Talking into the mirror

Psalm 115

¹ Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.

² Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
³ Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
⁴ But their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
⁷ They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.

⁹ All you Israelites, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
¹¹ You who fear him, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.

¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless his people Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron,
¹³ he will bless those who fear the Lord—
small and great alike.

¹⁴ May the Lord cause you to flourish,
both you and your children.
¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The highest heavens belong to the Lord,
but the earth he has given to mankind.
¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
those who go down to the place of silence;
¹⁸ it is we who extol the Lord,
both now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.

All Scripture is a one-sided conversation. As in, the Bible answers questions, but we often don’t have the exact question on hand – we only have the Bible’s answer, and we have to assume what the question might be. We might imagine what question a Scripture is answering using context, history, common sense or a sermon we heard one time. Or we may assume the role of the person being spoken to and speak the words of the Bible to ourselves as though we were talking into a mirror to ourselves. Psalm 115 is a pep talk to Old Testament Israel and by extension you and me. A passionate reminder that God is great, alive and trustworthy. The false gods are without life: they cannot speak or hear or act. Psalm 115 is a rousing verse to build up that person in the mirror: “Can I trust God?” Answer: “Yes! God is loving and faithful…always!” (v1) “My circumstances are bleak!” Answer: “God is your help and your shield!” (v9-11) “Does God remember me?” Answer: “Yes! God is the blesser, the bringer of life!” (v12-15, 17). I read this Psalm to myself, as a prayer, a worship hymn and a lesson. I read it to be built up and coached into the Psalmist’s mentality: “Praise the Lord!”

Written by Sam Stewart