"Non Nobis, Domine!"
(No. 2784)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JUNE 22, 1902.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 16,
1878.
"Not unto us, O LORRD, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for
Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake." Psalm 115:1.
EVERY careful reader can see the connection between this 115th Psalm
and the one which precedes it. In the 114th Psalm we see the gracious
and grateful Jews sitting around the Passover table, having eaten of
the lamb and singing of the miracles of Jehovah at the Red Sea and the
Jordan. It must have been a very jubilant song that they sang! I think
I can hear them singing, "What ailed you, O you sea, that you fled? You
Jordan, that you were driven back?" When that joyful hymn was finished
and the cup of wine was passed around the table, they struck another
note. They remembered their sad condition, as they heard the heathen
say, "Where is now their God?" They remembered that perhaps for many a
year there had been no miracle, no Prophet, no open vision–and then
they began to chant a prayer that God would appear–not for their
sakes, but for His own name's sake, that the ancient Glory which He won
for Himself at the Red Sea and the Jordan might not be lost–and that
the heathen might no longer be able to tauntingly say, "Where is now
their God?" because the wonders worked by God would cause them to
tremble before Him.
Remember that when the Israelites came up out of Egypt and were
marching through the wilderness, the Lord put "the dread of them and
the fear of them" upon all the nations in their track, so that they
were half defeated through the terror that had made them almost like
dead men in the Presence of the mighty God of Israel! So, the
Psalmist's prayer here is, practically, "Lord, do the same again–not
for our sakes, but for Your own name's sake–that once again the
heathen all around may know that there is a God in the midst of
Israel–and that they may be caused again to tremble as they did
before–and no longer blaspheme or defy the God of Jacob." These
observations will, I hope, show you how suitably this Psalm would be
chanted while still the Paschal Supper was proceeding.
Now let us take the words of our text by themselves and examine them
under the gracious guidance of the Holy Spirit. They are, I think,
instructive to us in five ways."
I. First, they furnish us with A POWERFUL PLEA IN PRAYER–"Not unto us,
O Jehovah, not unto us, but unto
Your name give glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake."
There are time when this is the only plea that God's people can use.
There are other occasions when we can plead with God to bless us for
this reason or for that, but, sometimes, there come dark experiences
when there seems to be no reason that can suggest itself to us why God
should give us deliverance, or vouchsafe us a blessing except this
one–that He would be pleased to do it in order to glorify His own
name. Moses is an example of how this plea prevails with the Lord. When
he was on the mount with God and Jehovah threatened to destroy the
idolatrous Israelites, Moses pleaded, "Why should the Egyptians speak
and say, For mischief did He bring them out, to slay them in the
mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from
Your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against Your people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore
by Your own Self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the
stars of Heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give
unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever. And the Lord
repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people."
Joshua also used the same plea when he said to the Lord, after Israel's
defeat at Ai, "What will You do unto Your great name?" He could not
say, "Lord, hear me for Israel's sake," for they were utterly unworthy.
He did not dare to say,
"Deliver us for my sake"–he had not conceit or self-righteousness
enough to present such a plea as that! He could not even say, "Hear us
for Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob's sake," for the people had broken
the Covenant which God had made with their fathers. So he pleaded with
the Lord, "Think of Your own honor. Think of Your great name. Think of
Your repute among the heathen." And thus he prevailed. It is noteworthy
that that awful attribute of holy jealousy, which, under some aspects,
is like a terrible flame, is the very one which helps us when
everything else fails. Jehovah is very jealous of His own honor and
therefore it is that when the heathens say, "Where is now their God?"
He answers their taunt by ceasing to chasten His people–not for their
sakes, but for His own mercy and truth's sake, that the heathen may not
think Him unmerciful to His people, nor be able to accuse Him of being
unfaithful to His Covenant.
Brothers and Sisters, in all your times of distress, you will do well
to urge this plea with the Lord. Possibly you are pleading for a
certain class of men or women who have grossly sinned. It may be that
you have on your heart the case of one person who has gone to great
lengths of iniquity. You can always plead, "Lord, save that sinful soul
to make Your Grace the more illustrious. Do it that others who have
witnessed his sin may admire Your wonderful compassion–that his
relatives and friends who have heard his blasphemies and been horrified
by them, may see what You can do when You bare Your almighty arm and
magnify Your deeds of Grace."
You may be emboldened to urge that plea, notwithstanding the vileness
of the person for whom you plead. In fact, the sinfulness of the sinner
may even be your plea that God's mercy and loving kindness may be seen
the more resplen-dently by all who know of the sinful soul's guilt. And
if your prayer should not be on behalf of some gross transgressor, but
on behalf of a fallen church–suppose it should be for a church that
has lost its first love, a church that has turned aside from the Truth
of God, a church which has ceased to be zealous, a church like that of
Laodicea, fit only to be spewed out of the mouth of Christ–you may
still come before Him and say, "Lord, revive it–not for that church's
sake, for You might well make it a desolation, like Shiloh, where the
Ark of the Covenant was at the first–but do it for Your name's sake
that all may see that You can trim the lamp when it already smokes and
gives forth a nauseous stench–that You can take the fig tree before it
is utterly barren, and dig about it, and dung it, and make it bring
forth fruit, O You wondrous Vinedresser of the vineyard!" I leave that
thought with you, suggesting that in your solitude when you withdraw to
pray–I mean you who, like Jacob, have your Jabboks and your
Peniels–you will find that this is one of the mightiest weapons that
you can wield in that secret midnight conflict. There is a sacred art
of gripping even the Angel of the Covenant in that time of mysterious
wrestling. Say, "For Christ's sake, for God's name's sake, for His
love's sake, for the Gospel's sake"–for all these are mightily
prevalent pleas with the Most High.
Let me just whisper a word in the ear of anyone who has scarcely
learned to pray. Poor Sinner–
"Laden with guilt and full of fears"– you say, "How can I plead with
God for mercy? I have rejected it for years. I have often been rebuked
and I have hardened my neck. I fear I have no plea with which to urge
my suit in craving God's mercy." Here is one for you to use–say to
Him, "For Your mercy and Your love's sake, have pity upon me, the least
deserving of all Your creatures, for, surely, if You will but save me,
it will be an eternal wonder to men and to angels! If you will save me,
then I will sing–
"All Your mercy's depths I prove, All its heights are seen in me!"
I remember one who said, "Oh, if the Lord Jesus Christ will but pardon
me, He shall never hear the last of it!" And this is what all poor
guilty souls may truly say, "Should there be mercy for such a sinner as
I am–so old a sinner–so daring a sinner–so God-provoking a sinner?
God's Grace blot out my sin? Will the Lord put me into His family and
call me His child? Then, tell it in the deeps of Hell and let all the
devils know what great things God can do! And tell it in the heights of
Heaven and let all the principalities and powers there learn new music
as they sing of the greatness of the loving kindness of the Lord who
can pardon and save the very chief of sinners!" I suggest that every
seeking sinner here should plead the name of God and the Glory of
Christ–plead that He will be honored, that men will magnify His great
name and the preciousness of His atoning blood and the power of His
Gospel if it shall save you. This is a good plea– take care that you
use it.
II. Now, secondly, my text appears to me to embody THE TRUE SPIRIT OF
PIETY. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name give
glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake." That is to say, true
religion does not seek its own honor.
Self-seeking is the exact opposite of the spirit of a true Christian.
He would rather strip himself and say, "Not unto me, but unto You, O
Lord, be all honor and glory!" He seeks no crown to put upon his own
head. Twice he refused to wear it. Even if the world would press it
upon him, he says, "Not unto me; not unto me." He does not wish for
honor. He has done with self-seeking. His one great objective, now, is
to glorify God–"Unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy, and for
Your truth's sake." Do you not think, dear Friends, that if this is the
true spirit of religion, we shall very often have to condemn ourselves
for being so faulty in it?
For instance, suppose, in preaching the Gospel, a man has, even as a
small part of his motive, that he may be esteemed an eloquent person,
or that he may have influence over other men's minds–I will not
suppose that he has so sordid a motive as worldly gain–but I need not
"suppose" what I have suggested, for it is lamentably true that this
mixture of motives may steal over the preacher's soul. Ah, but we must
fight against this evil with all our might! Somebody once told Master
John Bunyan that he had preached a delightful sermon. "You are too
late," said John, "the devil told me that before I left the pulpit."
Satan is very skillful in teaching us how to steal our Master's Glory.
Yet, if ever we speak aright, it is because we are taught of the Spirit
and not because of our own wisdom. Even when we have had the undoubted
help of the Holy Spirit, we are far too apt to attribute at least some
little power to ourselves. But a true servant of the Lord Jesus Christ
loathes himself when he finds that this evil habit has fastened itself
upon him–and he cries, "No, Lord! Not unto me, not unto me, but unto
Your name give all the glory and praise." We are to preach so as to
glorify God, not to glorify ourselves–and the man who occupies the
pulpit merely that he may manifest his own cleverness ought to be
hurled from it, forthwith, for he has no right there whatever! "Glory
be to God," should always be the preacher's motto.
And as it should be so with our preaching, do you not think that the
same thing is true concerning our praying? Are there no petitions
presented at Prayer Meetings in which there is at least some idea that
we are saying very proper things, and very pretty things, and that
people will think we have a great gift of prayer? Did you ever have
such a feeling as that steal over you? Yet, my Brothers, the only
prayer of the right kind is that which is offered for the Glory of God.
If I turn from your public prayers and look into your private
supplications, shall I not see selfthere?
The right spirit in which to do everything is to do all to the Glory of
God. In almsgiving, for instance–a practice which, I trust, will never
die out, though there are some who tell us that it is wicked to give to
the poor–in almsgiving is it not possible to do it simply to get rid
of the applicant, or to satisfy your own conscience, or that you may be
thought generous? That is not right! We must give our alms to God
alone. Let not our right hand know what our left hand gives, for it is
not to man that we are giving it, but as unto the Lord. Let our
offering be dropped into the box and nothing be said about it. Let us
get as far as possible from the spoiling glance of the human eye, that
the whole act may be as a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, something
done for Jesus and for Jesus only, that He may have it and have all the
glory of it.
And in any service that you may render, do you not know that it must be
done simply and only for Christ's sake if it is to be acceptable to
Him? Yet, often, you can scarcely set a man to open pew doors, or to
give out a hymn, or to teach a Sunday school class, but "great I" will
be sure to lift its head unless it is constantly kept under! Pride
grows swiftly, like other weeds. Yet remember that whatever we do in
order that we may make ourselves the end and object of it, is spoiled
in the doing and is not pleasing to God. Indeed, we are not offering it
to God–we are offering it to ourselves! May God grant us Grace that we
may never be swayed by the fear of man, or the wish to win human
approbation! May we do that which we believe to be right because it
isright and because we wish to honor and glorify God in doing it! And
when we are rendering any service to the Master, let us never wish for
human eyes to see it. That is the true spirit of piety–may God grant
that we may have it to the full!
But oftentimes we cherish another kind of spirit. Even the sweet singer
among you may be singing a hymn "to the praise and glory of God," yet
be thinking to himself or herself, all the while, "Do not those who are
listening to me think that I have a very sweet voice?" Or, possibly,
you are in the Sunday school and you feel, "Well, now, I really am one
of the most efficient teachers here. They must think a great deal of
me, or they ought to, at any rate." Very often, even in the household,
when we have done some little thing, we congratulate ourselves upon it
and feel that everybody ought to pat us on the back and burn a little
incense in our honor. Ah, dear Friends, if we think anything like this,
may the Lord speedily drive it out of us! Such poor creatures as we
are, if the Lord would let us be doormats for all His saints to wipe
their dirty boots upon, it would be an honor to us. If He only allows
us to be hewers of wood or drawers of water, like
the Gibeonites of old–and if He accepts what we do, it will be all of
His Grace. But for us to set up on our own account, to live to
ourselves and to want honor and glory for ourselves–this will never
do! We say, of some people, that they are "poor and proud" and, truly,
that is what we are when we begin to boast! Lord, take away our
pride–our poverty will not so much matter then!
III. I leave that point and come, thirdly, to use the Psalmist's words
in yet another sense. I think that the spirit of my text is A SAFE
GUIDE IN THEOLOGY.
When I am going to read the Scriptures, to know what I am to believe,
to learn what is to be my creed–even before I open my Bible, it is a
good thing to say–"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your
name give glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake." This is,
to my mind, a test of what is true and what is false. If you meet with
a system of theology which magnifies man, flee from it as far as you
can! If the minister, whom you usually hear, tries to make man out to
be a very fine fellow and says a great many things in his praise, you
should let him have an empty place where you have been accustomed to
sit. This shall be an infallible test to you concerning anyone's
ministry. If it is man-praising and honors man, it is not of God! The
Negro said of a certain preacher in America, "He do make God so great."
I would that it might be said of all of us that our preaching made God
great. That plan of salvation that makes man to be somebody, is a wrong
one, depend upon it, for he is a nobody and nothing. That kind of
preaching which leaves a great deal for man to do and tells him he can
do it–well, Brothers and Sisters–let those people who are so very
good, strong and great, go and listen to it! But as for you and me–at
any rate, for the most of us–we know that, by nature, we are dead in
trespasses and sins, that our strength is perfect weakness and,
therefore, the kind of preaching that exalts man does not suit our
experience. We do not ask for it, nor do we want it. It will poison
those who receive it, for it comes not from
God.
This is why I believe in the Doctrines of Grace. I believe in Divine
Election because somebody must have the supreme will in this
matter–and man's will must not occupy the Throne of God–only the will
of God. The words of Jehovah stand fast like the great mountains. "I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion." The Sovereignty of God is a Doctrine
which lifts Him up high and, therefore, I accept it and reverently bow
before it. According to some men, it seems that salvation is mainly the
work of the creature. Christ died for him, but Christ may have died in
vain unless he, by something that he does, makes Christ's death
effectual. That kind of teaching I do not believe because it throws the
onus of redemption, after all, upon man, and makes him to give efficacy
to the redemption of Christ! No, verily, but I believe that those for
whom Christ gave Himself as a ransom shall surely be His forever–and
that He did really redeem them and needs not that they add anything to
make that everlasting ransom price sufficient and available for their
deliverance.
There are some who seem to think that the sinner takes certain steps
towards God before God comes to him, but it is not so. The sinner is
dead and life must come to him from God before he can stir from the
grave, or even have a wishto stir from it. And there are some who teach
that after man is saved, he still needs to keep himself and confirm
himself in Grace–in fact that his salvation depends upon himself. But
it is not so, for He who has called us and saved us, has given us gifts
which He will never take back and, having once loved us, He will love
us to the end. We are firmly persuaded that He who has begun a good
work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. From top to
bottom, salvation is all of the Grace of God! From its first letter,
Alpha, to its last letter, Omega, it is all Grace, Grace, Grace! There
is no room for human merit and no room for confidence in self whatever!
There is room for good works, yet no room for glorifying in them, "for
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God has before ordained that we should walk in them." You know that
jewelers have certain tests by which, if you take them a ring or a
coin, they can tell you at once whether it is gold or silver. Here is a
test for you to apply and by it you may tell whether a thing is true or
not. Does it glorify God? Then, accept it. If it does not, if it
glorifies man–puts human will, human ability, human merit into the
place of the mercy and the Grace of God–away with it, for it is not
food fit for your souls to feed upon! I wish that all Christians were
more concerned for the Glory of God than they are. Surely, then, they
would become sounder in doctrine than many are nowadays.
IV. The fourth way of using our text is this. It seems to me to be A
PRACTICAL DIRECTION IN LIFE.
You want to know, young man, how to direct your steps aright, and how
to cleanse your way. This text will help you, dear Brother, in the
selection of your sphere of service. You will always be safe in doing
that which is not for your
own glory, but which is distinctly for the Glory of God. Have you two
situations offered to you? Are they equally remunerative, or equally
difficult? Select that one in which you may hope to glorify God more
than you could in the other! This is the voice behind you which says,
"This is the way; walk you in it." Are you choosing a profession, or
seeking an honorable career in life? Then, I pray you, let this text
guide you. Adoniram Judson, full of ambition, seeking a great name, met
with this text and rebelled against it. But he says that all his bright
visions for the future seemed to vanish as these words sounded in his
soul, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name give
glory." Are you going to live, young man, to get glory to yourself? It
will not do! It will not do. If the Lord loves you, He will not let it
be so. "But what, then, am I to do?" you ask. Why, labor so to live, in
any calling, that you may bring glory to God in it!
Sometimes my text will guide you as to which you should choose out of
two courses of action that lie before you. Did I understand that you
have had a little tiff with your brother or sister, and the question
with you is, "What shall I do in this dispute?" Something says, "Go and
make up and say that you were wrong." But something else says, "Oh, but
you know that we must not always be giving way and yielding because
some people, if you give them an inch, will take a mile!" So, possibly,
you do not know which course to take. Which is the one you do not wish
to follow? Why, you do not like to humble yourself! Then thatis the
plan you should adopt! What flesh revolts against, your spirit should
choose. Say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name give
glory. I will do that which will most honor my Lord and Master–and not
that which would best please myself."
Or it may be that there are two ways in which you might serve God and
you are rather perplexed about which one to choose. One of them would
give you a good share of honor. The other would involve more work and
you would not be likely to get much credit out of it. You really do not
know which of the two you ought to choose. I suggest, Brother, that the
probabilities are that that is the right one for you from which you
will get the least credit. At any rate, I am afraid that if you hold
the scales impartially, as you think, your hand will incline just a
little to give the preponderance to that which would bring you into
fame. Do not do it–school yourself so that you can say, "For my
Master's sake alone will I choose that which shall be my course, and I
will follow where He leads the way, seeking to give Him all the glory."
That is a direction post which, I think, will guide you out of many of
the perplexities of life.
V. Now, fifthly, and lastly, my text seems to contain within itself THE
ACCEPTABLE SPIRIT IN WHICH TO REVIEW THE PAST.
Brothers and Sisters, this is the spirit in which to live. Has God
blessed us? Do we look back upon honorable and useful lives? Has our
Sunday school class brought in souls for Christ? Have we been
privileged to preach the Gospel and has the Lord given us converts?
Then let us be sure to stick to the text–"Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but unto Your name give glory." Now, young man, if you are
beginning to serve the Savior and He has given you success, your
conduct in this first time of testing may decide the whole of your
future life. "As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold;
so is a man to his praise." There are very few men who can bear
success–none can do so unless great Grace is given to them! And if,
after a little success, you begin to say, "There now, I am somebody.
Did I not do that well? These poor old fogies do not know how to do
it–I will teach them"–you will have to go into the back rank,
Brother, you are not yet able to endure success! It is clear that you
cannot stand praise. But if, when God gives you blessing, you give Him
every atom of the glory and clear yourself of everything like boasting,
then the Lord will continue to bless you because it will be safe for
Him to do so. He is not going to put His treasure, let me tell you,
into the leaky vessels of self-exaltation. No, no–He wants good
sea-going ships which bear at the masthead the flag on which is
inscribed, "Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name give
glory."
Yes, and when the time comes for us to die, this is the spirit in which
to die, for it is the beginning of Heaven. What are they doing in
Heaven? If we could look in there, what would we see? There are crowns
there, laid up for those that fight the good fight and finish their
course–but do you see what the victors are doing with their crowns?
They will not wear them! No, not they–they cast them down at Christ's
feet, crying, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name
give glory." Brother, Sister–living, dying–let this be your continual
cry! If the Lord favors you, honors you, blesses you, always say, "Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, be the glory." Are you prosperous in
business? Do not be proud of your riches. Are you getting on in
education? Do not boast of what you know, for there is a great deal
more that you do not know. Has God given you a few converts? Do not
begin thinking that you are a mighty soul-winner, for there are many
more yet to be won. The way up is downward! Your Master descended that
He might afterwards ascend
and fill all things–and your way of ascent must be downward, downward,
downward–so that you become less and less, and less. Say over and over
again, "Not unto us, not unto us," till you utterly loathe the idea of
human glory and let the Lord have all the praise!
As a Church we can look back upon many years of spiritual prosperity,
but we must still sing, "Non nobis, non no-bis, non nobis, Domine." We
can bless and magnify the Lord for unity, peace, concord and perpetual
increase and success in all the works of our hands. Glory be unto the
Lord for it! But, as Paul shook off the viper from his hand into the
fire, so would we shake off everything that looks like attributing
success to ourselves, even to our prayers, our tears, our devotion. Let
all the glory be given to God alone, for–
"To Him all the glory belongs." Now I finish by saying that perhaps
there is someone here who is longing to be saved and the only thing
that stands in his way is that he will not come to this point and say,
"Not unto us, not unto us." Ah, my Friend! You want to be a little
somebody! You want to do something, or be something. Brother, be
nothing, for then shall Christ be your All-in-All! Remember that the
end of the creature is the beginning of the Creator. When you have done
with every other confidence, then you can have confidence in God. The
Lord bless you to this end, for Jesus Christ's sake! Amen,
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM115.
This is one of the Hallel Psalms which were sung by the Jews at the
feast of the Passover. It is highly probable that they were sung by our
Lord on that memorable night when He instituted the sacred feast which
is to be the perpetual memorial of His death, "until He comes." They
have, however, a message for us who are now gathered together here.
Verses 1, 2. Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name give
glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake. Why should the
heathen say, Where is now their God?They talk about what He did when He
brought His people up out of Egypt–but they tauntingly ask, "Where is
now their God?" You are not dead, O God! Nor are You even waxing
weak–will You not let the heathen know that they are resisting You in
vain?
3. But our God is in the heavens. Where they cannot see Him. But that
is just where He should be–in His own royal pavilion, seated upon His
own Throne–out of gunshot of all His enemies–where He can survey the
whole world, where He is dependent upon none, but absolutely supreme
over all–"Our God is in the heavens."
3. He has done whatever He has pleased. What a grand sentence that is!
After all, His eternal purposes are continually being fulfilled. His
decrees can never fail to be accomplished. He is not a thwarted and
defeated God–not One who has to wait upon His creatures to know their
pleasure, but, "He has done whatever He has pleased." How absolute and
unlimited those words are! "Whatever He has pleased." He has willed it
and He has done it. As for the heathens who say, "Where is now their
God?" we may ask, in holy derision, "Where are theirgods, and what sort
of gods are they?" The Psalmist gives the answer.
4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Mere
metal–called precious metal, yet, if made into idols, no better than
any other metal. This shows the amount that a man will spend upon
making to himself a god that is no god–but what a fool he is to do so!
How can a man call that a "god," which did not make him, but which he
himself made? "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's
hands."
5. They have mouths, but they speak not. I want you to notice how the
Psalmist seems to have an image before him and he points first to its
head and mocks at its different parts. And then he points to its hands
and its feet, and he utters scathing sarcasms about the whole person of
the idol god.
5-7. Eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear
not: noses have they, but they smell not: they have hands, but they
handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they
through their throat ''They have mouths." To carry out their idea of
God, the makers of idols have given them mouths, but they cannot speak
through them–they are dumb. Shall a man believe a dumb thing to be a
god? The idols cannot communicate anything to him– it is not possible
for them to speak any word of encouragement, or threat, or
promise–"They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they." Some
idols had precious gems placed in their heads to appear like eyes, but
they cannot see through them, for they are blind. Is it not a
contradiction to speak of a blind god? What a blind man must he be who
worships a blind god! "Eyes have they, but they see not: they have
ears." Some Indian idols certainly have ears, for they have elephants'
ears, monstrous lobes and I think, perhaps, the Psalmist was referring
to such ears as those. "They have ears," he says, "but they hear not."
Then what is the use of their ears? You cannot communicate anything to
them, so, why do you utter prayers to a thing that cannot hear what you
say? Why do you present praises to images that know not what you are
saying? "They have ears, but they hear not." "Noses have they." I note
the grim sarcasm of this remark of the Psalmist. It reminds me of
Elijah's taunting words to the prophets of Baal, "Cry aloud: for he is
a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey,
or, perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened."
The ancient Hebrews were not accustomed to treat idolatry with any kind
of respect. They poured all sorts of ridicule upon it. Nowadays we are
expected to speak very respectfully concerning all false religions–and
some philosophers and divines tell us that there is something good in
them all. And they say that modern Catholicism, with its many gods, and
its rotten rags and cast clouts, which they call relics, is to be
treated very delicately. Perhaps someone asks, "Is it not a religion?"
Yes, a religion for fools–but not for those who think! "Noses have
they, but they smell not." Their devotees fill the room with the smoke
of incense–they burn sweet spices before the idols but the idols
nostrils are not thereby gratified. "They have hands," says the
Psalmist. Their makers give them hands, "but they handle not." They
cannot even receive the offerings presented to them! They cannot
stretch out their hands to help their votaries. They are without
feel-ing–so the original tells us, yet they have hands, but they are
useless. "Feet have they, but they walk not." They could not even mount
to their shrines by themselves–they must be lifted there and fastened
with nails into their sockets!
One of the saddest sights to my mind–too sad to be ludicrous–is to
see a Catholic chapel, as I have often seen it, when the priest is up
on the top of the altar, taking down the various images, and dusting
the dolls. He, of course, pays them no sort of reverence, but dusts
them as your maid does the things in your bedchamber or your drawing
room. Yet these are the things that will be worshipped when the bell
rings in an hour's time–these very things that have been dusted and
treated in this fashion just like ordinary household ornaments! "Feet
have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat."
Their priests pretend that by a kind of sacred ventriloquism, they make
an articulate muttering–but the Psalmist very properly says, "Neither
speak they through their throat." They cannot whisper, they cannot even
mutter! They cannot make even as much noise as a beast or a bird can,
for they are lifeless and useless.
8. They that make them are like unto them; so is everyone that trusts
in them. That is to say, they are as stupid and doltish as the idols
they make. If they can bow down and worship such things as these,
surely the worshippers are fitted for the gods and the gods for the
worshippers! Now, Brothers and Sisters, remember that there is a
spiritual idolatry that is very much in vogue nowadays. Certain
"thinkers"–as they delight to call themselves, whose religion is known
as "modern thought"–do not accept the one living and true God as He
reveals Himself in the Old and the New Testaments–they make a god out
of what they are pleased to call their own consciousness. Truly, their
idols are reason and thought–the work of men's brains. Their god does
not hear prayer because it would be absurd, they say, to suppose that
prayer can have any effect on Deity. Their god has little or no regard
for justice–according to them, you may live as you like, but all will
come right at last. They hold out a "larger hope" that the wicked will
all be restored to God's favor. If that should be the case, there would
be no justice left upon the face of the earth or in Heaven either.
All this is false! A god that a man can comprehend is not really a god
at all. A god that I could create from my own brain must, of necessity,
be no god. There can only be the one God who is made known to us by
Divine Revelation. God must be infinitely greater than the human
mind–He must be beyond our utmost conception–of whom we can know but
little compared with what He really is, and that little He must Himself
reveal to us. Beware, I pray you, of a god that you make for yourself!
Take God as you find Him in this Book and worship Him. Otherwise, you
will find that there may be mental idols as well as idols of silver,
gold, wood and stone.
"The God of Abraham praise." "The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob," the God of the whole earth shall He be called. "The God that
led His people out of Egypt, the God of Sinai is the God and Father of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." And "this God is our God forever and
ever." Ours is no new religion–it is the religion of Jehovah worship,
and to this we will cling, whoever may oppose.
9-11. OIsrael, trustyou in the LORD: He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: He is their help and their shield.
You that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: He is their help and their
shield. The first of this set of sentences seems to me to be addressed
by way of exhortation, but the second is a sort of soliloquy in which
the
Psalmist, having exhorted others to trust, says, "Well they may trust,
for God is both their active and their passive Helper–their help and
their shield." O you who know Him, and love Him, you who are of the
house of Israel, however other men may turn aside to idols, keep
yourselves steadfast to Jehovah and trust in Him even when He is mocked
and ridiculed! O you who are His ministers, the house of Aaron,
especially devoted to His service, you know Him best and you should
trust Him most! O all of you, proselytes of the gate, who are not of
the seed of Israel, still fear Jehovah and trust in Him, for He is your
help and your shield!
12. The LORD has been mindful of us: He will bless, He will bless the
house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron. He had been mindful
of Israel and this guaranteed that He would still bless His people.
"The times are dark and cloudy," the Psalmist seems to say, "but by His
ancient mercies, our faith is established, and our hope encouraged."
13. He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great Now,
little ones, look out for the blessing that is meant for you–"He will
bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great." Those who have
but little faith, little joy, little Divine Grace, little growth, He
will still bless!
14-16. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your
children. You are blessed of the LORD which made Heaven and earth. The
Heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth has He given to
the children of men. This may in part account for the fact that He is
not known, and not honored among men. He is, Himself, in Heaven and,
for a while, He has left men to follow their own devices. Hence it is
that they have set up false gods. But, whatever others may do, or not
do, let us praise the name of the Lord!
17. The dead praise not the LORD. No song comes up from that dark
morgue, no praise ascends to God from those that are asleep in the
grave. The living among them praise Him in Heaven, but "the dead praise
not the Lord."
17, 18. Neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the
LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD. "Praise the
Lord," that is, "Hallelujah!" The Psalm could not end with a better
note than that. So may all our lives end, for our Lord Jesus Christ's
sake! Amen.