Psalm 115

Psalm 115: Hallelujah

1 Don’t give glory to us, O Yahweh. Don’t give glory to us. Instead, give glory to your name. 2 Why should other nations say, “Where is their Elohim?” 3 Our Elohim is in heaven. He does whatever he wants. 4 Their idols are made of silver and gold. They were made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. 6 They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but they cannot feel. They have feet, but they cannot walk. They cannot even make a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them. 9 Israel, trust Yahweh. He is your helper and your shield. 10 Descendants of Aaron, trust Yahweh. He is your helper and your shield. 11 If you fear Yahweh, trust Yahweh. He is your helper and your shield. 12 Yahweh, who is always thinking about us, will bless us. He will bless the descendants of Israel. He will bless the descendants of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who fear Yahweh, from the least important to the most important. 14 May Yahweh continue to bless you and your children. 15 You will be blessed by Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth. 16 The highest heaven belongs to Yahweh, but he has given the earth to the descendants of Adam. 17 Those who are dead do not praise Yah, nor do those who go into the silence of the grave. 18 But we will thank Yah now and forever. Hallelujah!

“‘Don’t give glory to us, O Yahweh,… but unto Your name give glory,’ etc. This is the godly man’s motto, and his daily practice. See Genesis 41:16, Acts 3:12; Acts 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:10, Luke 19:16. Not we, but thy talents, have gained other five, and other two [talents]. 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.’” (John Trapp)— “‘because of your mercy and faithfulness.’ And, reader, do observe how the mercy of God in Christ is blended with God's covenant-engagements. For what is God's mercy but the mercy promised? And in what is redemption founded, but God's truth? Luke 1:72; Psalms 106:8.” (Robert Hawker)— “‘Why should other nations say, ‘Where is their Elohim?'

"'Our Elohim is in heaven.’ 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?’” (Biblical Illustrator) He was dead and buried but raised on the third day and ascended to heaven. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)

“’Their idols are made of silver and gold.... made by human hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell. They have hands, but they cannot feel. They have feet, but they cannot walk.’ etc. This is one of the classic passages in the OT regarding idols. It ranks along with passages in Isaiah 40; 42; and 44 and is repeated verbatim in Psalms 135:15-18.” (Coffman) “‘They cannot even make a sound with their throats. Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them.’ Those who trust in them "are spiritually blind, deaf, dumb, lame, impotent; and when their idols are destroyed, they will perish in like manner." (Bp. Horne)

But Jesus is alive making intercession for us, according to will of God “‘Israel,’— the spiritual sons of Jacob— ‘trust Yahweh… Descendants of Aaron,’— the priests and Levites proceeding from Aaron,— ‘trust Yahweh….You that fear Yahweh,— all real penitents, and sincere believers, even among the Gentiles— ‘trust Yahweh.’” (Adam Clarke) “‘He is your Upholder and your Defender.' Observe the gracious call of God to the several orders of his people. First, to Israel; next, to the priests of Israel; thirdly, to all in whose heart the fear of the Lord is; taking in both the Jewish and Gentile churches. And observe yet more particularly, in whom they are called to put their trust. Who is the help of Israel, and the Saviour thereof, but He whose name is Yahweh our righteousness? And who is the shield but Jesus? See those Scriptures, Jeremiah 14:8; Psalms 84:9; Jeremiah 23:6.” (Robert Hawker) “Trust under the wings of the God of Israel, Ruth 2:12. And such there were many at this time in the church of Israel, whom therefore he fitly invites to trust God, because he is no less their than the Israelites’ help and shield, as it follows.” (Matthew Poole)

God, in Christ the Lamb, "has reserved the heavens to Himself, but given the earth to men. This separation of heaven and earth is a fundamental characteristic of the post-diluvian history. The throne of God is in the heavens, and the promise, which is given to the patriarchs on behalf of all mankind, does not refer to heaven, but to the possession of the earth (Ps 37:22). The promise is as yet limited to this present world, whereas in the New Testament this limitation is removed and the κληρονομία embraces heaven and earth. This Old Testament limitedness finds further expression in Psalms 115:17, where דּוּמה , as in Psalms 94:17, signifies the silent land of Hades. The Old Testament knows nothing of a heavenly ecclesia that praises God without intermission, consisting not merely of angels, but also of the spirits of all men who die in the faith. Nevertheless there are not wanting hints that point upwards which were even better understood by the post-exilic than by the pre-exilic church. The New Testament morn began to dawn even upon the post-exilic church. We must not therefore be astonished to find the tone of Psalms 6:6; Psalms 30:10; Psalms 88:11-13, struck up here, although the echo of those earlier Psalms here is only the dark foil of the confession which the church makes in Psalms 115:18 concerning its immortality. The church of Jahve as such does not die. That it also does not remain among the dead, in whatever degree it may die off in its existing members, the psalmist might know from Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 25:8.” (Keil & Delitzsch)

“Yahweh, who is always thinking about us, will bless us.’ He will bless the descendants of Israel; of Aaron; and of all that fear Him. The blessing is eternal life, that is the resurrection unto life. “‘Those who are dead’— such as we shall suddenly be, if thou dost not succour us— ‘do not praise Yah, nor do those who go into the silence.’— into the place of silence, the grave.” (Matthew Poole) They will have their part in the resurrection unto damnation, becoming “like the object of their adoration.” (Burton Coffman) “The notion of Sheol as a place of silence occurs in Psalms 94:17, and strongly in Isaiah 38:18.” (The Pulpit Commentaries)

“Sheol. In ordinary usage it means ‘ravine,’ ‘chasm,’ ‘underworld,’ or ‘world of the dead.’ In the OT it is the place where the dead have their abode, a hollow space underneath the earth where the dead are gathered in. Synonyms for Sheol are ‘pit,’ ‘death,’ and ‘destruction’ (Abaddon). Sheol is a place of shadows and utter silence. Here all existence is in suspense, yet it is not a nonplace, but rather a place where life is no more. It is described as the Land of Forgetfulness. Those who dwell there cannot praise God (Ps 88:10-12; 115:17). In Revelation it is called the ‘bottomless pit’ presided over by Abaddon, the prince of the pit (Rev 9:11). It is not, however, a place where God is entirely absent; there can be no escape from God even in Sheol (Ps 139:8).” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)

Moses’ last words to all true Israel bears similarity to Psalm 115. “There is no one like your Elohim, Jeshurun (nickname for Israel)! He rides through the heavens to help you. In majesty He rides through the clouds. The eternal Elohim is your shelter, and His everlasting arms support you. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will dwell safety; Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights.” (Deut 33:26-29) “As death will terminate our opportunities of praising God on earth; let us now redeem the time, that we may glorify Him with our lips and in our lives. Then we shall shortly join the company before the throne, and assist them in blessing our God; and our bodies will be raised from the silent grave, to join in this delightful work to all eternity.. ‘Hallelujah, Praise Yah.” (Thomas Scott)