I learned Psalm 115 was often read antiphonally in Israel between the congregation and the priests. As a congregation we read this psalm like a song, alternating between the choir and the soloist. When the soloist first sings (verse 9), there is a repeated phrase. Like a refrain in a hymn, the repetition is intended to grab our attention and reinforce a truth.
Anyone who has ever sailed the seven seas through Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” is aware of the powerful impact that seven note song has. Some exit the attraction vowing to never again hum the tune or sing the words. Others make it their duty in life, like one mischievous child, to whistle as few as three notes so that the song dances through your head ad infinitum, or until you think you might go mad. I personally like the song and other things that are generally annoying. But the psalmist desired a far more important response.
While the congregation sang the dirge about the “pfffft” (emptiness, vanity, futility) of man-made idols, the soloist sang a seven note triumphant refrain to help the nation of Israel become victorious over its obsession with idolatry. How could they be victorious? Only by exchanging their idolatry for the trustworthiness of God. What is idolatry? I like this definition of idolatry: “expecting benefits from people or things that only God can give.” What is that repetitive refrain? In the Bible it is like this: “Trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:9, 10, 11). To fit the meter of the tune above, try this (but beware, it is addictive): ///”Trust-in the Lord, our help and shield,/// Trust the Lord, our help.”
Did the refrain work? Did Israel turn from her idolatry? No, Israel never had lasting victory over idolatry. Being able to sing a memorable phrase was not a magic mantra but simply a tool to point in the right direction. Victory required actually trusting the Lord. Like the repetition of the phrase, Israel needed to return to the Lord again and again, trusting Him alone.. Like the Israelites of long ago, we have to ask ourselves regularly today, tomorrow, and again, “What or Who am I trusting?”
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