#DailyDevotion Fear & Trust The LORD. He Will Be Your Shield & Bless You
Psalm 115 9(Leader:) Israel, trust the LORD. (Choir:) He helps and shields them. 10(Leader:) Aaron’s family, trust the LORD. (Choir:) He helps and shields them. 11(Leader:) You who fear the LORD, trust the LORD. (Choir:) He helps and shields them. 12(Leader:) The LORD has been thinking of us and He will bless us. (Choir:) He will bless Israel’s family; He will bless Aaron’s family; 13He will bless those who fear the LORD, small and great.
Having given glory to the name of the LORD and knocking off the false gods of the pagans, the Psalm goes into a responsive section of praise to the LORD. Note, the “leader/choir” insertions here are an editorial addition that commentaries recognize to be there.
So one calls out, “|Israel, trust the LORD” and the response is, “He helps and shields them.” This indeed is a confession of the past actions of the LORD. When Israel did trust the LORD, He made sure their enemies did not get the upper hand over them. Mind you, the witness of the Scriptures is they rarely did trust the LORD wholeheartedly and therefore were constantly given over to their neighbors, whom God used to punish them.
Aaron’s family is called to trust the LORD. They were the sub-tribe of Levi who were called to be the priest of Israel who offered up sacrifices and served the LORD at His temple. They also acted as judges in Israel at times. The LORD was their inheritance and they were to trust Him in all their duties that He would take care of them.
A cry out to those who trust the LORD that He will shield them. Here is a general cry of praise and encouragement to those who put their trust in Him that He would help and shield them. It speaks to us, does it not? We who put our trust in the LORD Jesus Christ, we have His promise, “He will never leave us or forsake us.” (Heb. 13)
The closing section calls all those who have been invoked here to know, “The LORD has been thinking of us and He will bless us.” He does not ignore us or our plights. He knows exactly what we are going through and thinks about us. He thinks about what is the best way for Him to bless us and take care of us in order to carry that out given all the circumstances. We know if we ask for a fish, an egg or a loaf of bread, He is not going to give us a serpent, a scorpion or a rock. He is going to give us His Holy Spirit. We can be certain He is going to bless us.
14The LORD will cause you and your children to increase. 15You will be blessed by the LORD Who made heaven and earth. 16The highest heaven belongs to the LORD, but the earth He gave to men. 17The dead can’t praise the LORD or any who go down to silence. 18But we will bless the LORD from now on and forever. Praise the LORD!
The LORD blesses us and humanity in general. He causes us to have our children increase. The LORD blesses us from the highest heavens and gives the earth to us. Jesus said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” We can live without fear if we seem to lack something in this age. We have the promise of being co-heirs with Christ of the new heavens and new earth along with inheriting God.
On the one hand it seems to say the dead can’t praise the LORD. Then it says, we will bless the LORD from now and forever. The dead I believe are those who are spiritually dead. We have been given eternal life when we have faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. These are the two classes of people at the Last Judgment. Adam died the day he ate the fruit. Everyone made in his image are dead. Jesus rose from the dead and gives His life to those who trust in Him. They don’t die.
Heavenly Father, may we always trust You, so we may always have the life of Your Son, Jesus Christ so we may praise You forever, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.