“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”
Devotional Thought For The Day
We have been studying Isaiah in our Sunday morning Bible Study, and one can see from this psalm where Isaiah found inspiration for the remarkable satire that he wrote in regard to idols and polytheism! In these verses the psalmist reflects upon the utter stupidity of all such idolatry and ignorance of God. First, the contrast, assertions in regard to God, the only True and Living God, truthful assertions, words that describe and correspond to reality. “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” This is baseline reality – the existence of God, His singularity, His power, His prerogatives. To this day people are inclined to reject this reality, to convince themselves that it is possible that such a Being, God, might not exist. This is the point of the theory of evolution, of all attacks against the truthfulness and authority of Holy Scripture, God’s Word, and of all advancement of notions of moral relativism. The sheer volume of such thinking, and our weak propensity to doubt, reveals the remarkably darkened condition of our fallen, sinful hearts and minds.
But there is even greater glory in God – His “steadfast love and faithfulness.” From the beginning God has promised remedy and relief for the tragic sin that Adam and Eve initiated – the crushing of the devil’s head by the “Seed of the woman,” the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. From cover to cover the Bible contains God’s promises of complete forgiveness, unending mercy, eternal love, patience, goodness, and the blessing of new life – and ultimately eternal life in new heavens and a new earth in resurrected bodies that have “put on immortality,” that are free from all sin, aging, illness, injury, suffering, and sorrow. No wonder the psalmist prays: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give glory for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness.” For it is the glory of God, part of His very nature, that He is faithful to His Word, that once He has spoken it is as good as done. So we are invited to hold on to His Word, His promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation, to cleave to them as to life itself. Then we will glory in the Lord, and we will be transformed in this life and glorified with Him in the life to come. These are His promises, His assertions – and “He does all that He pleases.”
Contrast idols and all false gods – including those of every other religion in the world. Of the crass idolatry of the ancient world the psalmist wrote: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.” Anyone with an ounce of sentience and reason would understand – idolatry is the grossest ignorance and insanity! Today people tend not to make concrete “idols,” although many continue to live in superstition. Today people are more sophisticated and make false gods with their minds. But the reality is the same – these false gods are no different than idols made with human hands. In addition, we all tend to put our trust in things – money, physical prowess, technology, government, our military, intellect, education, etc. While these may reflect the blessings that God has given through creation they are grotesquely weak in comparison to the One Who has created and Who sustains these things by His Word of power. Nature, reason, and human aptitude should lead us to consider the ultimate Power Who has given us these things, and not be placed in opposition to Him as things we can trust in to make us independent from God.
The psalmist observes a reality that we often do not consider: “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Religion and theology matter – they dictate and determine human character. People act like the gods they conceive and worship. This has always been the case, and remains so in modern times. Think ISIS. It is also true that theological distortions within Christian churches pervert and corrupt those ensnared in them. This is observable. The psalmist warns and laments the fact that those who make and trust in idols and false gods ultimately lose their humanity and even the created gifts of God – and finally life itself. The idols are dead, inanimate, and insentient; and those who hold to them end up the same. Consider how tragic this is in view of the will of God for fallen mankind, what pleases Him and what He seeks to do for our salvation. What a blessing the Word of God is to us, as it informs us and guides us and shapes our thinking and inner being. “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” To God be the glory!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, continue to reach into our hearts and minds with the renewing power of Your Word and the vivifying power of Your gracious and steadfast love. Forbid that we should succumb to the rebellious and insane idolatry that constitutes our fallen nature. Remove such idolatry from our hearts and minds and renew Your image within us. Protect and preserve us from those who are intractably dedicated to idolatry and to the destruction of all good. Continue to fill Your creation with the glory of Your Name. Amen.