Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 115:9
O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he [is] their help and their shield.
9. Israel ] The LXX and Syr. have house of Israel, as in Psa 135:19; hence the P.B.V.
he is their help and their shield ] At first sight the transition to the third person seems awkward, and some of the Ancient Versions (LXX, Syr., Jer.) read the verb in the preceding line with different vowels in the third person, The house of I. trusteth in the Lord. But this is less forcible, and the change of person may be explained by supposing that the first line in each of these verses was sung by the precentor, and that this refrain was the answer of the choir.
help and shield as in Psa 33:20; cp. Deu 33:29; Psa 3:3; Psa 28:7.
The threefold division ‘Israel,’ ‘house of Aaron,’ ‘fearers of Jehovah,’ recurs in Psa 118:2-4: in Psa 135:19 ff. ‘the house of Levi’ is added. Israel as a whole is first addressed, then the religious leaders of the people, then the inner circle of those who are truly God-fearing; or perhaps the Psalmist assumes the reality of their devotion and addresses people and priests together as ‘fearers of Jehovah.’ Many commentators however hold that by ‘fearers of Jehovah’ are meant Gentile proselytes (1Ki 8:41; Isa 56:6). In the N.T. God-fearing Gentiles, who had attached themselves more or less closely to the faith and worship of Israel, are designated as ‘those who fear,’ or ‘reverence, God’ ( , , or ) simply: Act 13:16; Act 13:26; Act 16:14; Act 18:7; Act 17:17). But the general usage of the O.T., and of the Psalter in particular, makes it improbable that the phrase ‘fearers of Jehovah’ has this sense here. In the closely parallel passage, Psa 22:23, it certainly denotes Israelites, whether it be understood as synonymous with the ‘seed of Israel’ or as designating an inner circle of true believers. The question is discussed by Prof. A. B. Davidson in the Expository Times, 1892, pp. 491 ff., who comes to the conclusion that “any reference to a Gentile element in the Palestinian community is wholly without probability.” It seems evident from the words “both small and great” of Psa 115:13 that it is not “some small section like Gentile proselytes” that is meant: and “the intensely national and even local spirit” of this and kindred Psalms ( Psa 115:14; Psa 135:21) forbids us to suppose that the Psalmist intended to include all who in every place acknowledged Jehovah.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9 13. An exhortation to Israel to trust Jehovah, Who will surely bless His people.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
O Israel, trust thou in the Lord – This exhortation is founded in a great measure on what had been just said in regard to idols. They had no power. There was no reason why they should be confided in. They could not help in the day of trouble; and as people need a god, and as the idols cannot be to them as gods, the exhortation is addressed to his people to trust him. He would be to them all that was implied in the name God; all that was wanted in a God.
He is their help – The help of those who trust in him. He is able to help them in the time of trouble; he is willing to help them; he will help them. They who put their trust in him will find him a sure and certain help. This is the experience of all who confide in him.
And their shield – Their protector. See Psa 5:12, note; Psa 18:2, note; Psa 33:20, note. Compare Gen 15:1; Deu 33:29; Pro 30:5.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. O Israel] The body of the Jewish people.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
O Israel, do not thou follow the example of these brutish idolaters, but serve the Lord only.
Their help; who trust in God, as he now required. Or
their is put for your by a change of persons, which is most frequent in Scripture, and especially in these books.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9-13. The repetitions implyearnestness.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O Israel, trust thou in the Lord,…. Or, “the house of Israel hath trusted in the Lord”: so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions: the Targum is,
“Israel trusteth in the Word of the Lord;”
in distinction from the Heathens, that trust in their idols. But it is better rendered as an imperative, trust thou; it being an exhortation to Israel to trust in the Lord, in opposition to idols; and may be understood of Israel, literally taken, who were God’s chosen covenant people, to whom he had made a revelation of himself, and of his will; and therefore should trust in him, and in no other; and of spiritual Israel, or all the elect of God, and redeemed of the Lamb; every Israelite indeed; every wrestling Jacob, and prevailing Israel; every praying soul; every sensible sinner, Jew or Gentile. It becomes them to trust in the Lord, not in the creature; not in their own strength, wisdom, riches, righteousness, or fleshly privileges; but in the Lord, as the God of nature, providence, and grace; as a promising and covenant keeping God, who is to be trusted with all, and for every thing temporal and spiritual, and at all times.
He is their help and their shield; the help and shield of every true Israelite; of everyone that trusts in the Lord; or,
“your help and your shield, O ye Israelites;”
so Ben Balaam in Aben Ezra reads the words: which are a reason or argument encouraging trust in the Lord, since he is the help of his people; they are helpless in themselves, and vain is the help of man, for there is none in him; there is no help but in the Lord, and he is a present, seasonable, and sufficient help: Jehovah the Father has promised them help, and he is both able and faithful to make it good; he has laid help upon his Son for them; and has set up a throne of grace, where they may come for grace to help them in time of need: Christ has helped them out of the miserable estate they were fallen into by sin; he helps them on in their way to heaven, by his power and grace, and at last brings them thither: the Spirit of God helps them to the things of Christ; to many exceeding great and precious promises; and out of many difficulties, snares, and temptations; and he helps them in prayer under all their infirmities, and makes intercession for them, according to the will of God; and therefore they should trust in the Lord, Father, Son, and Spirit: and who is also “their shield”, to protect and defend them from all dangers, evils, and enemies; what a shield is to the body, to secure it from hurt, that to the people of God are the love and favour of God, his power and might, his truth and faithfulness; as likewise Christ, his blood, righteousness, and salvation; and the Spirit, and his grace; see Ps 5:12 Eph 6:16.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After this confession of Israel there now arises a voice that addresses itself to Israel. The threefold division into Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear Jahve is the same as in Psa 118:2-4. In Ps 135 the “house of Levi” is further added to the house of Aaron. Those who fear Jahve, who also stand in the last passage, are probably the proselytes (in the Acts of the Apostles , or merely )
(Note: The appellation does not however occur, if we do not bring Act 10:2 in here; but in Latin inscriptions in Orelli-Hentzen No. 2523, and in Auer in the Zeitschrift fr katholische Theologie 1852, S. 80, the proselyte ( religionis Judaicae ) is called metuens.))
at any rate these are included even if Israel in Psa 115:9 is meant to signify the laity, for the notion of “those who fear Jahve” extends beyond Israel. The fact that the threefold refrain of the summons does not run, as in Psa 33:20, our help and shield is He, is to be explained from its being an antiphonal song. In so far, however, as the Psalm supplicates God’s protection and help in a campaign the declaration of confident hope, their help and shield is He, may, with Hitzig, be referred to the army that is gone or is going forth. It is the same voice which bids Israel to be of good courage and announces to the people the well-pleased acceptance of the sacrifice with the words “Jahve hath been mindful of us” ( , cf. , Psa 20:7), perhaps simultaneously with the presentation of the memorial portion ( ) of the meat-offering (Psa 38:1). The placed at the head is particularized threefold, corresponding to the threefold summons. The special promise of blessing which is added in Psa 115:14 is an echo of Deu 1:11, as in 2Sa 24:3. The contracted future we take in a consolatory sense; for as an optative it would be too isolated here. In spite of all oppression on the part of the heathen, God will make His people ever more numerous, more capable of offering resistance, and more awe-inspiring.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Confidence in God. | |
9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. 14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD‘s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. 17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
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 thing that is evil. Therefore, 1. Let Israel trust in the Lord; the body of the people, as to their public interests, and every particular Israelite, as to his own private concerns, let them leave it to God to dispose of all for them, and believe it will dispose of all for the best and will be their help and shield. 2. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, and all the families of the house of Aaron, trust in the Lord, (v. 10); they are most maligned and struck at by the enemies and therefore of them God takes particular care. They ought to be examples to others of a cheerful confidence in God, and a faithful adherence to him in the worst of times. 3. Let the proselytes, who are not of the seed of Israel, but fear the Lord, who worship him and make conscience of their duty to him, let them trust in him, for he will not fail nor forsake them, v. 11. Note, Wherever there is an awful fear of God, there may be a cheerful faith in him: those that reverence his word may rely upon it.
II. We are greatly encouraged to trust in God, and good reason is given us why we should stay ourselves upon him with an entire satisfaction. Consider, 1. What we have experienced (v. 12): The Lord has been mindful of us, and never unmindful, has been so constantly, has been so remarkably upon special occasions. He has been mindful of our case, our wants and burdens, mindful of our prayers to him, his promises to us, and the covenant-relation between him and us. All our comforts are derived from God’s thoughts to us-ward; he has been mindful of us, though we have forgotten him. Let this engage us to trust in him, that we have found him faithful. 2. What we may expect. From what he has done for us we may infer, He will bless us; he that has been our help and our shield will be so; he that has remembered us in our low estate will not forget us; for he is still the same, his power and goodness the same, and his promise inviolable; so that we have reason to hope that he who has delivered, and does, will yet deliver. Yet this is not all: He will bless us; he has promised that he will; he has pronounced a blessing upon all his people. God’s blessing us is not only speaking good to us, but doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. It is particularly promised that he will bless the house of Israel, that is, he will bless the commonwealth, will bless his people in their civil interests. He will bless the house of Aaron, that is, the church, the ministry, will bless his people in their religious concerns. The priests were to bless the people; it was their office (Num. vi. 23); but God blessed them, and so blessed their blessings. Nay (v. 13), he will bless those that fear the Lord, though they be not of the house of Israel or the house of Aaron; for it was a truth, before Peter perceived it, That in every nation he that fears God is accepted or him, and blessed, Act 10:34; Act 10:35. He will bless them both small and great, both young and old. God has blessings in store for those that are good betimes and for those that are old disciples, both those that are poor in the world and those that make a figure. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be denied to the meanest that fear him. Both the weak in grace and the strong shall be blessed of God, the lambs and the sheep of his flock. It is promised (v. 14), The Lord shall increase you. Whom God blesses he increases; that was one of the earliest and most ancient blessings, Be fruitful and multiply. God’s blessing gives an increase–increase in number, building up the family–increase in wealth, adding to the estate and honour–especially an increase in spiritual blessings, with the increasings of God. He will bless you with the increase of knowledge and wisdom, of grace, holiness, and joy; those are blessed indeed whom God thus increases, who are made wiser and better, and fitter for God and heaven. It is promised that this shall be, (1.) A constant continual increase: “He shall increase you more and more; so that, as long as you live, you shall be still increasing, till you come to perfection, as the shining light,” Prov. iv. 18. (2.) An hereditary increase: “You and your children; you in your children.” It is a comfort to parents to see their children increasing in wisdom and strength. There is a blessing entailed upon the seed of those that fear God even in their infancy. For (v. 15), You are blessed of the Lord, you and your children are so; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord has blessed, Isa. lix. 9. Those that are the blessed of the Lord have encouragement enough to trust in the Lord, as their help and shield, for it is he that made heaven and earth; therefore his blessings are free, for he needs not any thing himself; and therefore they are rich, for he has all things at command for us if we fear him and trust in him. He that made heaven and earth can doubtless make those happy that trust in him, and will do it.
III. We are stirred up to praise God by the psalmist’s example, who concludes the psalm with a resolution to persevere in his praises. 1. God is to be praised, v. 16. He is greatly to be praised; for, (1.) His glory is high. See how stately his palace is, and the throne he has prepared in the heavens: The heaven, even the heavens are the Lord’s; he is the rightful owner of all the treasures of light and bliss in the upper and better world, and is in the full possession of them, for he is himself infinitely bright and happy. (2.) His goodness is large, for the earth he has given to the children of men, having designed it, when he made it, for their use, to find them with meat, drink, and lodging. Not but that still he is proprietor in chief; the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; but he has let out that vineyard to these unthankful husbandmen, and from them he expects the rents and services; for, though he has given them the earth, his eye is upon them, and he will call them to render an account how they use it. Calvin complains that profane wicked people, in his days, perverted this scripture, and made a jest of it, which some in our days do, arguing, in banter, that God, having given the earth to the children of men, will no more look after it, nor after them upon it, but they may do what they will with it, and make the best of it as their portion; it is as it were thrown like a prey among them, Let him seize it that can. It is a pity that such an instance as this gives of God’s bounty to man, and such a proof as arises from it of man’s obligation to God, should be thus abused. From the highest heavens, it is certain, God beholds all the children of men; to them he has given the earth; but to the children of God heaven is given. 2. The dead are not capable of praising him (v. 17), nor any that go into silence. The soul indeed lives in a state of separation from the body and is capable of praising God; and the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burdens of the flesh, do praise God, are still praising him; for they go up to the land of perfect light and constant business. But the dead body cannot praise God; death puts an end to our glorifying God in this world of trial and conflict, to all our services in the field; the grave is a land of darkness and silence, where there is no work or device. This they plead with God for deliverance out of the hand of their enemies, “Lord, if they prevail to cut us off, the idols will carry the day, and there will be none to praise thee, to bear thy name, and to bear a testimony against the worshippers of idols.” The dead praise not the Lord, so as we do in the business and for the comforts of this life. See Psa 30:9; Psa 88:10. 3. Therefore it concerns us to praise him (v. 18): “But we, we that are alive, will bless the Lord; we and those that shall come after us, will do it, from this time forth and for evermore, to the end of time; we and those we shall remove to, from this time forth and to eternity. The dead praise not the Lord, therefore we will do it the more diligently.” (1.) Others are dead, and an end is thereby put to their service, and therefore we will lay out ourselves to do so much the more for God, that we may fill up the gap. Moses my servant is dead, now therefore, Joshua, arise. (2.) We ourselves must shortly go to the land of silence; but, while we do live, we will bless the Lord, will improve our time and work that work of him that sent us into the world to praise him before the night comes, and because the night comes, wherein no man can work. The Lord will bless us (v. 12); he will do well for us, and therefore we will bless him, we will speak well of him. Poor returns for such receivings! Nay, we will not only do it ourselves, but will engage others to do it. Praise the Lord; praise him with us; praise him in your places, as we in ours; praise him when we are gone, that he may be praised for evermore. Hallelujah.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
9 O Israel! trust thou in Jehovah The prophet again resumes the doctrinal point, that the genuine worshippers of God have no cause to fear that he will forsake or frustrate them in the time of need; because he is as much disposed to provide for their safety as he is furnished with power to do it. He proceeds, in the first place, to exhort all the Israelites generally to place their confidence in God; and, secondly, he addresses the house of Aaron in particular; and, thirdly, he sets down all who fear God. For this arrangement there was good cause. God had adopted indiscriminately all the people, to whom also his grace was offered, so that they were bound in common to place their hope in him. In accordance with this Paul says, that the twelve tribes of Israel wait for the promised deliverance, (Act 26:7) The prophet, therefore, with great propriety first addresses Israel at large. But having in a peculiar manner set apart the Levites for himself, and more especially the priests of the house of Aaron, to take the precedence, and to preside over ecclesiastical matters, he demands more from them than from the common people; not that salvation was promised specially to them, but because it was proper that they who had the exclusive privilege of entering the sanctuary should point out the way to others. As if the prophet had said, Ye sons of Aaron, whom God hath chosen to be the teachers of religion to his people, be ye to others an example of faith, seeing that he hath so highly honored you in permitting you to enter his sanctuary.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) O Israel.There is consummate art in this sudden change of address. It is like the pointed application of some general truth in a sermon. It is possible that in the liturgic use a change in the music was made here, the Levites and choir turning to the people with a loud burst of song.
He is their help and their shield.The original form of this motto of trust appears in Psa. 33:20. Here the change of person suggests some musical arrangement. Apparently one part of the choir, or, it may be, one officiating priest, addressed successively the whole congregation with the charge, trust in Jehovah, and each time the full choir took up the refrain, He is their helper and shield, repeating to the priest the ground on which he urged confidence and loyalty. Then in Psa. 115:12-13 congregation and choir join, changing to the first person.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord From the disgusting picture of idols and idol worshippers, the author turns to Jehovah, the object of Israel’s “trust,” “their help and shield.” This change in the strain of the psalm, Perowne thinks, “must unquestionably have been accompanied by a change in the music.” The exhortation to trust, founded on the doctrine of Psa 33:20, contrasts with the nothingness of idols and the depraving effect of idol worship.
Help Coupled with shield, should be understood in the military sense of succour. A threefold division of Israel is here given Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear God; to which the “house of Levi” is added, Psa 135:20.
Their help That is, that of all those who fear God and trust him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 115:9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord Israel trusteth in the Lord; and so in the following verses the verbs should be read in the indicative; as we find them in the LXX; and the sense requires it to be said, Israel doth trust, &c. to mark the difference between their trust and that of the heathen: and thus too it agrees with the latter clause of each period; their help and their shield. Israel is the main body of the Jewish nation. The house of Aaron comprehends the Levites: they that fear the Lord, seems to take in those, all the world over, who worshipped Jehovah. See Houbigant and Mudge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 688
TRUST IN GOD RECOMMENDED
Psa 115:9-13. O Israel, trust thou 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. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us: he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
GREAT as is the stupidity of fallen man, one would not have imagined that it should ever enter into his mind to worship the works of his own hands. To come before those which cannot see; and address ourselves to those that cannot answer; and offer sacrifices to those who can smell no sweet savour from them; and to rely on those which have no operative or locomotive powers; all this seems to be a degree of infatuation beyond what one would conceive a creature possessed of reason should labour under. But so it is. There are millions of such persons, who are, in fact, as senseless as the objects they worship. But there is one who is able either to save or to destroy, even Jehovah, who dwelleth in the heavens, and doth whatsoever pleaseth him [Note: ver. 38.]. And to him I will now call your most devout attention, in the words of my text: O Israel, &c. &c.
In these words we behold,
I.
Our duty
This is specified again and again: Trust in the Lord. Now this is,
1.
A comprehensive duty
[Our necessities are numberless: our trust in Him, therefore, for the supply of them must extend to our every want, temporal, spiritual, eternal.
We must trust in his word; which, as it is in reality the only proper ground of confidence, must also be the measure of it. We have no authority to trust in God for any thing which he has not promised: and we are bound to trust in him for every thing that he has promised. To do the former is presumption: to decline the latter is unbelief.
We must trust, also, in his Providence: for every thing is ordered by him, even to the falling of a sparrow upon the ground: and we are incapable of ordering any thing for ourselves; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps [Note: Jer 10:23.].
We must trust also in his grace: for we cannot do any good thing without him [Note: Joh 15:5.]. It is from him that we must obtain power either to do, or even to will, what is acceptable in his sight [Note: Php 2:13.]: and in every stage of our existence must we depend on him for more grace [Note: Jam 4:6.], and receive from him the grace that shall be sufficient for us [Note: 2Co 12:9.].
Thus must we look up to him as the source of all good [Note: Jam 1:17.], whether for the body or the soul, for time or for eternity.]
2.
An universal duty
[Every person, in every condition, is equally dependent on God, and must equally look to him for a supply of his necessities.
O Israel, trust thou in the Lord! Though thou hast been admitted into covenant with God, and art numbered by him amongst his peculiar people, thou hast not on that account any more sufficiency in thyself than others. Thou art still, and wilt be to thy dying hour, as helpless as a little child, and must be borne by him as an infant in its mothers arms.
O House of Aaron, trust thou in the Lord! Thou, who art exercising the office of the priesthood, hast peculiar need of help from above, in order to discharge it to the satisfaction of thy God. Thy difficulties are great; thy duties arduous: and thou hast no more strength in thyself than other men. Even the Apostle Paul exclaimed, Who is sufficient for these things [Note: 2Co 2:16.]? Thou hast to give an account of the souls of others, as well as of thine own: and methinks, a double portion of help from above is necessary for thee, in order that thou mayest prevail at last to save thyself and them that hear thee.
Ye also that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! As there were proselytes amongst the Jews who were not considered on the high footing of native Israelites, so are there many at this time who are not publicly known and recognised as Gods peculiar people, who yet do truly fear him: and shall these be overlooked? No: ye are privileged to trust in the Lord, as much as others; and may expect from him all needful blessings, as much as others: for God is no respecter of persons; but, in every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness shall be accepted of him [Note: Act 10:34-35.].]
Such being the duty enjoined on all, let us consider,
II.
Our encouragement to perform it
This is twofold, arising,
1.
From what God has already done for us
[He has been mindful of us, of all of us, without exception. To whom of those who ever trusted in him, has he not been both a help and a shield? Whom has he not protected from innumerable dangers, and assisted in times of difficulty? Can any one doubt but that he would have long since perished from the assaults of sin and Satan, if God had not been with him, to preserve and uphold him?
But it is not in time only that God has been mindful of us: from all eternity has his eye been fixed upon us, and his infinite wisdom been occupied in our behalf. Long before we were in existence, or the foundations of the earth were laid, did he make provision for our happiness. He foresaw that we should fall: and he entered into covenant with his own Son to redeem us. He engaged also his Holy Spirit, to execute within us all the purposes of his love
Say, Is not this a sufficient ground for trusting in him? What greater encouragement can we have? ]
2.
From what he is engaged to do for us
[He will bless us. We need not fear it: for it is a work in which he greatly delights.
He will bless the House of Israel. They are his peculiar people, his household, his sons and daughters [Note: 2Co 6:18.]: Will he forget them? They are graven upon the palms of his hands: and sooner may a mother forget her sucking child, than he forget to minister to them whatsoever they may stand in need of [Note: Isa 49:15-16.]. His word is pledged to them: and sooner shall heaven and earth pass away, than one jot or tittle of his word shall fail [Note: Isa 54:9-10.].
He will bless the House of Aaron too, and give to them such communications of grace and peace as the world have no conception of, clothing them with salvation, and making them to shout aloud for joy [Note: Psa 132:16.]. The priest, when offering incense, may give us some idea of what the Lord imparts to his faithful servants, whilst occupied in his service. His incense no other person was privileged to smell unto, nor he himself on any other occasion than that: but then, whilst honouring God with it, he was richly regaled with its odours. Such is the privilege of all Gods faithful servants, in the midst of their laborious duties. Their face often shines with radiance from God upon the holy mount; though, by reason of the veil they wear, it is not discerned in their intercourse with the world.
He will indeed bless all who fear the Lord, both small and great. They may be overlooked by men; but they are known to God; and his eye is over them for good. It matters not whether they be great or small. The great are not so great, but that they need his blessing: nor are the small so insignificant, that they shall be deemed unworthy of his notice. If they be as beggars on a dunghill, even there will he visit them; and from thence will he take them, to set them among the princes, and to make them inherit a throne of glory [Note: 1Sa 2:8.].
To all of them, without exception, will he give occasion for that devout acknowledgment, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ!]
Address
1.
Those who are ignorant of God
[This is the state of all who are not living in the habitual performance of the duty here enjoined: for, if they knew Gods name, they would put their trust in him [Note: Psa 9:10.]. Let me then ask of you, Who will be your help, and your shield? Who in this world? and Who, when you shall be standing at the judgment-seat of Christ, and the sword of vengeance is lifted up for your destruction? O seek to know God, especially as he is revealed to us in Christ Jesus! And tremble now for fear of his judgments; and flee for refuge to the hope that is set before you. So shall you even yet escape his wrath, and receive at his hands all the blessings of salvation.]
2.
Those who are putting their trust in him
[Whom amongst you all has he ever disappointed of his hope? Are you not all witnesses for him, that he is faithful to his word, and that of all the good things that he has promised you, not so much as one has ever failed [Note: Jos 23:14.]? He has been ever mindful of you, and blessed you: be ye, then, mindful of him, and bless him. Bear in remembrance your obligations to him: and go to him in every time of need, both for mercy to pardon, and for grace to help [Note: Heb 4:16.]. And bless him from your inmost souls, as David, specifying your respective characters, exhorts you: Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now, that fear the Lord, say, that his mercy endureth for ever [Note: Psa 118:2-4.]. Let this song be begun by you on earth, and you shall sing it to all eternity in heaven.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Observe the gracious call of God to the several orders of his people. First, to Israel; next, to the priests of Israel; thirdly, to all in whose heart the fear of the Lord is; perhaps taking in both the Jewish and Gentile churches. And observe yet more particularly, in whom they are called to put their trust. Who is the help of Israel, and the Saviour thereof, but He whose name is the Lord our righteousness? And who is the shield but Jesus? See those scriptures, Jer 14:8 ; Psa 84:9 ; Jer 23:6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 115:9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he [is] their help and their shield.
Ver. 9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord ] Whatever others do, Jos 24:15 , and the rather because others do not, Psa 119:42 ; the worse they are, the better be ye.
He is their help and their shield
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 115:9-15
9O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13He will bless those who fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.
14May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
15May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.
Psa 115:9-15 Notice the threefold designation and command (trust, BDB 105, KB 120, Qal imperative).
1. O Israel, trust YHWH, Psa 115:9; Psa 115:12
2. O house of Aaron, trust YHWH, Psa 115:10; Psa 115:12
3. You who fear/revere YHWH, trust Him, Psa 115:11-12 (this could be a further characterization of #1 and 2, cf. Psa 135:19-20, or a reference to non-Israelites, cf. 1Ki 8:41-43; Ezr 6:21; Neh 10:28)
In turn YHWH will be
1. their help (cf. Psa 18:2; Psa 33:20; Psa 70:5; Psa 121:2; Psa 124:8; Psa 146:5)
2. their shield (cf. Psa 28:7; Psa 59:11; Psa 84:9; Psa 84:11; Psa 119:114; Psa 144:2)
3. mindful of us (cf. Psa 98:3)
4. bless both great and small
5. give you and your children increase (BDB 414, KB 418, lit. add, Hiphil jussive, cf. Psa 112:2)
There are consequences in time and eternity for idolatry! There are consequences for personal faith and faithfulness in YHWH (cf. Psa 115:16-18)!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Israel. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “house of Israel”. See notes on Gen 32:28; Gen 43:6; Gen 46:27, Gen 46:28.
He is their help, &c. Figure of speech Epistrophe (App-6), in verses: Psa 115:9, Psa 115:11.
shield. See note on Psa 84:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 115:9-13
Psa 115:9-13
ISRAEL ENTREATED TO TRUST IN THE LORD
“O Israel, trust thou in Jehovah:
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah:
He is their help and their shield.
Ye that fear Jehovah trust in Jehovah:
He is their help and their shield.
Jehovah hath been mindful of us; he will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless them that fear Jehovah,
Both great and small.”
As Dummelow noted, “Psa 115:9-11 here seem to have been written to be sung antiphonally, the response, “He is their help and their shield,” to each exhortation being sung by a separate group of singers.
The only question that arises here is that of, “Just who are those addressed as `Ye that fear Jehovah.'”? Three different groups have been supposed to be indicated. “The identification of this third group is uncertain. It may be composed (1) of Gentile converts to Judaism (often called God-fearers), (2) an inner circle of the truly devout (the true seed of Abraham as distinguished from the rest of Israel), or (3) both the laity and priests already mentioned separately. (Parenthetical statements here by J.B.C.)
Of these possibilities, we strongly favor understanding the third group as the true “sons of Abraham,” as distinguished both from the priests and from the nation as a whole. Some prefer to think of them as the proselytes, but McCullough’s comment casts much doubt on that interpretation. He wrote, “It is improbable, even if the psalm belongs to the Persian or early Greek period, that proselytes were present in the temple in sufficient numbers to form a special group of worshippers.
“Both small and great” (Psa 115:13). This is probably a reference to both young and old, adults and children.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 115:9. The “switch” from the 2nd to the 3rd person should not confuse us. The Psalmist is admonishing Israel to trust in the Lord, not in the dumb idols he had just described. Then, as a basis for such an admonition he states that this Lord is their (everybody’s) help and shield. making a general application of the fact.
Psa 115:10. House of Aaron means the same as “Israel” in the preceding verse, and the same comments should apply here that were made at that place.
Psa 115:11. This verse is like the two foregoing ones except that it is more general as to the persons addressed.
Psa 115:12. House of Israel means the whole nation, and the house of Aaron refers specifically to that portion of the nation that composed the priesthood. That function belonged exclusively to Aaron and his descendants. (Exo 28:1; 2Ch 26:18.)
Psa 115:13. Small and great refer to what might have been the personal advantages and disadvantages of the men involved. God does not show partiality in the bestowal of his favors. The apostle Peter said that God is no respecter of persons. (Act 10:34.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
trust
Also; Psa 115:11. (See Scofield “Psa 2:12”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Israel: Psa 118:2-4, Psa 135:19, Psa 135:20, Exo 19:5
trust: Psa 62:8, Psa 125:1, Psa 130:7, Psa 146:5, Psa 146:6, Jer 17:17, Jer 17:18, Eph 1:12
their help: Psa 33:20, Psa 33:21, Psa 84:11, Deu 33:29, Pro 30:5
Reciprocal: 2Sa 22:3 – shield Psa 131:3 – Let Israel Pro 3:5 – Trust Heb 13:6 – The Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 115:9-11. O Israel, trust in the Lord Do not you follow the example of these infatuated idolaters, but trust in, worship, and serve the Lord only. He is their help and their shield The shield to defend, and the help to support and strengthen those that trust in and cleave to him. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord You priests and Levites proceeding from Aaron, or related to him, who have peculiar reasons, and are under many and special obligations to trust in and serve him; who have a more distinct knowledge of God, which is the foundation of trust in, and obedience to, him, (Psa 9:10,) and who are in duty bound to be both instructers of, and examples to, the people in this as well as in all other branches of truth and righteousness. Ye that fear the Lord All of you, who worship the true God, not only Israelites, but even Gentile proselytes, trust in the Lord Let the men of the world make to themselves gods, and vainly trust in the work of their own hands or heads; but let the church repose all her confidence in Jehovah her Saviour and Redeemer, who alone can be her defender and protector; and not suffer any apprehension of danger or distress, any trials or troubles, temptations or snares, whether from visible or invisible enemies, to separate her from him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3. The need for God’s people to trust Him 115:9-11
The psalmist called on all the Israelites to trust in the true God, rather than idols, because He alone can help and defend people. He addressed this charge to all Israel, then the priests who were mainly responsible for the purity of Israel’s worship, and then all God-fearing people. He used repetition to impress the importance of trusting in the Lord on the reader.