Psalms 115 KJV
The Greatness of God
About This Psalm
Our God is in the heavens - He does whatever He pleases. Idols have mouths but cannot speak. Trust the living God.
1ot unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truthโs 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 menโs 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 LORDโs: 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.
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Did You Know?
Psalm 115 forms a deliberate theological pivot within the Egyptian Hallel (113-118) by moving from the Exodus miracles of the previous psalm to a direct confrontation with the question 'Where is now their God?', reframing Israel's deliverance as ongoing proof of divine sovereignty rather than a past event.
The idol polemic in verses 4-8 uniquely applies the 'like unto them' principle to the worshipers themselves, implying a reciprocal anthropology in which humans are conformed to the lifelessness of what they venerate, a motif that echoes but sharpens similar critiques in Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Verses 9-11 employ a triadic liturgical summons to 'Israel,' 'Aaron,' and 'ye that fear the Lord' that mirrors the covenant community's concentric structure in Numbers 15 and later Second Temple synagogue practice, suggesting an antiphonal temple rite rather than a purely individual prayer.
The assertion in verse 16 that 'the heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men' quietly subverts ancient Near Eastern cosmologies in which gods retained proprietary rights over earthly territory, instead delegating dominion in a manner that anticipates later dominion theology.
By ending with the same benediction formula later repeated at the close of Psalm 118, the psalm creates an inclusio across the Hallel that binds the entire sequence into a single liturgical arc celebrating both past redemption and future eternal praise.
Commentary & Study Notes
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Psalms 115 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: The Psalmist Prays That God Would Vindicate His Glory, Which Is Contrasted With The Vanity Of Idols, While The Folly Of Their Worshippers Is Contrasted With The Trust Of God's People, Who Are Encouraged To Its Exercise And To Unite In The Praise Which It Occasions.
The Psalmist Prays That God Would Vindicate His Glory, Which Is Contrasted With The Vanity Of Idols, While The Folly Of Their Worshippers Is Contrasted With The Trust Of God's People, Who Are Encouraged To Its Exercise And To Unite In The Praise Which It Occasions v1-18
1-3. The vindication of God's mercy and faithfulness (Ps 25:10; 36:6) is the "glory" of His "name," which is desired to be illustrated in the deliverance of His people, as the implied mode of its manifestation. In view of the taunts of the heathen, faith in His dominion as enthroned in the heaven (Ps 2:4; 11:4) is avowed. 2. Where is now, &c.--"now" is "not a particle of time, but of entreaty," as in our forms of speech, "Come now," "See now," &c. 4-7. (Compare Isa 40:18-20; 44:9-20). 7. speak . . . throat--literally, "mutter," not even utter articulate sounds. 8. every one that trusteth--they who trust, whether makers or not. 9-13. The repetitions imply earnestness. 14. Opposed to the decrease pending and during the captivity. 15-17. They were not only God's peculiar people, but as living inhabitants of earth, assigned the work of His praise as monuments of divine power, wisdom, and goodness. 18. Hence let us fulfil the purpose of our creation, and evermore show forth His praise.