Psalm 115:4-5

Psalm 115:4-5

Our God or idols?

In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul describes the process by which people end up worshipping idols and false gods. It starts with the suppression of truth by wickedness. V18. In the context it seems that it is particularly the truth about the God of Creation. When nations 

abandon the Lord God as their Maker they immediately remove their need for accountability, and faith in Him is completely undermined. From God’s point of view such foolishness, and disregard of the obvious, leaves men without any excuse when they eventually have to account to Him!

The process degenerates further in that unbelieving humans now see no point in giving thanks or glory to God. V21. If He is not the Creator and there are calculable and alternative explanation for our origins, then God no longer features as a God who must be honoured and obeyed.  From the Lord’s point of view, he sees all this as futility and darkness and who is responsible for the deception of darkness? The Satan.

Stage 3 of the downward spiral is founded in arrogance, although the perpetrators claim that they are wise, they have in fact become fools. Because human beings are programmed to worship someone or something, they must now offer their allegiance to lesser beings. V22-23. In Paul’s day and throughout human history, the glory of the immortal God has been exchanged for images of humans and other creatures. In other words, men either worship themselves or iconic versions of themselves. (Just watch a crowd at a football match or at Glastonbury!) If that is not satisfying enough, statues and idols are made to represent created things whilst the Creator is ignored.

When this happens, God gives people over to hedonism, perversion, sexual promiscuity and immoral practices. V24-32. In other words, all restraints are removed, and men decide their own fate by doing as they please and thus rejecting all law and order and rules about the right ways to behave before the One who made us all. 

As the verses in Psalm 115 point out, all of this is pointless and perverse. None of the idols of the world can help us all, no lesser god is able to save us, the only One who cares and who is able, is the Lord, Jehovah, God most High. 

 

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