PSALM PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 115:1. This is a hymn urging God’s people to trust and worship the Lord alone. He alone is worthy of their deepest loyalty. There is always the temptation to turn to the gods of other nations. The congregation must understand how hopeless it is to serve such false deities.... [ Continue Reading ]
PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 115:2 WHY SHOULD THE NATIONS SAY? Israel’s calling includes making God’s name known among the Gentiles (see Joshua 4:24; 1 Kings 8:41). More than their own self-esteem is at stake here. If the Gentiles think that God is weak or absent, they will not receive God’s light. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ v... [ Continue Reading ]
PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 115:3 The confession that God DOES ALL THAT HE PLEASES answers the Gentiles’ taunt (v. Psalms 115:2). In Daniel 4:35 and Jonah 1:14 Gentiles themselves confess this to be true. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = docume [ Continue Reading ]
PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 115:4 This satirical passage exposes the folly of worshiping IDOLS (compare Psalms 135:15; Isaiah 44:9). Many Bible passages explain that idols are merely THE WORK OF HUMAN HANDS and therefore unworthy of human worship (e.g., Deuteronomy 4:28; Deuteronomy 27:15;... [ Continue Reading ]
PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 115:14 Verse Psalms 115:14 echoes Deuteronomy 1:11, which anticipated that God’s people would INCREASE through their CHILDREN. Psalms 115:15 echoes Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:31; God called Israel in order to give them the privileges that Adam had forfeit [ Continue Reading ]
PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 115:17 THE DEAD DO NOT PRAISE THE LORD. See notes on 6:5 and 88:10–12. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]