Psalm 115:9

O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(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 Psalm 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 Psalm 115:12-13 congregation and choir join, changing to the first person.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 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, (Psalm 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.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

115:9-18 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 trust in him. Wherever there is right fear of God, there may be cheerful faith in him; those who reverence his word, may rely upon it. He is ever found faithful. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be denied to the meanest that fear him. God's blessing gives an increase, especially in spiritual blessings. And the Lord is to be praised: his goodness is large, for he has given the earth to the children of men for their use. The souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burdens of the flesh, are still praising him; but the dead body cannot praise God: death puts an end to our glorifying him in this world of trial and conflict. Others are dead, and an end is thereby put to their service, therefore we will seek to do the more for God. We will not only do it ourselves, but will engage others to do it; to praise him when we are gone. Lord, thou art the only object for faith and love. Help us to praise thee while living and when dying, that thy name may be the first and last upon our lips: and let the sweet savour of thy name refresh our souls for ever.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Psalm 5:12, note; Psalm 18:2, note; Psalm 33:20, note. Compare Genesis 15:1; Deuteronomy 33:29; Proverbs 30:5.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9-13. The repetitions imply earnestness.

The Treasury of David

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.

Psalm 115:9

"O Israel, trust thou in the Lord." Whatever others do, let the elect of heaven keep fast to the God who chose them. Jehovah is the God of Jacob, let his children prove their loyalty to their God by their confidence in him. Whatever our trouble may be, and however fierce the blasphemous language of our enemies, let us not fear nor falter, but confidently rest in him who is able to vindicate his own honour, and protect his own servants. "He is their help and their shield." He is the friend of his servants, both actively and passively, giving them both aid in labour and defence in danger. In the use of the pronoun "their," the Psalmist may have spoken to himself, in a sort of soliloquy: he had given the exhortation, "trust in Jehovah," and then he whispers to himself, "They may well do so, for he is at all times the strength and security of his servants."

Psalm 115:10

"O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord." You who are nearest to him, trust him most; your very calling is connected with his truth and is meant to declare his glory, therefore never entertain a doubt concerning him, but lead the way in holy confidence. The priests were the leaders, teachers, and exemplars of the people, and therefore above all others they should place an unreserved reliance upon Israel's God. The Psalmist is glad to add that they did so, for he says, "He is their help and their shield." It is good to exhort those to faith who have faith: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;... that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." We may stir up pure minds by way of remembrance, and exhort men to trust in the Lord because we know that they are trusting already.

Psalm 115:11

The next verse is of the same tenor - "Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Loan," whether belonging to Israel, or to the house of Aaron, or not, all those who reverence Jehovah are permitted and commanded to confide in him. "He is their help and their shield." He does aid and protect all those who worship him in filial fear, to whatever nation they may belong. No doubt these repeated exhortations were rendered necessary by the trying condition in which the children of Israel were found: the sneers of the adversary would assail all the people, they would most bitterly be felt by the priests and ministers, and those who were secret proselytes would groan in secret under the contempt forced upon their religion and their God, All this would be very staggering to faith, and therefore they were bidden again and again and again to trust in Jehovah.

This must have been a very pleasant song to households in Babylon, or far away in Persia, when they met together in the night to eat the Paschal supper in a land which knew them not, where they wept as they remembered Zion. We seem to hear them repeating the three-fold word, "Trust in Jehovah," men and women and little children singing out their scorn of the dominant idolatry, and declaring their adhesion to the one God of Israel. In the same manner in this day of blasphemy and rebuke it becomes us all to abound in testimonies to the truth of God. The sceptic is loud in his unbelief, let us be equally open in the avowal of our faith.

continued...

Matthew Poole's Commentary

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.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire 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 Psalm 5:12, Ephesians 6:16.

Geneva Study Bible

O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. Israel] The LXX and Syr. have house of Israel, as in Psalm 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 Psalm 33:20; cp. Deuteronomy 33:29; Psalm 3:3; Psalm 28:7.

The threefold division ‘Israel,’ ‘house of Aaron,’ ‘fearers of Jehovah,’ recurs in Psalm 118:2-4 : in Psalm 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 (1 Kings 8:41; Isaiah 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’ (οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Θεόν, οἱ σεβόμενοι τὸν Θεόν, or οἱ σεβόμενοι) simply: Acts 13:16; Acts 13:26; Acts 16:14; Acts 18:7; Acts 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, Psalm 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 Psalm 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 (Psalm 115:14; Psalm 135:21) forbids us to suppose that the Psalmist intended to include all who in every place acknowledged Jehovah.

9–13. An exhortation to Israel to trust Jehovah, Who will surely bless His people.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 9-11. - The idols and the idol-worshippers having been sufficiently scorned; the latter especially, for their "trust" in idols, Israel is exhorted to trust in the only sure Object of confidence, Jehovah. Three several times the leader of the choir gives forth the call - " Trust in the Lord " - and three several times the choir responds with the acknowledgment that he, and he alone, "is their Help and Shield." The exhortation seems to be addressed, first, to the lay people generally (ver. 9); then to the clerical order (ver. 10); finally, to all, whether laity or clergy, who are true Israelites at heart (comp. vers. 12, 13). Verse 9. - O Israel, trust thou in the Lord. Follow not the example of the heathen who trust in idols. Rather, be an example to them. He is their Help and their Shield (comp. Psalm 33:20). The change of per son implies a change of speaker. Psalm 115:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

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 Psalm 118:2-4. In Psalm 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 σεβόμενοι τὸν Θεόν, or merely σεβόμενοι)

(Note: The appellation φοβούμενοι does not however occur, if we do not bring Acts 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 Psalm 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 Psalm 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" (זכרנוּ ה, cf. עתּה ידעתּי, Psalm 20:7), perhaps simultaneously with the presentation of the memorial portion (אזכרה) of the meat-offering (Psalm 38:1). The יברך placed at the head is particularized threefold, corresponding to the threefold summons. The special promise of blessing which is added in Psalm 115:14 is an echo of Deuteronomy 1:11, as in 2 Samuel 24:3. The contracted future יסף 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.