PSALMS LESSON 118
We will begin this lesson by giving the 115th Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 115
Verse 1. "Not unto us, Lord, not to us, But do thou glory take To thy
own name, ev'n for thy truth, And for thy mercy's sake."
Verse 2. "O wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God now
gone? But our God in the heavens is, What pleased him he
hath done."
Verse 3. "Their idols silver are and gold, The work of men they be.
Though mouths they leave, they do not speak; and eyes, they
do not see;"
Verse 4. "Though ears they have, they do not hear; Their noses savor
not; Hands, feet but handle not, nor walk; Nor speak they
through their throat."
Verse 5. "Like them their makers are, and all On them their trust
that build. O Isr'el, trust thou in the Lord, He is their
help and shield."
Verse 6. "O Aaron's house, trust in the Lord, Their help and shield
is he. Ye that fear God, trust in the Lord, Their help and
shield he'll be.
Verse 7. "The Lord of us hath mindful been, And he will bless us
still; He will the house of Isr'el bless, Bless Aaron's
house he will."
Verse 8. "Both small and great that fear the Lord, He will them
surely bless. The Lord will you, you and your seed, Still
more and more increase.
Verse 9. "Yea truly blest are ye of God, Who made the earth and
heav'n. The heav'n, ev'n heav'ns, are God's , but he Earth
to men's sons hath giv'n."
Verse 10. "The dead, and who to silence go, God's praise do not
record. But henceforth we forever will Bless God, Praise ye
the Lord."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 115th Psalm.
Psalms 115:1 "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give
glory, for thy mercy, [and] for thy truth's sake."
It is so amazing to me that the people of God are seeking for
signs and wonders. They have the strange opinion, that if God has not
done any great miracles in the last few days, they cease to hold Him
in awe. The Psalmist, here, is seemingly afraid that the people around
them have ceased to fear the Lord, and he is asking to show His mighty
power once again to make the enemies of Israel fear Israel's God. This
is, possibly, a continuation of the same theme that the last Psalm
had. In it, the mighty power of God was shown at the Red Sea and, in
fact, all across the wilderness. The people in the surrounding area
feared Israel's God. Israel now has lost a battle or two and the
people have ceased to fear. The verse above is saying, glorify
yourself among these heathens. Do it not because of us, but to let
them know who God is.
Psalms 115:2 "Wherefore should the heathen say, Where [is] now
their God?"
The heathen have ceased to believe that God is truly with Israel.
More than that, they have ceased to believe that God truly exists.
Psalms 115:3 "But our God [is] in the heavens: he hath done
whatsoever he hath pleased."
God does things on His time table. He does not have to please the
whims of a few shallow believers. God does not have to prove Himself
to anyone. God is above the ridiculous planning of simple man. If they
can not retain their belief, by what He has already shown them, He is
not obligated to run and do a miracle every time someone doubts.
Psalms 115:4 "Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of
men's hands."
We have discussed before, that the word that idols was translated
from means nothings. Their objects of worship have no power. They are
cold metal. This, again, is saying that they are worshipping the
creation, rather than the Creator.
Psalms 115:5 "They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have
they, but they see not:"
These chunks of metal have mouths, but how can an inanimate
object speak? These are the imaginations of men's hearts formed into
an idol.
Psalms 115:6 "They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they,
but they smell not:"
They have ears formed out of the metal, but it goes no deeper
than the surface. They can not hear the cries of their people.
They have none of the senses operating in that chunk of metal.
Psalms 115:7 "They have hands, but they handle not: feet have
they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat."
They cannot hold anything in their hand, neither can they give
anything out. Elijah proved these idols for just what they were, when
he challenged the prophets of Baal to prove who God really was.
400 of Baal's prophets died that day.
Psalms 115:8 "They that make them are like unto them; [so is]
every one that trusteth in them."
Someone who worships an inanimate object is less than wise
himself. To worship an idol, brings no power at all. They have no
thought deeper than what they can see. Their judgement is impaired as
well. As Elijah proved that day, they can not respond at all to the
people worshipping them, and the people worshipping them can not
respond either.
Psalms 115:9 "O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he [is] their
help and their shield."
Let the uninformed world around you worship whoever, or whatever,
they choose, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The
most real things in life are not the things we see with our physical
eyes. Love, is possibly, the strongest force we know of between
humans, and you can not see that. There is no greater love than a man
would lay down His life for His friends. You cannot see that , but
that is just what Jesus did. He is our very present help in trouble.
You can not see the wind, but you know it is there, because of the
effect it has on other things that you can see. This is like God. We
can not see Him, but we know He exists, because of the effect that He
has on those things and people around us. Place your trust in the
Lord. He is their help, and our help. He is our shield against the
storm. The physical house of Israel should have no trouble with this,
because of the effect the presence of God had on the Red Sea.
Psalms 115:10 "O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he [is] their
help and their shield."
The house of Aaron, the priestly tribe, should know better than
anyone else of the greatness of God. They are in the temple with the
presence of God, and they should know of the power and protection He
provides better than anyone else. Those, who have much knowledge of
God, should have the best understanding of Him.
Psalms 115:11 "Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he [is]
their help and their shield."
We have said, over and over, that the fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom. We have, also, said that trust goes beyond faith.
When we know in our heart and rest on that knowledge that God is our
shield and help, we find perfect peace. This, to me, is the rest in
the LORD. We know that whatever happens, it is God moving in our best
interest. Sometimes in the natural, we could look at circumstances
around us and our faith might falter. If we trust the LORD, we are not
concerned with circumstances. We rise above circumstances and put our
total confidence in the LORD.
Psalms 115:12 "The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless
[us]; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of
Aaron."
The desire of the LORD is to bless His people. He will bless us
and the physical house of Israel as well, as bless the chosen
ministers of God, if we will obey Him. We have only to think how far
we have already come in the LORD, to know that His blessings have been
abundantly upon us. There are not only blessings for this earth, but
He will bless us even more in the eternity to come.
Psalms 115:13 "He will bless them that fear the LORD, [both]
small and great."
You do not have to be the high priest in the temple to be blessed
of God. Sometimes, I believe that God is even more interested in those
of low estate. Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, gave sight to
the blind, and raised the dead. Not once in all of this, did He regard
the person of the one He was ministering to. All, in fact, are small
in comparison to Him. He owns the cattle on every hill. All of this is
His creation. We can not be high and mighty around Him. He sees the
spirit of man, and not his circumstances.
Psalms 115:14 "The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and
your children."
All of those who fear the LORD are the believers. If we are
believers in Christ, then all the promises made to Abraham are ours,
as well. Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." This promise does
not die out with one generation, but is for all generations to come.
Psalms 115:15 "Ye [are] blessed of the LORD which made heaven and
earth."
These blessings are not from a mere mortal. These blessings are
from the Creator of the world. Not only did He make the heaven and the
earth, but He made us, as well. We are His creation.
Psalms 115:16 "The heaven, [even] the heavens, [are] the LORD'S:
but the earth hath he given to the children of men."
We have discussed before, how He made the world and everything in
it, and then He made mankind to dwell there. His plan from the
beginning was for us to have a place of habitation. The earth is for
the children of men. That is very interesting, in the fact, that
Christians are not children of men. We are sons of God. This earth is
not the home of the Christian. We are in the world, but we are not of
the world. Heaven is our home. Our Father dwells there and His Son has
gone there to prepare a place for you and me. My home is in heaven,
because I am no longer children of men, I am a son of God.
Psalms 115:17 "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go
down into silence."
The Bible says, let everything that has breath, praise the LORD.
When we are dead, we do not have breath. Our breath has been removed.
Those who have no breath {dead} cannot praise the LORD. Those who go
to heaven praise the Lord, but they are not dead.
Psalms 115:18 "But we will bless the LORD from this time forth
and for evermore. Praise the LORD."
It is natural for the sons of God to praise the LORD. It will
matter not whether that it is in this earth, or in heaven to come.
Questions 118
1. In verse 1, who was the glory to be given to?
2. If God has not done a miracle in the last few days, they have
ceased to hold Him in _____.
3. The countries around did not fear the Israelites, they feared who?
4. What caused the people to cease to fear?
5. Why did the Psalmist want God to glorify Himself?
6. Worse than the fact that the heathen had decided God was not with
Israel, was what?
7. Should God follow the wishes of the Psalmist?
8. Their idols are ______ and ______.
9. What is an idol?
10. They are worshipping the _______, and not the _________.
11. They have mouths, but they _______ not.
12. What has been formed into an idol?
13. What prophet proved to the people that these idols were nothing?
14. How many prophets of Baal died that day?
15. Someone who worships an inanimate object is less than _______
himself.
16. Trust thou in the LORD: He is their ____ and ______.
17. What are the real things in life?
18. Why should the physical house of Israel have no problem in
believing in God?
19. O house of _______, trust in the LORD.
20. Why should the house of Aaron know more about God?
21. Verse 11 says, that the Lord is whose help and shield?
22. What is trust?
23. How can we rise against the circumstances, and put total
confidence in the LORD?
24. God will bless us, if we _______ Him.
25. Name some of the miracles Jesus did for the under-privileged.
26. Quote Galations chapter 3 verse 29.
27. The earth hath he given to the ________ of ___.
28. Who are the Christians?
29. We are __ the world, but we are not __ the world, if we are
Christians.
30. Let everything that hath ______, praise the LORD.
31. It is ________ for the sons of God to praise the LORD.
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