Psalms 115:1-6

1 Not unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth's sake.

2 Wherefore should the nations say, Where then is their God?

3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he pleased.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands:

5 They have a mouth, and they speak not; eyes have they, and they see not;

6 They have ears, and they hear not; a nose have they, and they smell not;

Psalms 115:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 115

This psalm is by the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, joined to the former, and makes one psalm with it: and Kimchi says, that in some books the psalm does not begin here; but in the best and correct copies of the Hebrew, and in the Targum, it stands a distinct psalm; and the different subject matter or argument shows it to be so. It is ascribed to various persons; by some to Moses and the Israelites, when pursued by Pharaoh: by others to the three companions of Daniel, cast into the fiery furnace: by others to Mordecai and Esther, when Haman distressed the Jews: by others to the heroes at the times of Antiochus and the Maccabees; so Theodoret: by some to Jehoshaphat, when a numerous army came against him; and by others to David, which is more probable; though on what occasion is not easy to say: some have thought it was written by him, when insulted by the Jebusites, 2Sa 5:6. The occasion of it seems to be some distress the church of God was in from the Heathens; and the design of it is to encourage trust and confidence in the Lord; and to excite the saints to give him the glory of all their mercies, and to expose the vanity of idols.