This week, we are asking and answering the question “What
happens when we worship?” by looking at a section of a letter
that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of
Psalms. The book of Psalms are
a collection of prayers and songs that were spoken and sung by the Jewish
people that were collected together to form the first playlist of worship for
the people of God. This playlist was then preserved and recorded for us in the
Bible.
Yesterday, in one of these letters that formed the
playlist of worship for the Jewish people, we looked on as the Psalmist here is
calling humanity to value the Lord as being of ultimate value by giving the
Lord the honor He deserves.
The Psalmist
then explained that the reason why we are to honor the Lord by making much of
His name is because of the Lord’s steadfast love and devotion that has been
demonstrated by His abundant faithfulness to His people and His promises. The
Psalmist here is pointing us to worship the Lord by giving honor to His name
because the Lord is firm in His promises to His people and is steadfastly
devoted to His people.
The Psalmist
then addressed a question that has resonated throughout human history, which is
“Where now is their God?” This question mocked what the nations that surrounded
the Jewish people believed was the absence of the Lord from the Jewish people
and conveyed the sense of asking “where is the image of the God that they
worship?”
The Psalmist
basically answered this sarcastic question by proclaiming, "unlike your
false gods who you try to depict with an idol, the Lord is not confined by
geographic location. Instead the Lord transcends time and space and is lofty in
the Heavenly places. The Lord is beyond a merely human existence that can be
depicted in an image, He transcends humanity. And unlike your false gods who
you try to depict as an idol, the Lord does whatever He delights and desires to
do. The Lord is not dependant on anyone for anything and is not constrained by
anyone or anything. The Lord, unlike the idol that you make is ever present and
everlasting as the all powerful Creator of the universe".
Today, we
will see the Psalmist unpack this reality with what he says beginning in Psalm
115:4:
Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man's hands. They have mouths,
but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but
they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but
they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a
sound with their throat.
Now, to
fully understand what the Psalmist is communicating here, we first need to
define some words and phrases. When the psalmist uses the phrase “The work of
man's hands” this phrase refers to that which was created by what has been
created. The psalmist’s point is that the idols that were the objects of
worship by those who worshipped false gods instead of the Lord were creations
of the created.
Unlike the
Lord, who exists outside of creation as the Creator of all that exists, those
who worshipped false gods were worshipping images that were created by the One
who created everything that exists. As a result, those who were worshipping
idols and images of their false gods were worshipping the creation instead of
the Creator. The psalmist then strings together a series a phrases to hammer
home a powerful point: “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have
eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have
noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have
feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.”
With these
phrases, the psalmist is hammering home the point that as products of created
beings instead of the Creator, these idols are empty and devoid of power. These
idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to be
engaged and were unable to engage. These idols that were the objects of the worship
of false gods were unable to speak to those who worship them. These idols that
were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable hear prayers or
answer prayers. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were
unable to intervene in events in history because they were in fixed locations
and could not travel anywhere.
Unlike the
Lord as the One True God, theses idols were devoid of power and were unable to
engage and be engaged. After hammering this point home, the psalmist then makes
a statement that is one of the most powerful and profound statements in the
entire Bible when it comes to worship.
This statement is so profound that is has the potential to radically
change our perspective on worship. And it is in the statement that we see the
psalmist profoundly provide a timeless answer to the question “What happens
when we worship?”
Friday we
will look at this statement together…
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