Day 2802 Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 115:1-8 – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Day 2802 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2802 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 115:1-8 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2802 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2802 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title for Today’s Wisdom-Trek is: Our God is Supreme Today, we are continuing our journey through the "Egyptian Hallel," the magnificent collection of praise songs sung by the Jewish people during the Passover festival. We are stepping into the first half of Psalm One Hundred Fifteen, covering verses one through eight, in the New Living Translation. To set the stage, let us remember where we stood in our previous trek. In Psalm One Hundred Fourteen, we witnessed the sheer, terrifying power of the Theophany. We saw the earth tremble, the Red Sea flee, and the Jordan River turn back at the very presence of the God of Jacob. It was a psalm of action, movement, and cosmic disruption. Yahweh stepped into history, and the chaotic forces of nature panicked. But as we turn the page to Psalm One Hundred Fifteen, the tone shifts from the dramatic trembling of the earth to a profound, theological reflection. According to Jewish tradition, while Psalms One Hundred Thirteen and One Hundred Fourteen were sung before the Passover meal, Psalm One Hundred Fifteen was the first hymn sung after the meal was finished. Imagine the scene. Jesus and His disciples have just finished the Last Supper. The bread has been broken; the cup of the new covenant has been poured. And before they walk out into the dark night toward the Garden of Gethsemane, they lift their voices to sing these exact words. They sing about the glory of God, the foolishness of the world's idols, and the absolute sovereignty of the King of Heaven. This psalm is a brilliant polemic—a theological argument—against the gods of the surrounding nations. It contrasts the living, unrestrained God of Israel with the dead, handcrafted statues of the pagan world. It challenges us to ask: Where does the glory belong, and what are we truly placing our trust in? Let us dive into the text. Psalm One Hundred Fifteen: verse one. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. The psalm opens with one of the most profound statements of humility in the entire Bible. The psalmist repeats the phrase for emphasis: "Not to us, O Lord, not to us." This is the ultimate deflection of human pride. When Israel looked back at the Exodus—when they remembered the sea parting and the enemies drowning—it was incredibly tempting to pat themselves on the back. It is human nature to assume that if God blesses us, saves us, or uses us, it must be because we are somehow special, worthy, or superior. But the psalmist violently rejects that idea. He says, "Lord, do not give us the credit. We did not part the sea. We did not defeat the Egyptian empire. The glory belongs entirely, exclusively, and completely to Your Name." And why does the glory go to His Name? Because of two foundational attributes: His "unfailing love" and His "faithfulness." In Hebrew, these are our old friends, Hesed and Emet. God’s loyal, covenant-keeping love, and His absolute, bedrock truth. God saved Israel not because Israel was great, but to vindicate His own character on the cosmic stage. He made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He staked His own divine reputation on keeping it. Therefore, all the applause of history must be directed toward the throne of heaven. Psalm One Hundred Fifteen: verses two through three . Why let the nations say, "Where is their God?" Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. Here, the psalmist introduces the conflict. The "nations"—the pagan neighbors of Israel—are taunting them. They are sneering and asking, "Where is their God?" To understand the sting of this insult, we must view it through the lens of the Ancient Israelite worldview, particularly the Divine Council theology taught by Dr. Michael S. Heiser. In the ancient Near East, a nation’s power was directly linked to the visible presence of its god. The Babylonians had massive, towering statues of Marduk. The Philistines had enormous temples dedicated to Dagon. The Moabites bowed to the idol of Chemosh. When these nations looked at Israel, they were utterly confused. Israel had no statue. They had a temple, yes, but the Holy of Holies was empty, save for a golden box. There was no carved image of Yahweh. To the pagan mind, a god you cannot see, touch, or carry into battle is no god at all. So, when Israel faced political trouble or military defeat, the nations would laugh and say, "Where is your God? Did He go on vacation? Did He get lost? We can see our gods right here on their pedestals, but yours is nowhere to be found!" But the psalmist delivers a brilliant, crushing response in verse three. He says, "Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes." This is a statement of absolute, unrestricted sovereignty. The psalmist is essentially saying, "You want to know where our God is? He is not confined to a block of wood in a local shrine. He is not trapped in a temple made by human hands. He occupies the cosmic control room. He is in the heavens, ruling over the stars, the angels, and the spiritual principalities!" And because He is in the heavens, "He does as He wishes." He is not bound by magical incantations. He does not need to be fed by priests or carried by strongmen. He is the Uncreated Creator, and His sovereignty is absolute. Having established the majestic supremacy of Yahweh, the psalmist now turns his attention to the gods of the nations. And what follows is a masterful, devastating piece of divine mockery. Psalm One Hundred Fifteen: verses four through seven. Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and cannot make a sound in their throats. The psalmist takes the pagan idols and completely deconstructs them. He strips away all the mystical, religious awe and exposes them for what they truly are: manufactured products. First, he points out their material origin: "Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands." No matter how expensive the materials are, and no matter how skilled the artisan is, the idol is still a created thing. How absurd is it for a human to chop down a tree, overlay it with silver, and then bow down to worship the very object he just built? In the ancient world, pagan priests performed an elaborate ritual called the "Opening of the Mouth." They believed that through magical chants and ceremonies, a spiritual entity—a lesser elohim or a demon—would inhabit the physical statue, allowing it to see, hear, and accept sacrifices. But the psalmist laughs at this idea. He conducts a full anatomical inspection of the idol, completely dismantling its supposed power. "They have mouths but cannot speak." Unlike Yahweh, whose spoken Word called the universe into existence, the idol is utterly mute. It cannot offer comfort; it cannot issue decrees; it cannot grant forgiveness. "And eyes but cannot see." Their eyes are painted wide open, but they are completely blind to the suffering of their worshippers. They did not see the affliction of Israel in Egypt, but Yahweh did. "They have ears but cannot hear." You can scream to them all day long, just like the prophets of Baal did on Mount Carmel, but there is no answer. "And noses but cannot smell." They cannot even enjoy the aroma of the incense burned before them. "They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk." In Psalm One Hundred Fourteen, we saw that Yahweh’s presence made the mountains skip and the sea flee. But these idols? If a fire breaks out in the temple, their feet cannot run away. If they fall over, their hands cannot push them back up. They have to be bolted to the floor just to stay upright. Finally, the psalmist adds the ultimate insult: "and cannot make a sound in their throats." They cannot even manage a guttural moan, a whisper, or a cough. They are profoundly, permanently, and pathetically dead. The contrast is absolute. The God of Israel is invisible, yet He does whatever He pleases....