Psalm 115 is a gentle but powerful song that calls us to release our need for self-glory,
To put aside the glittering but lifeless idols of the world,
And to trust deeply in the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
For us modern readers,
It speaks into the noise of our distracted age,
Where worth is often measured by appearance,
Achievement,
Or the approval of others,
And offers a quiet,
Steady reminder.
You are safe in the hands of the Living God.
It is a psalm about perspective.
It asks,
Where is your gaze fixed?
On what or whom do you rely when the road grows dark?
And it assures us that trust in God is never misplaced,
For His help and protection are not temporary comforts,
But eternal truths.
Psalm 115 Not unto us,
O Lord,
Not unto us,
But to your name give glory,
Because of your mercy,
Because of your truth.
Why should the Gentiles say,
So where is their God?
But our God is in heaven.
He does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men's hands.
They have mouths,
But they do not speak,
Eyes they have,
But they do not see.
They have ears,
But they do not hear,
Noses they have,
But they do not smell.
They have hands,
But they do not handle.
Feet they have,
But they do not walk,
Nor do they mutter through their truth.
Those who make them are like them,
So is everyone who trusts in them.
O Israel,
Trust in the Lord,
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aden,
Trust in the Lord,
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord,
Trust in the Lord,
He is their help and their shield.
The Lord has been mindful of us.
He will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aden.
He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth.
The heaven,
Even the heavens are the Lord's,
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
But we will bless the Lord,
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord.
Not unto us,
O Lord,
Not unto us,
But to your name give glory.
Because of your mercy,
Because of your truth.
Why should the Gentiles say,
So where is their God?
The psalm begins with surrender,
A step both simple and profoundly difficult.
We are wired to seek recognition.
We long for the validation that tells us we matter.
Yet here,
The psalmist invites us to let go of personal glory,
Redirecting it toward God.
This is a call to loosen the ego's grip.
When we live for applause,
Our joy becomes fragile,
Easily stolen by criticism or indifference.
But when we live for the sake of God's goodness,
When we live for the sake of God's truth,
Our sense of worth no longer depends on the shifting opinions of people.
Instead of asking,
Will this make me look good?
We might ask,
Will this reflect the love,
Mercy and truth I want to stand for?
This shift brings peace because mercy and truth,
Unlike human opinion,
They never expire.
Verses 3-8 But our God is in heaven,
He does whatever he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men's hands.
They have mouths but they do not speak,
Eyes they have but they do not see.
They have ears but they do not hear,
Noses they have but they do not smell.
They have hands but they do not handle,
Feet they have but they do not walk,
Nor do they mutter through their truth.
Those who make them are like them,
So is everyone who trusts in them.
Idols today may not be carved from wood or cast from metal,
But they still exist.
In the form of possessions,
Status,
Image,
Even certain relationships,
What we focus on shapes us.
And the psalmist says the same,
We become like what we worship.
If we chase material wealth alone,
We become anxious when it wavers.
If we worship beauty,
We live in fear of aging.
If we idealize control,
We grow brittle and unyielding.
Idols promise security but deliver fragility.
This is not a command to reject all worldly joys,
But to hold them lightly.
To enjoy them without letting them define us.
God is living,
Breathing,
Unchanging.
When we anchor to Him,
We gain stability that no storm can uproot.
Verses 9-11 O Israel,
Trust in the Lord.
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aden,
Trust in the Lord.
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord,
Trust in the Lord.
He is their help and their shield.
These lines read like a mantra,
Repeated three times as if to calm an anxious child.
Trust is rarely a one-time decision.
It is an act we recommit to daily,
Sometimes hourly,
Especially when fear or uncertainty creeps in.
Trust grows through repeated experiences of safety.
We trust God more when we look back and notice the moments He has carried us through.
Practicing gratitude can strengthen this.
Keep a record of small and large rescues in your life.
So when fear speaks loudly,
You have evidence to quiet it.
Verses 12-13 The Lord has been mindful of us.
He will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aden.
He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
To say the Lord has been mindful of us is to believe we are not forgotten.
Much of human anxiety stems from the fear of being unseen,
Overlooked in relationships,
Invisible in a crowd,
Unheard in our pain.
But here is a counter truth.
You are not forgotten.
The Creator of the heavens holds you in His awareness.
This awareness is not casual observation.
It is active care.
And it applies equally to small and great,
Meaning your worth is not determined by your social standing,
By your productivity or by your achievement.
Verses 14-15 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Here the blessing is not merely survival,
But abundance.
A life that expands in love,
In wisdom,
In joy.
This speaks to a growth mindset,
The belief that you are not stuck as you are and that your life can stretch in beautiful directions.
Abundance here is not just material.
It is the deepening of character,
Relationships and purpose.
It is the richness that comes when we live in step with the One who made heaven and earth.
Verses 16-18 The heaven,
Even the heavens are the Lord's,
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down in silence,
But we will bless the Lord,
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord.
These closing lines lift our eyes beyond our individual stories to the vastness of God's work.
Life is short,
But praises can be eternal.
In our earthly time,
We have the privilege to bless God with our words,
Our choices and our kindness.
This is about legacy.
Living in such a way that the echo of our faith,
Love and integrity,
It carries forward beyond our own years.
A prayer.
Lord of mercy and truth,
Teach us to release our grip on self-glory and to rest our worth in your steady love.
Free us from lifeless idols and anchor our hearts in what is real and eternal.
Help us to trust you in the shadows,
To notice your mindfulness in the ordinary and to walk in a blessing that overflows to others.
From this moment and forevermore,
May our lives be a quiet song of praise to you.
Amen.
