"How should we properly respond to God?  First Answer: Glorify Him!"

Psalm 115: 1-8  Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.  Why should the Gentiles say, So where is their God?  But our God is in heaven; He does whatever he pleases.  Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.  They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat.  Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.

I. Glorify Him because He is the Living God!  (115:1-8)

A.  Setting:  Jerusalem was in ruins from the destruction by the Babylonians a century earlier.  The people were demoralized, but the psalmist still gives glory to God.  The chastening of the nation of Israel was an evidence that God was true to His Word, and even in that chastening He remembered mercy (Habakkuk 3:2) (115:1-4)

B.   The Contrasts between God who made men and the idols that were made by men (vv. 5-7)

1.    They have no promises: “They have mouths, but they speak not” (v.. 5) --but we trust Jesus Christ and know the true and living God and are able to listen to His voice in His Word and have fellowship with Him!  Jesus pled with us to communicate with Him.  He says at one point: Up till now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.  Because he wishes to communicate with us, he notices when we don’t communicate with him.  He notices when we don’t take time to worship, and He notices when we don’t take time to pray.  He wants to bless us, but we need to be present, not missing in inaction. Sometimes we get caught up with things around us, and those things become the replacement for our God

2.    They offer no protection: “Eyes have they, but they see not” (v. 5) --God eyes are upon His children, and He watches over them—God never sleeps (Psalm 32:8; I Peter 3:12)  God is our high tower, He is our shield and Defender.  The man who has an idol has to watch over that no one steels it or damages it.  It is not protecting you, you are protecting it.  In the book of Judges, the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, which was placed in the Temple of the Fish God, Dagon.  Each morning, they went in to find this great idol fallen down.  Finally after uprighting it several times, it fell and smashed into many pieces.  It was no God.

3.    They cannot hear prayer: “They have ears, but they hear not” (v. 6I Kings 18:26-29)  Elijah and the fact that Baal could not hear hundreds of priests crying out to him.

--God’s ears are open to our cries; He hears us when we call.   Larry King some time back had rock n’ roll guitarist Eric Clampton on his program.  He asked him about the song in which he says he will see his son again in heaven—child who fell from a balcony.  And Larry King asked:  How do you know there is a God?  Clampton responded in a quick second:  I talk to him every night on my knees at the foot of my bed.

4.    They are not able to receive praise: “Noses have they, but they smell not” A piece of wood cannot receive praise.

--God received the sacrifice and praise of Noah in Genesis 8:21

5.    They possess no power: “They have hands, but they handle not” (v. 7)

--God delivered Israel from Egypt with His strong hand (Exodus 6:6; 7:1-5)God’s hand is strong and mighty, and God’s fingers made the universe (Psalm 8:3)

6.    They have no presence with their followers (v. 7): “Feet have they, but they walk not”  Instead of carrying our burdens, false gods become a burden because they have to be carried about themselves.

(v. 7; Jeremiah 10:5)

              --Our God goes with us in every situation (Matthew 28:20)  Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us.

C.   The Reality Check:  You become like the one you worship! (v. 8)

1.    If we worship idols made by man, we are worshipping man’s creation (Romans 1:21).  If we fail to worship God, we might as well be worshiping idols.

2.    If we read God’s Word and trust His promises, depend on His protection, pray, praise Him, and draw on His power, then the blessing of those who know God belong to us!