19 Ps 115.2-3 "Where is God?" Question & Answer
<p>Ps 115.2-4 (ESV) Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them</p>
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Verse 2 asks why the nations ask where is Israel's God. </p>
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Verses 3-7 answer the question through three contrasts: location, form and capability. </p>
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As to location, verse 3 says God is located in the heavens. The implied contrast is that the nations' "gods" are located on floors and shelves in their temples and houses. </p>
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As to form, verse 4 says the nations' "gods" are silver and gold fabricated by man. The implied contrast is that Israel's God is immaterial, formless, and not manmade. </p>
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As to capability, verse 3 says God is omnipotent and sovereign, doing whatever He pleases. Verses 5-7 provide the contrast. The nations' "gods" are impotent, unable to perform even the most rudimentary functions of speaking, seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and walking.</p>
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The answer then to the question posed by verse 2, why do the nations ask about where Israel's god is, is because the pagan nations' gods are small, limited to what can be imagined by their own minds, and thus seen in the form of idols. But when they consider Israel the nations see no such gods, so they ask, "where is Israel's god? We don't see it." The answer is that Israel's God, the one actual God, is far greater than can be construed by the mind and imagination of man. This God is in the heavens and cannot be represented by any image or object made by the hand of man.</p>