Psalms 115:4

My Notes

What Does Psalms 115:4 Mean?

The psalmist begins an incisive critique of idolatry: their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

Their idols — the possessive pronoun is significant. The idols belong to the nations — they are theirs. The nations possess their idols. The true God is not possessed by anyone — he possesses all things. The relationship is reversed: with idols, the worshipper owns the god. With the living God, God owns the worshipper.

Are silver and gold — the materials are valuable by human standards but common by divine standards. Silver and gold — precious metals that humans treasure — are the substance of the idols. The gods of the nations are made of the same stuff that humans trade, hoard, and fight over. The idol is only as valuable as its material — and its material is earthly commodity.

The work of men's hands — the most devastating phrase. The idol is made by the worshipper. The god is manufactured by the devotee. The thing worshipped was created by the one worshipping. The absurdity is self-evident: you made it. How can it save you? You carved it. How can it be greater than you? The maker is always greater than the made — and the idol-maker worships what he made.

Verses 5-7 develop the satire: the idols have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear, noses but cannot smell, hands but cannot handle, feet but cannot walk. They have the form of life without any function of life. They simulate personhood without possessing it.

Verse 8 delivers the conclusion: they that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. The makers become like their idols — functionally dead. You become what you worship. Worship something that cannot see, speak, hear, or walk — and you lose the capacity to see, speak, hear, and walk spiritually.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does 'the work of men's hands' reveal about the absurdity of worshipping something you created?
• 2.How does the satire of verses 5-7 (mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see) expose the futility of idol worship?
• 3.What does verse 8 ('they that make them are like unto them') mean — and how do you become like what you worship?
• 4.What modern 'idols' are made of valuable materials (career, money, status) but are still the work of human hands?

Devotional

Their idols are silver and gold. Silver and gold — impressive materials. Valuable by human standards. But still just metal. Dug from the ground, refined by fire, shaped by tools. The gods of the nations are made of the same stuff you make jewelry and coins from. The idol is only as valuable as the commodity it is made of — and commodities fluctuate.

The work of men's hands. This is the absurdity that the psalmist wants you to see. The idol was made by the person who worships it. You carved it. You shaped it. You decided what it looks like. And now you bow down to it? The maker worships the made. The creator serves the creation. The one with the chisel asks the product of the chisel to save him.

Verses 5-7 push the satire further: mouths that do not speak. Eyes that do not see. Ears that do not hear. Hands that do not grasp. Feet that do not walk. The idol has the appearance of a person without any of the function. It is a statue — a dead thing shaped like a living one. It simulates life without possessing it.

They that make them are like unto them (v.8). You become what you worship. Worship something that cannot see, and your spiritual sight dims. Worship something that cannot hear, and your spiritual hearing fades. Worship something that cannot speak, and your voice for truth goes silent. The idol's deadness transfers to the worshipper. You do not just waste your devotion on nothing. You become nothing.

What are your idols made of? Not silver and gold perhaps — but career, appearance, comfort, approval? Are they the work of your own hands — things you built, shaped, and now serve? The question the psalm asks is: why are you bowing to something you made?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture