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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 115:9-18

In these verses, I. We are earnestly exhorted, all of us, to repose our confidence in God, and not suffer our confidence in him to be shaken by the heathens? insulting over us upon the account of our present distresses. It is folly to trust in dead images, but it is wisdom to trust in the living God, for he is a help and a shield to those that do trust in them, a help to furnish them with and forward them in that which is good, and a shield to fortify them against and protect them from every... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 115:11

Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord ,.... Which is said not to distinguish true saints from hypocrites, in Israel or in Aaron's house; rather to describe such who belonged to neither: but, as Aben Ezra interprets it, who feared the Lord, of every people and nation; or proselytes, as Jarchi explains it: the distinction between the people of the Jews, and the proselytes among them, under the character of those that feared the Lord, may be observed in Acts 13:26 . It takes in all true... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 115:11

Ye that fear the Lord - All real penitents, and sincere believers, trust to the Lord, in the almighty, omniscient, and infinitely good Jehovah. He is their help and shield - He is the succor, support, guardian, and defense of all who put their confidence in him. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 115:11

Verse 11 11.Ye who fear Jehovah! He does not speak of strangers, as some erroneously suppose, as if this were a prediction respecting the calling of the Gentiles. Connecting them with the children of Israel and with the sons of Aaron, they are of opinion that he refers to the heathens and to the uncircumcised who were not yet gathered into the sheepfold. By parity of reason one might infer, that the priests are not of the seed of Abraham, because they are separately mentioned. It is more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 115:1-11

True and false worship. In strong, nervous language we have here presented to us— I. THE MAJESTY AND THE POWER OF GOD . ( Psalms 115:3 .) The heathen, in their ignorance, want to know where Jehovah is ; they cannot see him. The reply is that he does not dwell in temples made with hands; that he is not confined to one building, larger or smaller; that no earthly trappings or grandeurs in any sacred city give any notion of his state. " Our God is in the heavens;" he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 115:1-18

Metrically, the psalm falls into four stanzas or strophes—the first of three verses ( Psalms 115:1-3 ), and the other three of five verses each ( Psalms 115:4-8 ; 9-13; 14-18). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 115:1-18

The heathen taunt, and what came of it. To Israel, recently returned from exile, that taunt still seemed to sound in their ears. In this psalm, apparently a liturgical one, and used at high festivals in the service of the second temple, the mocking question of those who had held them in captivity—"Where is now their God?" was yet audible, through the keenness with which it was remembered. The sting and anguish of it still rankled in their hearts; and this psalm is the result of it.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 115:1-18

The honor due to God. A call to the God of Israel, the living God, to rescue the honor of his Name from the reproach of the heathen. I. GOD IS WORTHY OF THE HIGHEST HONOR . In contrast to heathen idols. 1. Because of his loving-kindness or mercy . ( Psalms 115:1 .) 2. Because of his truth or faith fullness . ( Psalms 115:1 .) Emphatically "truth and grace came by Jesus Christ." 3. Though invisible , he reigns and rules from the exalted heaven ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 115:9-11

The idols and the idol-worshippers having been sufficiently scorned; the latter especially, for their "trust" in idols, Israel is exhorted to trust in the only sure Object of confidence, Jehovah. Three several times the leader of the choir gives forth the call—" Trust in the Lord "—and three several times the choir responds with the acknowledgment that he, and he alone, "is their Help and Shield." The exhortation seems to be addressed, first, to the lay people generally ( Psalms 115:9 );... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 115:11

Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord . Professor Cheyne explains this of proselytes, the σεβόμενοι of the Acts; but surely the order followed is one of climax—first, ordinary Israelites; next, those officially holy, the priests; finally, those actually holy, the truly faithful Israelites. He is their Help and their Shield . It would have been better in every case to have kept the Hebrew order of the words—"Their Help and their Shield is he." read more

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