Psalm 115
1 Not to us, O 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 the hands of men.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
6 they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;
7 they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they 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 O house of Israel, trust in the LORD—
he is their help and shield.
10 O 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 the house of 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 make you increase,
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 man.
17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
those who go down to silence;
18 it is we who extol the LORD,
both now and forevermore.
Praise the LORD.
It is a huge jump to Psalm 115 from Psalm 3, but it has been some weeks since I posted these studies. I have actually only had one inquiry about when I would resume them, so perhaps there is not really a need to go on. However, this one resonates with me today, and I’d like to share for that reason alone.
If you are interested in continuing to read these studies, let me encourage you to let me know in the comments. I am happy to share, but don’t want to put this out there if there isn’t a lot of interest.
Following the 10 question system I introduced here , I’m going to answer those same questions and follow up with a paraphrase of the Psalm under the heading of ” What does this mean for/to me.”
1) Who wrote it?——-Unknown
2) Circumstances ?——-After Israel’s return from captivity ( read books of Ezra and Nehemiah for background material.)
3) Questions?——-” Where (WHO) is their God?” Asked by heathen nations ( Babylon, Assyria, etc.)
4) Answered? by whom?—–In primer fashion- spelled out clearly
( as also done in I Kings 18;27, Isaiah 44:9-20, Jeremiah 10:1-16) Comparing our All-powerful, Reigning and LIVING God to the idols
The voice answering is of the believers returned to Israel.
5) Can I pray this Psalm?—–Absolutely!!” The dead cannot sing praises… but we can praise the Lord both now and forever!” v.17 and 18
6) Names for God?-Lord, God, Helper and Shield
7) Relationship?—Enlightened ( having learned the hard lesson in captivity) No more false worship!
8) NT references?— none precisely, but many to the Living God here represented- I Thess. 1:9, Romans 9;26,II Cor. 6:16 and 3:3, I Tim. 3:15 and Heb. 12:12.
9) Voices?—Worshippers, Children of the Living God, the heathen nations –Important to note the voices NOT HEARD!- those of the idols and the voices of the dead (physical and spiritual)!
10) What does it mean to me?
Under this question I offer my personal paraphrase-
Our God reigns!
He is the Living God, the Father that gives life to His children
and calls all of His people to a life that brings glory
back to
Himself.
Sing unto the Lord a new song-
for we have been blessed by the lessons
He has taught us.
He is our God,
and in His unfailing love and faithfulness,
He has blessed us with the
opportunity to grow
out of our sinful mindset.
We have seen the idols of the world
-we acknowledge that they are dead-
they are false-
a sham of life-
and those that follow them are also dead.
Without life they belong to the silence of the grave.
But the Living God is our Helper
and Shield
in the roughest battles of this life.
He blesses us richly so that we can praise the Lord throughout
Eternity.
Praise the Lord.
All God’s people say, “Praise the Lord!”
Why? Because it pleases our God to bestow His faithful love upon us,
His children.
I enjoyed this very much Heidiannie, thank you! 🙂
Happy you’re back. This was very up lifting. I am so very thankful that He has me in His hands. How could I not love Him. He loves and blesses me daily.
Thank you! I had beenwondering where the weekly Psalm study was, but didn’t want to press. I just took you at your word that you would do it. Love you!
I love this psalm- it is so comforting to know that our God reigns-” Our God is in heaven;
He does whatever pleases Him!”
I’m with Lily–I want to read these all the time, but I can’t deal with the pressure of upkeep on my own blog at the present time. I love them!
I particularly like your personal paraphrase. Thank you.