Heathen Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”
3 But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of man’s 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 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel;
[c]They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
8 Those who make them [d]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.9 O Israel, trust 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 You who [e]fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has 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 those who [f]fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.16 The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,
But the earth He has given to the sons of men.
17 The dead do not praise [g]the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;
18 But as for us, we will bless [h]the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
The first verse really sets the tone in this psalm, that we give God all glory because of His lovingkindness and truth. It doesn’t belong to us in the least, and we shouldn’t want it either. When we start giving credit to anyone other than God, we get all twisted up.
We see this as the psalm continues, where people worship things that have no more power than what the worshipper ascribes to them. That is, they can’t do anything, but they exert control because the idol worshipper give them control. Back then it was actual statues and idols, tokens and talismans. Today our idols aren’t much different, though they may look quite different.
There is no power in the things we worship, certainly no real power. They may look impressive, and we certainly have no trouble giving up control of our lives to things we ought not: money, careers, food, celebrities, politicians, etc. What have they done to deserve our worship or adulation? As we’ve seen before, nothing anyone does on this earth can truly be credited to their account.
James would later write, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” There’s plenty of shifting going on in our world, with folks trying to “change the narrative”, but don’t fall for it! As verse 3 emphasizes, God is in charge, and the second passage reminds us over and over to trust in the Lord.
Nothing else is sure, and “all other ground is sinking sand” as the old hymn tells us. We need to build our hope on the true Cornerstone, and follow where He leads. God has a plan for your life that is good, give Him the glory, and keep your hand in His as you walk by His side.