. We can have children.

v. 17 Some use verse like this to argue that when a person dies they cease to exist. That’s not what this verse means at all. It means that our time to praise God for the blessing of this earth is now.

On the earth, the dead do not praise God. Why would we wait to praise the Lord? We are only on this earth for a short time. This is our time to praise God.

v. 18 The Psalmist ends the Psalm by saying “We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!”

If the Psalmist meant the dead cannot praise God at all verse 18 would not make sense. How can you praise God forever if you cannot praise Him when you die?

Clearly the meaning is to begin praising God now and never stop! Will you praise God? Will you give Him the glory He deserves?

Spurgeon said of this verse:

Though the dead cannot, and the wicked will not, and the careless do not praise God, yet we will shout “Hallelujah” for ever and ever. Amen.

In Christ we have endless reasons to praise God.