What a great psalm! The psalm writer has a sense of humor. The writer begins by giving glory to the One true God of Israel, and then mocks the other nations who worship idols who are mocking the one true God. Perhaps our human nature likes this because it totally makes fun of the idols.
Can you picture this scene of rhetoric? Your idols are only made of human hands, what good can that do? Our God is the One who made the humans! They cannot walk, they cannot hear and those who made them will be just like them. In short, is something made out of human hands worth putting your entire trust in?
We ask the same question a few thousand years later. Is something made out of human ingenuity worth putting the trust of your life in? Is something that is inanimate worth putting all your hopes in? We can say a resounding no to that question.
The psalmist reminds us, it is the LORD (remember all caps means the proper name of God), who blesses you and who created you. The highest of the heavens belong to God, but he has given the earth to humans.
What are we to do with this earth that God the creator of the universe has given to us? We are to be good stewards of it. Back in the story of creation, in Genesis we see how we are to care for the earth. How can you care for what God has entrusted us with?
In closing, this psalm reminds us that we are a community set apart. A community with a common understanding that we are different because we put our trust in God and others put their trust in idols. To put our trust in God means that we intend to live first and foremost to the glory of God. That becomes a huge statement of our faith.
Click here for a great worship song about not worshiping idols and using our hands for God’s glory. Give Us Clean Hands, by Chris Tomlin
For those trying to authentically follow Jesus. 