Psalm 115:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

NIV: You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.

NASB: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.

CSB: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield.

NLT: All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield.

KJV: Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

NKJV: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 115:9–15 calls on the people of Israel to put all their trust and faith in the Lord God. Aaron was Moses' brother (Exodus 4:14) and his family line were the priests of the Old Testament system (Exodus 29:44–46). God's faithfulness so far to Israel is a reason for confidence now. Those who acknowledge God (Proverbs 1:7) have assurances of His blessing, someday.

Psalm 115 turns all praise and credit away from the people of Israel and gives it entirely to God. Pagan nations worshipped statues and objects. They might have ridiculed Israel's worship of an invisible deity. Yet their own idols were unthinking, unmoving, silent fakes. They were shaped like men but couldn't even do the things ordinary men could do. Israel should maintain trust in the Lord, who chose them as His people and made a covenant with them. The psalmist anticipates a long, productive life of worship because of God's protection.

This psalm emphasizes the superiority of the Lord, the One True God, with the false idols and lifeless statues of pagan religions. This is part of the so-called "Egyptian Hallel" (Psalm 113—118). The songs in this segment repeatedly use the Hebrew expression halelu-yāh, brought nearly unchanged into English as "hallelujah." The nation of Israel often struggled with idolatry (2 Kings 17:12; 2 Chronicles 24:18; Isaiah 2:8); this psalm is a call for faithfulness.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.

Accessed 11/8/2024 8:29:51 PM