Year 8, Day 244: Psalms 115

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalm 115 poses an interesting debate.  It begins by attesting to the glory and praise of the Lord.  This is as it should be.  Then, the psalm asks God why the nations should wonder where the hand of the Lord is.  In other words, the psalmist is feeling that God could show Himself a little bit more than He is.

In this context, the psalmist begins to talk about the gods of the other nations.  They are wooden, made from clay, or other natural materials.  The psalmist wonders how anyone could think that they are gods.  After all, how on earth can flawed human beings make things that have any power over creation?  Their manmade gods may have eyes, ears, hands, and feet but they cannot see, hear, act, or move.  It doesn’t make sense.

That being said, it doesn’t really resolve the issue at hand.  All it does is bring the point even more to the forefront.  The nations of the world have fake gods whose actions cannot be seen in spite of the gods’ ability to be seen, held, and worshipped.  The God of the Hebrew people cannot be seen.  The psalmist therefore is asserting that because God cannot be seen, He should be seen through His actions.  If we cannot see God, then we should be able to see Him through His actions.

He is our help.  He is our shield.  He is the one who blesses us.  He is the one in which we put our faith.  There is the crux of the issue.  Faith is hope in that which we cannot prove.  We cannot see God, yet we continue to put our faith in Him.

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