Commentary - Psalm 115:9-11

Bird's-eye view

After a scathing and contemptuous dismissal of idolatry in the preceding verses, the psalmist now pivots to the necessary and blessed alternative. The contrast is stark. The idols are nothing, can do nothing, and make their worshipers into nothing. Yahweh, on the other hand, is everything, does everything He pleases, and is the only proper object of man's trust. This section, verses 9 through 11, is a powerful, threefold, liturgical call to trust. It is a series of commands, directed at the entire covenant community, to place their confidence squarely in the living God. The structure is repetitive for a reason; this is a truth that must be hammered into our thick skulls. The call is issued to three distinct but overlapping groups: the nation of Israel as a whole, the priesthood, and all true worshipers from every station. For each group, the reason for this trust is identical and emphatic: "He is their help and their shield." This is not a suggestion; it is the fundamental posture of the man who has been delivered from the vanity of idols.

This passage functions as the beating heart of the psalm. Having established that those who make idols become like them, deaf, dumb, and blind, the psalmist now shows the way of life. The way of life is trust. Trust is the opposite of fashioning a god with your own hands; it is the surrender of your life into the hands of the God who fashioned you. The repetition drives the point home with the force of a battering ram. Trust the Lord. Trust the Lord. Trust the Lord. Why? Because He is your help and shield. He is your help and shield. He is your help and shield. This is the foundational confession of a people who know their God is in the heavens, and not in a workshop.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 115 is one of the "Egyptian Hallel" psalms (113-118), traditionally sung at Passover. This context is crucial. The psalm is a celebration of deliverance from the idolatry and impotence of a pagan nation (Egypt) by the mighty hand of the living God. The central theme is the vast and unbridgeable chasm between Yahweh, the sovereign Creator who does whatever He pleases (v. 3), and the man-made idols of the nations, which are utterly powerless (vv. 4-8). The preceding verses ridicule these idols with savage irony: they have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. The conclusion is devastating: "Those who make them become like them, so does everyone who trusts in them" (v. 8). Our passage, then, is the great "therefore." Because the idols are deaf, dumb, and dead, and because they make you deaf, dumb, and dead, THEREFORE, you must trust in Yahweh. This call to trust is the only sane response to the reality of who God is and who the idols are not.

Key Issues

The Great Triad of Trust

After the mockery of the idols, the psalmist turns to the congregation of the righteous. The tone shifts from derision to earnest exhortation. He addresses the covenant people in three distinct groupings, which together encompass the whole. There is "Israel," the people as a whole. There is the "house of Aaron," the priests who lead the people in worship. And there are "you who fear Yahweh," which includes the other two but also broadens the scope to include every individual, from the greatest to the least, whose heart is rightly oriented toward God. This would also make room for the God-fearing Gentile, the one who has not been incorporated into Israel by circumcision but who has covenanted with Israel's God. This threefold call is a common structure in the Psalms (see Ps. 118:2-4; 135:19-20), and it serves to make the command all-encompassing. No one is left out. Whether you are a citizen, a priest, or a simple God-fearing layman, this command is for you. And the basis for the command is the same for all. God does not have a different character for the priests than He does for the people. For all who call upon Him, He is their help and their shield.

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 O Israel, trust in Yahweh; He is their help and their shield.

The first call goes out to the entire covenant nation, "O Israel." This is a corporate summons. The nation as a nation is being commanded to place its collective trust in God. After reminding them of the sheer vanity of the idols the pagans worship, this is the logical and necessary pivot. You have seen what their gods are. Now, remember who your God is. The verb "trust" here means to cling to, to rely upon, to feel safe with. It is the posture of a child holding fast to his father's hand in a dark and dangerous place. And why should they trust? The reason is given immediately. "He is their help and their shield." The pronoun shifts to the third person, "their," giving the reason the quality of a settled, objective, creedal declaration. This is who God is for His people. He is their help, the one who comes to their aid when they are in distress. He is their shield, the one who protects them from enemy attack. He provides what they lack and protects what they have. This is not a god you have to carry; this is the God who carries you.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in Yahweh; He is their help and their shield.

The second call is directed to the priesthood, the "house of Aaron." If the people are to trust in Yahweh, how much more their leaders in worship? The priests had a special responsibility. They handled the holy things. They taught the law. They led the people into the presence of God through the sacrificial system. For them to trust in anything else would be a catastrophic failure of leadership. Their trust was to be exemplary. They, of all people, should know the difference between a graven image and the living God whose altar they served. And the basis of their trust is exactly the same as it is for the people. "He is their help and their shield." God is not one thing for the laity and another for the clergy. His character is constant. The priests, who were to be the guardians of Israel's spiritual life, needed the very same divine help and protection as the most common Israelite. Their office gave them no special immunity from trouble or temptation; it only increased their responsibility to demonstrate what true trust looks like.

11 You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh; He is their help and their shield.

The third call broadens the invitation to its widest extent. "You who fear Yahweh" is a category defined not by ethnicity or office, but by heart-posture. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom; it is a shorthand for true piety, for a right relationship with God. This group certainly includes the faithful within Israel and the house of Aaron, but it is more personal and individual. It cuts across all social strata. It speaks to the "small and great" who will be mentioned in verse 13. It is a call to every true believer. If your heart is oriented rightly to God in reverent awe and worshipful submission, then this command is for you: trust in Him. And for the third time, the bedrock reason is declared: "He is their help and their shield." The repetition is like a drumbeat, driving the central truth of the psalm into the worshiper's heart. This is the fundamental reality of the universe. The idols are nothing. God is our help and shield. Therefore, trust is the only sane and rational response.

Application

We live in a world that is every bit as idolatrous as the ancient world; our idols are just better made. We fashion them out of political ideologies, financial security, personal reputation, technological progress, and sexual gratification. And the ancient diagnosis holds true: when we worship these things, we become like them. We become as blind, deaf, and impotent as our chosen gods. This psalm calls us to a radical act of rebellion against the spirit of the age. It calls us to trust.

This threefold call still applies directly to the new covenant people of God. "O Israel" is now the Church, the Israel of God (Gal 6:16). The Church as a corporate body must refuse to put her trust in princes, political solutions, or cultural relevance. We must collectively trust in God. The "house of Aaron" is now the leadership of the church, the elders and deacons. Our leaders must be men who are not trusting in their own wisdom, eloquence, or strategic plans, but are modeling a rugged, joyful confidence in God alone. And "you who fear Yahweh" is every last one of us, every individual Christian. In your business, in your family, in your private anxieties, the command is the same: trust in Yahweh. Why? Because He is your help and your shield. He is the one who provides for your every need and the one who protects you from every ultimate harm. When you are tempted to despair, when your enemies surround you, when your own strength fails, this is the creed you must confess, the song you must sing: The Lord is my help and my shield. To trust in anything else is to worship a dumb idol. To trust in Him is life itself.