Christianity
Psalms 115Not unto Us, O LORD
Summary
Psalm 115 opens by giving glory not to us but to God's name for his mercy and truth, answering nations who ask where Israel's God is. He is in the heavens and does whatever he pleases, while their idols of silver and gold have mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see and feet that cannot walk, and those who make them become like them. The psalm calls Israel, the house of Aaron and all who fear the LORD to trust him and receive his blessing.
Key verse
“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”
Psalms 115:1
Themes
- Glory to God Alone
- Futility of Idols
- Trust
- Blessing
Text
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
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.
He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Islam
Surah Al-A'raf (7): Have They Feet to Walk?Quran 7:195 asks of idols whether they have feet to walk, hands to hold, eyes to see or ears to hear, a challenge strikingly close to Psalm 115:5 to 7. Both texts use the idols' lifelessness to argue for worship of the living God.
Christianity
Isaiah 44: The Carved IdolIsaiah 44:9 to 20 mocks the craftsman who carves a god from the same tree he burns to bake his bread, a longer satire on the same theme.
Judaism
Psalm 115 in the JPS 1917 TanakhPsalm 115 is part of Hallel, sung after the meal at the Passover Seder, and its final verse, with its promise to bless the LORD from this time forth, closes the daily Ashrei prayer.
Questions about Psalms 115
What is Non Nobis?
Non nobis, Domine is the Latin opening of Psalm 115, not unto us, O Lord. It became a traditional song of thanksgiving after victory, and in Shakespeare's Henry V the king orders it sung after Agincourt.
What does 'they that make them are like unto them' mean?
Psalm 115:8 warns that people become like what they worship: those who trust lifeless idols grow spiritually blind and deaf themselves. The same line appears in Psalm 135:18.