Psalm 115 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 115 Short Summary:

In Psalm 115, the author expresses His hope that God will glorify His name among the nations. The foreign nations were mocking Israel because their God was invisible. This was in contrast to the gods of the foreign nations who were depicted by statues and idols. The psalmist spoke of God’s superiority to these lifeless statues and encouraged Israel to continue trusting in the true God of Heaven.

Psalm 115 Summary

AUTHOR:

• The author of Psalm 115 is not stated in the text.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Known New Testament References to Psalm 115.

THEMES:

• God is superior to visible idols even though God is invisible to us.

• An encouragement to Israel to worship the true God rather than idols.

DEFINITIONS:

• Aaron (115:10) – Aaron was the brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel. The priests who served in religious matters in Israel all came from the line of Aaron.

OUTLINE:

• GLORY TO GOD OVER POWERLESS IDOLS (115:1-8):

  • In Psalm 115, the psalmist expressed his desire for God to glorify His own name.

  • The writer didn’t want glory for himself or for his nation, he wanted God to be glorified.

  • He wrote, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory” (115:1).

  • Some of the foreign nations mocked the God of Israel and Judah, saying, “Where is their God?” (115:2).

  • The psalmist’s God was different from many foreign gods, because the people of Israel and Judah didn’t make images (idols) of their God’s likeness.

  • The other nations had physical representations of their gods in their cities, and the absence of such images in Israel caused the foreigners to mock them.

  • But the psalmist knew the idols of the foreigners were nothing in comparison to his God.

  • The God of Israel was in Heaven, not stuck on earth or fixed to a particular location. He did as He pleased in the universe, and no one constrained Him.

  • In contrast, the idols of the foreigners weren’t even alive. They were statues with mouths that didn’t work, ears that couldn’t hear, and hands that couldn’t feel.

  • The people who worshipped these idols became like them, senseless, useless, and worthless.

• O ISRAEL, TRUST IN THE LORD (115:9-18):

  • The author of Psalm 115 didn’t want Israel to fall for the taunts of the foreigners. He encouraged them to put their trust in the true God of Heaven.

  • God helped those who trusted in Him, unlike the useless idols.

  • The writer prayed that God would bless his fellow countrymen as they continued to walk in the ways of God.

  • He resolved to “bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore” (115:18).

APPLICATION:

• There is still a very real temptation to worship what is visible and mock what is invisible.

• It’s easy to worship visible things (material things, nature, other people) because they are right in front of our faces.

• A simple person can find something to worship on the earth, but a wise person will see that the created things point to something greater.

• This greater being, this Creator, is not visible to us, but He should be the object of our worship rather than the things He’s made.

• It’s foolish to worship the creation over the Creator.