The Word Made Fresh
1We don’t deserve praise, LORD, but let your name be praised
because of your dependable love and faithfulness.
2Why should the other nations ever have cause to say,
“Where is their God?”
3Our God is in the heavens and does whatever is pleasing.
4The gods of the other nations are mere idols of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
5Their gods have “mouths,” but can’t say anything.
They have “eyes,” but can’t see anything.
6They have “ears,” but cannot hear.
They have “noses,” but cannot smell.
7They have “hands,” but cannot feel.
They have “feet,” but cannot walk.
They have “throats,” but make no sounds.
8Those who made them are just like them,
along with everybody who trusts them.
9Israel, trust the LORD!
The LORD is your helper and your protector.
10Descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD!
The LORD is your helper and your protector.
11All of you who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD,
your helper and your protector.
12The LORD remembers us and will bless us
and all the descendants of Israel and Aaron.
13All those who respect the LORD, small and great, will be rewarded.
14May the LORD give you children
and give your children children.
15May the LORD who created heaven and earth reward you!
16The heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth God has given to us.
17Those who have died do not praise the LORD;
no praise comes from their graves.
18But we will honor the LORD now and always.
Praise the LORD!
Commentary
1-2: Israel was beset by enemies throughout their brief Old Testament history. This psalm was a rationalization for God to help them: if God allowed Israel to be defeated and annihilated, how could the other nations ever come to acknowledge God?
3-8: The one primary difference between Israel and the other nations was that Israel worshiped the one God who created the heavens and the earth; the other nations worshiped artificial gods made with human hands.
9-11: And so, the author begs the people to trust in the LORD who has been their help and shield throughout the generations.
12-15: Just as God has helped them in the past, surely God will again come to their aid now, and so the author boldly prays God’s blessings for them.
16: Again, God’s sovereignty is acknowledged, and the argument is made here that God has given us dominion over the earth, and therefore we have free will to do as we wish.
17-18: Only the living can praise the LORD, and to that end the psalm calls Israel to do just that. Perhaps God will hear and come to help them.
Takeaway
We worship a God who has bequeathed this world to us, to till it and keep it. Even so, God is the landlord to whom we must answer for how we treat this good creation. A lot of people worship a god of their own imagination. We must worship the God who created us.