Episode Details

Psalm 115: The Gods That Cannot Breathe

The psalm begins with a prayer so startling in its selflessness that it stops you short: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." Not our reputation, not our success — Your name. And then, as if to explain why this matters, the psalmist turns to the idols of the nations and delivers one of the most devastating critiques in all of Scripture — not through anger but through observation. They have mouths but cannot speak. Eyes but cannot see. Hands but cannot handle. "Neither speak they through their throat." That last detail is almost tender in its specificity, as though the psalmist has leaned close to one of these silver gods and listened for breath and found nothing. And here is the terrible punchline: "They that make them are like unto them." You become what you worship. Bow to something that cannot see, and your own vision narrows. Serve something that cannot speak, and you will find you have less and less to say. But the living God — our God — is in the heavens, and He has done whatsoever He pleased. The dead praise not the Lord. But we will. From this time forth and forevermore.

00:00 Not Unto Us, O Lord
00:15 Our God Is in the Heavens
00:25 Idols of Silver and Gold
00:40 They That Make Them Are Like Them
00:50 Trust in the Lord
01:00 He Will Bless Us
01:15 The Earth Given to Men
01:25 We Will Bless the Lord