Psalm 115

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory, because of thy mercy and thy truth;

2 lest at any time the nations should say, Where is their God?

3 But our God has done in heaven and on earth, whatsoever he has pleased.

4 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands.

5 They have a mouth, 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 handle; they have feet, but they cannot walk: they cannot speak through their throat.

8 Let those that make them become like to them, and all who trust in them.

9 The house of Israel trusts in the Lord: he is their helper and defender.

10 The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord: he is their helper and defender.

11 They that fear the Lord trust in the Lord: he is their helper and defender.

12 The Lord has remembered us, and blessed us: he has blessed the house of Israel, he has blessed the house of Aaron.

13 He has blessed them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

14 The Lord add blessings to you and to your children.

15 Blessed are ye of the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth.

16 The heaven of heavens belongs to the Lord: but he has given the earth to the sons of men.

17 The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord, nor any that go down to Hades.

18 But we, the living, will bless the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

Psalm 115 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.