Psalm 115 | October 22

Psalm 115 and the Glory of Yahweh

Psalm 115, hear now the words of the living and true God. Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your lovingkindness, because of your truth. Why should the nation say, where now is their God?

But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear.

They have noses, but they do not smell. As for their hands, they do not feel. As for their feet, they do not walk. They do not make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.

O Israel, trust in Yahweh. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in Yahweh. He is their help and their shield. You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh. He is their help and their shield.

Yahweh remembered us, he will bless. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear Yahweh, the small together with the great. May Yahweh give you increase, you and your children.

May you be blessed of Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth he has given to the sons of men. It is not the dead that praise Yah. It is none of those who go down to silence.

But as for us, we will bless Yah from now until forever. Praise Yah. Thus far is the reading of God's holy word. Let's pray. Father, I come before you, thankful that once again, I can bring forth your word.

I pray that it is your words that come out of my mouth, that you would calm any nerves that I may have, that you would open our ears and that you would open our hearts to hear what it is you have to say to us this morning.

Idols, Ephesus, and the World We Inherit

I pray these things in your son's name, amen. So I think it's safe to say that all of you have ancestors who worshiped idols, whether silver or gold or of wood and stone. In Acts chapter 19, we see that it provides a lens into that world and helps us to see how that world connects to ours.

But we're not gonna dive too much into Acts 19 this morning, but I will provide a summary of what was going on during that time in Ephesus. So in Acts 19, we read of Demetrius and the silversmiths. They were connected for three things, or they were concerned for three things.

The first off, their trade and their wealth, because they made a living at crafting little statutes of Artemis. But second, they feared that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing.

The temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. People came from all over the world to see the temple of Artemis. The temple was at the center of civic pride in Ephesus.

Artemis was their patron deity, and her temple guaranteed the welfare of the city. And so third, they feared that Artemis herself might even be disposed from her magnificence since she whom all Asia and the world worshiped.

So you can't divorce Artemis from her temple and her worshipers. Their civic well-being and their financial well-being depended on her. So that brings us to the theme of our message, you become what you worship.

You become what you worship. The rhythms and patterns of your devotions shape and form you into the image of the one that you worship. All throughout the Psalms, we are reminded that God will be present with us, ever present, right?

King David, who wrote a good majority of the Psalms, always was reminded of that truth, always being pursued by his enemies, Absalom and Saul. He was always reminded that God will always be with him. Even when it seems that we are strangers in a strange land, surrounded by people who don't believe what we do and speak our language, God is ever present with us.

And Psalm 115 assumes that we're living in that sort of world. Notice in verse two, why should the nation say, where now is their God? We're surrounded by foreigners who don't understand us and who don't understand our God.

So we cry out, glory belongs to Yahweh. As we walk through this chapter, we're gonna see four points. So the first of those points is glory belongs to Yahweh. Verse one, not to us, oh Yahweh, not to us, but your name give glory because of your loving kindness, because of your truth.

It's not about us. My name doesn't matter, your name doesn't matter. I'm not the center of the universe, you are not as well. Yahweh, he is God. He is God and you are not. Glory belongs to him. Glory belongs to Yahweh.

So question, what is glory? We often think of glory in terms of brightness and splendor, but the root idea is actually one of glory. One of weight, the weight of glory. A glorious name is a weighty name.

We even say this in English, if you say his name has weight, or his words carry weight or something like that, that means that when he talks, people listen. When he says something, he can make it happen, right?

His words carry purpose, meaning, and truth. So in verse one of our chapter, the people of God cry out, don't make us weighty, but make your name weighty. If you think about it, why does it matter what people think about us?

We're here for a few short years and then we're gone. All the fuss and bluster, where does that get us? It's not the glory of our name that matters. It's not the glory of our name that matters, but the glory of God's name.

And in Isaiah 42, verse eight, God says, I am Yahweh, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images. Also in Isaiah, in chapter 48, verse 11, he says, for my own sake, for my own sake, I will act.

For how can my name be profaned and my glory I will not give to another. But also notice where the glory of God's name is going. Because of your loving kindness, because of your truth. The loving kindness of Yahweh never ceases.

In the Hebrew, the word has said, it has been translated as steadfast love, covenant loyalty. The ESV uses this word here, hased, as steadfast love. The translators of the King James Version couldn't find one word to use, so they created a new word for it, loving kindness.

Hased is often paired with the second word, ameth, which means truth or faithfulness. Hased and ameth, steadfast love and faithfulness, or as the LSB Bible says, loving kindness and truth. This is the reason why God should give glory to his own name.

Because Yahweh has promised to save his people, to deliver them from their foes. When God glorifies his own name, it is good for his people. It's not about us, but it is good for us. So think about it this way.

When you're selfish and pursue your own glory, your own power, your own influence, what is the result? Without fail, you end up stepping on others, right? Hurting others. And the result is, as the saying is, what goes around comes around, right?

And it's pride. Another saying, pride comes before a fall. And that's a long fall, and it hurts. But when you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, when you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and you love your neighbor as yourself, when you humble yourself and you're content with all the glory going to God, then you can love those around you.

Knowing that God will take care of everything else. And then, what is the result? Yeah, sometimes people can be nasty, and they take advantage of your humility. But more often, your loving kindness will prompt others to respond in kind, right?

We see that a lot. Because you have reflected the humility and grace, the steadfast love and faithfulness, loving kindness and truth of the one who said, and now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Jesus said that in John 17. Jesus is the one man who could say that. The rest of us say, not to us. Not to us, Yahweh, but to your name give glory. Jesus says, and now Father, glorify me in your own presence.

Because Jesus is the one man who is also God. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. But God's timing is not ours. And in verses two through eight, the psalmist reflects on the nations, the gods, and us.

The Nations, the Gods, and the Living God

So that brings us to point number two. You become what you worship, the nations, the gods, and us. Let's look at verse two. Why should the nation say, where now is their God? Where is your God? What has he done for you?

Well, there's quite an easy response, and the psalmist clearly answers it in verse three. Let's look at it. But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. Notice that he does not say, our God is everywhere.

Nor does he say, our God is in our hearts. Both may be true, but neither would make the point that matters. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases. If you say, our God is everywhere, that could be mistaken for pantheism, which is the idea that God is everything, or everything is God.

And pantheism is really a short of fatalism, which is whatever will be, will be. The universe will do what it does, and that is not the Christian doctrine of providence. Or if you say, our God is in our hearts, that could sound like an imaginary deity, the idea that I just believe in God to make me feel better.

No, our God is in the heavens, and he does whatever he pleases. We do not live in a deterministic universe. Imperial and personal forces do not determine all things. Our God is the one who governs all things.

He does all that he pleases. This does not mean that God is remote and distant. No, because our God is the one who promised to deliver his people. Our God is the one who shows his loving kindness and his truth to all generations.

Though indeed, it might be better to translate the verb in the past tense. He has done all that he pleased, because it is not an abstract statement about God's ideal sovereignty, but a concrete statement about God's actual sovereignty.

This messy situation, this awful catastrophe of a world where God's people are partly restored, but still in a sinful world, already saved, but not yet what we are to be or supposed to be, this is not outside the will of the one who has done all that he pleased.

God knows what he is doing. And that is contrasted in verses four through seven with the idols of the nations. Let's read. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak.

They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. They have noses, but they do not smell. As for their hands, they do not feel. As for their feet, they do not walk. They do not make a sound with their throat.

At Mount Sinai, God had forbidden Israel to make any graven images, right? Second Commandment. Why are graven images so bad? After all, everyone was doing it. It is remarkable how universal the custom had become.

Every nation all over the earth had had graven images of their deities. So why did God forbid graven images? So God is spiritual and invisible. Nothing can adequately or comprehensively represent him.

Consequently, we are not to make any image of him, whether we intend to worship it or not, for as John Calvin once said, quote, as soon as anyone has permitted himself to devise an image of God, he immediately falls into false worship, unquote.

We should therefore take these two aspects of the Second Commandment together. Not in the sense that we are free to make any graven image as long as we don't worship it, but that we are not to make any graven image at all, because as soon as we do, we are transferring to an image what should be reserved for God only, our adoration and worship.

God is insulted not only when we worship an image, but when we represent him by any outward form, for he is spirit. Now, in the ancient world, no one believed that the image was actually the deity. Rather, the image represents and mediates the presence of the God.

The psalmist simply takes the claim seriously and asks what sort of God is represented and mediated through a graven image. A God without a mouth that cannot speak, eyes but cannot see, ears cannot hear, nose that cannot smell, hands that cannot feel, feet that cannot walk, a throat but cannot make a sound.

Notice that the list begins and ends with silence. You cannot listen to a mute God. How do we know that our God is different? We just look at his image. God's image does speak, does see, does hear, does smell, feel, and walk.

The Bible is clear on all these things. Also, God created man, male and female, in his own image. And even our bodies were created to reflect certain things about God. He gave us eyes because he has eyes.

And his eyes are the real thing. Our eyes see some things, but his eyes see everything. And so, no, God does not have physical eyes by definition. They are, I'm sorry, God does not have physical eyes.

Physical eyes, by definition, are limited and can only see some things, but God's eyes see everything. Likewise, God has ears, not physical ears, because if he did, then he could only hear some things, but God's ears hears all things.

Therefore, he gave ears so that we could hear in a creaturely way. And I'm not saying that every body part has a direct analogy to something about God, although it is entirely possible that even the pancreas could reflect something divine.

And I'm sure there's someone out there right now trying to figure it out. If you come up with something, let me know. But yes, all this comes back together in verse eight. Let's look at it. Those who make them become like them, everyone who trusts in them.

So you become like what you worship. If you worship the living God, the one who speaks, then you learn how to speak like him. The one who sees, then you learn how to see like him, and so on. But if you worship idols, then you become like your God as well.

You become mute, blind, deaf, insensible to everything around you. So let's think of a couple examples. So let's say a sports fan can get so focused on his team, right, like the game's getting intense, back and forth, like the Tennessee and Alabama game.

Right, Aaron? Last night, it was great. Anyways, the first half was great. It was very intense. You're focused on that. Nothing else around you, you even take into consideration, you're focused on that game.

You become mute, blind, and deaf to everything else around you. A parent can be so obsessed with their children that nothing and no one else matters, right? There have been compelling arguments that suggest that consumerism is effectively the established religion in the United States.

So what are the rituals and practices that shape our life? Well, what do we trust? What do we rely on in times of trouble? When we need help, where do we turn? So that brings us to point number three.

Trust in Yahweh, the Help and Shield of His People

So trust God, Israel, Aaron, and those who fear Yahweh. Let's read 9, 10, and 11 in our chapter. O Israel, trust in Yahweh. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in Yahweh. He is their help and their shield.

You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh. He is their help and their shield. Verses nine through 11 exhort us to trust in Yahweh. And there is a threefold pattern to the exhortation in verses nine through 11, which is echoed in the responses of 12 and 13, but we'll get there in a minute.

So in verse nine, we see, O Israel. Verse 10, O house of Aaron. Verse 11, you who fear Yahweh. This is an interesting way of putting it. Israel starts broad and gets deeper. Including all the 12 tribes of Israel, not just Judah.

House of Aaron, that focuses on the priestly family. And you who fear Yahweh, however, both narrows and broadens the scope. Not all Israel fears Yahweh. Not even all the house of Aaron. Because too many priests head straight.

So in one sense, you who fear Yahweh might be taken as a subset of Israel. But in another sense, there may be an expression of the Abrahamic promise here. By the time of the New Testament, the term God-fear was used of Gentiles who feared the Lord.

Also in Psalm 111 and 112, shows the importance of fearing the Lord. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, says chapter 111, verse 10. And how blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, in chapter 112, verse one.

Fearing God can mean being more concerned with what God thinks of you than what others think of you. In that sense, it is connected with the idea of glory, or weightiness. So whose word carries weight with you?

God or man? And so three times over, the psalmist urges us, trust in Yahweh, he is their helper and their shield. He is the help and shield of Israel. He is the help and shield of the house of Aaron. He is the help and shield of all those who fear Yahweh.

And since we've mentioned Adam already, I should also mention Eve. After all, Eve was created to be a help for Adam. It's the same word used here. The Hebrew word for help is azer. And if you go through all the uses of this word, help, azer, in the Old Testament, you will be struck by the fact that the overwhelming majority of them are about God being our helper.

And never in all the Old Testament does the idea of helper suggest subjection. When Psalm 115 says that God is their help and their shield, no one would imagine that this is saying that God is my servant who does my bidding.

Well, I'm sure there are people out there who do think that, you know, the whole God being a vending machine thing, but, you know, we'll probably visit that later. Rather, the helper, the azer, in Scripture, is the one who does for you what you could not possibly do for yourself.

When you are trapped in a pit, the helper pulls you out. When you are condemned to death, the helper rescues you from the hand of your foes. And in Genesis 2, when God says, I will make a helper suitable for him, the context makes it clear that Eve does for Adam what Adam could not possibly do for himself.

Because by himself, Adam is never going to be fruitful and multiply. It's not that every woman needs to have babies, though. Paul makes it clear that singleness is perfectly acceptable calling for both men and women.

And barrenness within marriage can still be fruitful. But when God made man male and female, after his own image, he gave to woman this particular gift, the gift of being able to reproduce the image of God.

She cannot do this without a man, except in the case of the virgin birth. But let's be honest, guys, in the nine months that this process takes, we don't deserve any credit, right? She is the helper, namely, the one who does for you what you could not possibly do for yourself.

And in that sense, the woman reflects the glory and power of God as she crafts the image of God in her womb. And so, let's go into verses 12 and 13, and they will echo back the themes of verses 9 and 11 that we just read.

Verse 12, Yahweh remembered us, he will bless. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear Yahweh, the small together with the great. He will not forget his promises, nor will he forget his people, whom he redeemed with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm.

He will remember us, and he will bless us. This is the regular word for blessing, Baraka. This is the word used in Genesis 1 for how God blessed Adam and Eve, how he blessed the Sabbath day in Genesis 2, 3, how he blessed Noah in 9, 1, and Abram in 12, 2.

The blessing of God is life, hope, joy, peace, prosperity, and rest in his presence. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.

Bless Yahweh from Now Until Forever

So yes, last point, number four. Point four, bless Yahweh who blesses his people. Verses 14 through 16, then pursue the idea of blessing even further. Notice how the idea of blessing extends from those present to all the earth.

Verse 14, may Yahweh give you increase, you and your children. May you be blessed of Yahweh who made heaven and earth. The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth he has given to the sons of man.

So do you see why I emphasize childbirth, reproducing the image of God? Because our God is in the heavens, and his image is not found in lifeless idols, but in the living and breathing children of man.

And the way that God's blessing comes from generation to generation is through childbirth. If we ever have a generation that refuses to bear children, then humanity would become extinct. So the maker of heaven and earth is the one who blesses his people.

He blessed Adam and Eve in Genesis 128, saying, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.

In other words, Yahweh rules in the heavens. But as the great sovereign over all things, as the creator, he has given sovereignty over the earth to Adam, and the children of Adam continue to rule the earth under God.

But also notice that we have moved out from Israel to all the earth. Psalm 115 does not begin to explain how God will do this, but in our Lord Jesus Christ, the second Adam came, the one who joined Jew and Gentile and one new man, so that in Christ, the children of Adam have begun to be restored.

Glory be to God for his gospel. So, in closing, yes, in closing. No, Psalm 115 closes with a striking statement, starting in verse 17. It is not the dead that praise Yah. It is none of those who go down to silence.

Remember the silence of the idols, those who make them become like them. Death is the ultimate silence. The dead have mouths, but do not speak, eyes, but do not see, ears, but do not hear, noses, but do not smell.

The dead make no sound. Verse 18, but as for us, we will be silent. We will bless Yah from now until forever. Praise Yah. Some have tried to say that verse 18 is merely saying that those who are alive will continue to bless Yahweh.

They think that the Old Testament has no doctrine of the resurrection, but verse 18 suggests that there is another alternative besides going down in silence. Death is not the only outcome. We who are blessed by the Lord will ourselves bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

So my call to you this morning is this. Psalm 115, like the Psalms around it, present two ways, two paths, two options. You can either put your trust in idols and wind up like them, dead, or you could put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and wind up like Him, blessed and alive.

So with that, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we have not trusted you as we ought. We have put our confidence in idols that do not live, that cannot speak or see or hear. We recognize that those who trust in them will become like them in death, silent, blind in death.

We thank you that you sent your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who revealed your glory in His cross and in His resurrection, so that He might redeem us from our sin and misery and death. Have mercy upon us for the sake of your Son, that He might work your grace in us more and more each day.

Father, I pray for the supper we are about to partake, that if we have any grievances or sin harbored within our heart, that we would confess it and turn from it as you continue to conform us into the image of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Bless this meal in His name, amen. Let's all stand. Sing 278. Amen.