Psalms 115:1-9

1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake.

2 Why should the heathen say, "Where now is 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 men's 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 everyone that trusteth in them.

9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: He is their help and their shield.

Psalms 115:1-9 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.