Psalm 115:9-11

Psalm 115:9-11

Trust in the Lord

It’s so easy to skim over verses like these and miss the powerful point that is being made. Obviously, we have triple repetition of the phrase, “Trust in the Lord – He is their help and their shield.” These repeated statements have three different subjects in mind and each one defers to the other. So, for instance, if you are an Israelite, you should look at the House of Aaron because they trust in the Lord, and you will see that He is their help and their shield. The three subjects of the Lord’s blessing are firstly, “all of the Israelites”, secondly, “the House of Aaron” and lastly, “You who fear Him.” 

Israel and the House of Aaron are separated because Aaron’s House, was not counted as one of the traditional 12 tribes of God’s people, they were Levites and set apart to exclusively worship and serve the Lord. As such they inherited no land and did not join the fighting forces, they lived on the generosity of the other tribes and families and in many ways were separate from their fellow Israelites. As we have said, each of these categories of God-fearing men and women were to look at His provision but not at themselves, the idea was to observe and recognise His help and defence of others.

It is encouraging to note that we “who fear the Lord” are part of this equation and that we are being prompted to look at God’s ancient people and take note of His blessings. If they cannot honour Him and praise Him for His goodness, then we can. In truth His love, protection and provision for His people in recent times has been nothing but astounding and it should be a huge boost to our own faith. 

This triplet arrangement is seen again in Psalm 118:2-4 and Psalm 135:19-20. Clearly, all those who believe and trust in the Lord are called to acknowledge His care and protection for us all. Let’s not forget to do this. 

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