Bird's-eye view
Psalm 115 is a battle psalm, a liturgical piece designed for a congregation that finds itself under pressure from the surrounding pagan culture. The central issue is glory. Who gets the credit? Who gets the honor? Who is actually in charge of the world? The psalm opens with a radical declaration of God's right to all glory, moves to the taunt of the nations, and then answers that taunt with one of the most potent statements of divine sovereignty in all of Scripture. This is a psalm that teaches God's people how to think and pray when their faith is being mocked and their God seems distant or inactive. It is a corporate refusal to take offense, and a corporate determination to give all glory to God, regardless of the circumstances.
The logic is straightforward. First, we must get our own house in order by renouncing any claim to glory for ourselves (v. 1). Second, we must face the taunts of the unbelieving world head on (v. 2). And third, we must answer those taunts not with an appeal to our own circumstances, but with a profound and settled confidence in the absolute sovereignty of God (v. 3). This is the foundation upon which the rest of the psalm, with its brilliant contrast between the living God and dead idols, is built.
Outline
- 1. The Rightful Recipient of Glory (v. 1)
- a. A Renunciation of Self-Glory (v. 1a)
- b. A Declaration of God's Glory (v. 1b)
- c. The Grounds for God's Glory: His Covenant Character (v. 1c)
- 2. The Taunt of the Nations (v. 2)
- a. The Question of the Pagans (v. 2a)
- b. The Implied Impotence of God (v. 2b)
- 3. The Triumphant Answer of Faith (v. 3)
- a. The Location of God: Transcendence (v. 3a)
- b. The Action of God: Sovereignty (v. 3b)
To Yahweh's Name Give Glory
Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. (v. 1)
The psalm begins with a double-barreled blast against human pride. "Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us." This is not false modesty. This is theological realism. The repetition is emphatic, like a man pushing away a plate of poisoned food. The natural human tendency, especially when we are in the right, is to want vindication for ourselves. We want our name cleared. We want our righteousness acknowledged. But the worshiper here understands that the entire project of self-glorification is a dead end. Before we can ask God to glorify Himself, we must first rigorously refuse to take any of that glory for our own account. This is the application of the first principle of the universe: Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be the glory.
The glory that is denied to us is immediately directed to its proper owner. "But to Your name give glory." God's name is the summation of His character, His reputation in the world. The prayer is that God would act in such a way that His reputation is enhanced. And on what basis do we make this appeal? Not on the basis of our performance, but on the basis of His character. "Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth." The Hebrew gives us hesed and 'emet. These are covenant words. Hesed is God's steadfast, loyal, covenant love. 'Emet is His faithfulness, His reliability, His truthfulness. The psalmist is praying, "Lord, act for the glory of Your name, and do it on the basis of the very promises you have made to us in Your covenant. Be who You have said You are." This is a prayer God is always pleased to answer, for it asks Him to act consistently with Himself. And of course, these two attributes find their ultimate expression in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
Why should the nations say, "Where, now, is their God?" (v. 2)
Here is the grit in the oyster. This is the problem that occasions the prayer. The people of God are in a position where the surrounding pagan nations are looking at them and sneering. The taunt is not a sophisticated philosophical argument; it is a playground jeer. "Where, now, is their God?" This implies that Israel's God is either absent, powerless, indifferent, or altogether non-existent. It is the ancient cry of the unbeliever, from the serpent in the garden to the scoffers on the street corner today. "If your God is so great, why is your life such a mess? If He is in control, why does the world look like this?"
The psalmist feels the sting of this question, not as a matter of personal pride, but as an affront to the honor of God's name. The reputation of God is tied to the state of His people. When the church is compromised or defeated, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (Rom. 2:24). This is why the prayer is so urgent. The psalmist is asking God to act, not simply to relieve Israel's discomfort, but to silence the blasphemy of the nations and vindicate His own holy name.
But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. (v. 3)
The response to the pagan taunt is not a defensive excuse, but a thunderous declaration of foundational truth. The word "But" pivots the entire argument. The nations ask, "Where is your God?" and the answer comes back in two parts. First, "our God is in the heavens." This speaks to His transcendence. He is not a localized deity, a block of wood or stone that can be carried around or confined to a particular temple. He is enthroned above the circle of the earth. He is in the ultimate place of power and authority, from which He governs all things. The nations are looking for God on their level, and the psalmist tells them they are looking in the wrong place entirely.
Second, "He does whatever He pleases." This is the doctrine of divine sovereignty in its most wonderfully blunt form. Our God is not subject to our whims, the votes of a committee, or the taunts of His enemies. He is the potter, and all of creation is the clay. His will is the ultimate determining factor in all that comes to pass. This is the final and definitive answer to the scoffer. Where is our God? He is on His throne, ruling all things, and His rule extends even to the circumstances that have prompted your mockery. Your very sneering is occurring within the boundaries of His sovereign decree. For the believer, this is not a harsh doctrine, but the softest pillow on which to rest his head. Our God is in complete and utter control, and His will is driven by His hesed and 'emet. What He pleases to do is always and eternally good.
Application
We live in a mocking age. The nations, in their sophisticated secularism, still ask the same old question: "Where, now, is their God?" This psalm teaches us how to respond. First, we must begin with ourselves, crucifying our desire for personal vindication and insisting that God alone get all the glory. Our primary concern must not be for our own reputation, but for His.
Second, when the world taunts, we must not answer with clever marketing schemes or by trimming the difficult edges off our theology. We must answer with the robust truth of God's absolute sovereignty. Our God is in the heavens. He is not scrambling to keep up with current events. He is orchestrating them. He does whatever He pleases, and what He pleases is always right. This truth does not remove the pain of our present trials, but it gives them meaning and context. They are not random accidents; they are instruments in the hands of a sovereign God who is working all things together for the good of His people and, ultimately, for the glory of His own great name.