Psalms 115:1-2

Psalm 115 ¹ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ² 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ³ 

115:2 Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

Psalms 14:1

Psalm 14 ⁴ 

For the music director; by David.

14:1 Fools say to themselves, ⁵  “There is no God.” ⁶ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ⁷ 

none of them does what is right. ⁸ 

Malachi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ⁹  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ¹⁰  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Ephesians 1:6

1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace ¹¹  that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. ¹² 

¹ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

² tn Or “give glory.”

³ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

⁴ sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

⁵ tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

⁶ sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

⁷ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

⁸ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

⁹ tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

¹¹ tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.

¹² tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.