Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 115:2
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where [is] now their God?
2. So Psa 79:10. Cp. Psa 42:3; Psa 42:10; Exo 32:12; Num 14:13 ff.; Joe 2:17; Mic 7:10. Now does not mean at the present time as contrasted with the past, but is a particle emphasising the question, where, prithee?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Wherefore should the heathen say – The nations; they who worshipped idols, and who claimed that those idols were true gods. Why should we, thy people, be so left, so forsaken, so afflicted, as to lead these idolaters to suppose that we worship a false God, or that the God whom we adore is destitute of power or faithfulness; either that he does not exist, or that he cannot be relied on. It is evident that they were now in circumstances which would give some plausibility to the question here asked.
Where is now their God? – They seem to be forsaken. God, the God whom they worship, does not come forth for their defense. If he exists at all, he is destitute of power, or he is not true to the people who worship him, and he cannot be trusted. Compare Psa 42:3, note; Psa 42:10, note; Psa 79:10, note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Wherefore should the heathen say] This appears to refer to a time in which the Israelites had suffered some sad reverses, so as to be brought very low, and to be marked by the heathen.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Wherefore should the heathen say? why dost thou suffer them, or give them any colour or occasion, to say or think so, by conniving at their wickedness, and by giving thy people into their hands?
Where is now their God? he is no where; he is lost, or at a loss, either unable, or unwilling, or not at leisure to save them.
Their God; who hath undertaken to be their God and Saviour, and whom they only worship, and of whom they use to boast and insult over us and over our gods.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. Where is now, &c.”now”is “not a particle of time, but of entreaty,” as in ourforms of speech, “Come now,” “See now,” &c.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Wherefore should the Heathen say,…. The nations about Israel, the nations of the world; the Gentiles in any age; the Papists in ours, sometimes called the Heathen, Ps 10:16. The church expostulates with the Lord why those should be suffered to say, in a reproachful, insulting, manner, and by way of triumph,
where is now their God? that they have boasted of would help them; in whom they have put their trust and confidence; why does not he help them, as he has promised, and they expect? Thus the church suggests, that if the Lord did not appear for them, his own glory lay at stake. Such language is generally used by their enemies, when the people of God were in any distress; see Ps 42:10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2 Why should the heathen say, Where is now their God? They here express how God would maintain his glory in the preservation of the Church, which, if he permitted to be destroyed, would expose his name to the impious reproaches of the heathen, who would blaspheme the God of Israel, as being destitute of power, because he forsook his servants in the time of need. This is not done from the persuasion that God requires any such representation, but rather that the faithful may direct their thoughts back to that holy zeal contained in the words to which we have formerly adverted, “The railings of those that railed against thee have fallen upon me,” Psa 69:10. And this is the reason for not having recourse to rhetorical embellishment, to move him to put forth his power to preserve the Church; they simply protest that their anxiety for their own safety does not prevent them from valuing the glory of God, even as it is worthy of being more highly valued. They go on to show how the glory of God was connected with their deliverance, by declaring that he was the Author of the covenant, which the ungodly had boasted was abolished and disannulled; and who, consequently, had declared that the grace of God was frustrated, and that his promises were vain. This is the ground on which they remind him of his favor and faithfulness, both of which were liable to mischievous calumnies, should he disappoint the hopes of his people, to whom he was bound by an everlasting covenant; and upon whom, in the exercise of his gratuitous mercy, he had bestowed the privilege of adoption. And as God, in making us also partakers of his Gospel, has condescended to graft us into the body of his Son, we ought to make a public acknowledgement of the same.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. Where is now their God This was the common taunt and challenge of the heathen whenever Israel fell into their hands, or they were flushed with expectation of a victory; Psa 42:3; Psa 42:10; Psa 79:10; Joe 2:17: and this placed the issue directly between Jehovah and the idols. No reproach of the heathen ever stung the Hebrew heart like this.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
As the enemy will triumph over the afflictions of the Lord’s people, we would pray, O Lord, that they may have no occasion so to do in our being cast down under trials. May we have always grace to see our exercises sanctified, and this will stop the insults of the foe. Reader, if we should at any time be thus exercised, let us look to Jesus on the cross, and hear the insults offered to him; this will compose our souls. Mat 27:39-43 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 115:2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where [is] now their God?
Ver. 2. Wherefore should the heathen say ] Why should they thus be suffered or occasioned to blaspheme thee, and twit us with our religion? Hence some conceive that this psalm was made in the time of the Babylonish captivity by Daniel (saith one Jewish doctor), when he expounded Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; by the three worthies (saith another), when they were in the fiery furnace. See Psa 42:10 ; Psa 79:10 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
heathen = nations.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 42:3, Psa 42:10, Psa 79:10, Exo 32:12, Num 14:15, Num 14:16, Deu 32:26, Deu 32:27, 2Ki 19:10-19, Joe 2:17
Reciprocal: Deu 9:28 – Because 1Ki 20:22 – at the return 2Ki 2:14 – Where is 1Ch 16:28 – glory Psa 65:1 – Praise Isa 33:5 – The Lord Isa 36:18 – Hath Eze 36:22 – General Dan 9:19 – thine Mic 7:10 – Where
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
115:2 Wherefore should the heathen say, {b} Where [is] now their God?
(b) When the wicked see that God does not always accomplish his promise as they imagined, they think there is no God.