THE FUTILITY OF IDOLS

You can listen to the devotion here.

Invocation
In the Name of the Father, and (+) of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 
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Scripture
Psalm 115
 
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2    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.
9    O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
10    O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
11    You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
12    The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13    he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.
14    May the Lord give you increase,
you and your children!
15    May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
16    The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17    The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into silence.
18    But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
       Praise the Lord!
 
Devotion
This Psalm very clearly teaches that though idols are incapable of offering any help, the one true LORD rescues and blesses His people. 

How often does tragedy strike and one of the first things we hear from unbelievers is the question, “Where is their God?”  This is the context for this psalm.  The unbelievers are mocking the people of God.  Tragedy has struck and they want to know why the God of the believers has done nothing.
Rather than getting into a debate the psalmist makes the good confession: “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”  The one true God is free to do as He pleases.  This is contrasted to the idols that are made by man and therefore incapable of doing the simplest of tasks – seeing, eating, hearing, smelling, speaking. 

On this point Luther says: “You do not think that we have a God. Therefore you brag about your images which are visible, and you deny the true God because He is not visible. Nevertheless, He is in heaven. And He not only is there, but He is also at work. For He has done whatever He wanted. For He is indebted to no one, He is subject to no one, He alone is most high, and the only law He has is His own will. This is what it means to be truly God. All others do not do what they want, but what is permitted them.”

In the same way it will be with the spiritual advent of Christ, where the soul waiting for grace and peace of conscience constantly hears, “Where is your God? He will not come, because you haven’t deserved it. He does not hear you because He is righteous and hates the ungodly.” It is as that experienced man says (Ps. 42:5, 9, 10): “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Why hast Thou forgotten me? And why go I mourning, while my enemy afflicts me? While my bones are broken, my enemies who trouble me have reproached me, as they say to me day by day, ‘Where is your God?’ ” Behold, these are the Gentiles who say, “Where is their God?” And Ps. 3:2–3 we read: “Why, O Lord, are they who afflict me multiplied? Many say to my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in his God.’ ” Behold, how aptly the psalmist expresses the affliction of conscience and the temptation of despair! Therefore one must rise up against all these things and say: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us,” that is, “I do not seek either merits or demerits, but mercy and truth, that You may be glorified. This temptation of the Gentiles wants to force me to try to make myself worthy and deserving, so that I may proudly boast of my worth and merits, rather than of You. Therefore give glory to Your name that their mouth may be stopped.” It will be the same way near the end of the world, when faith is lacking and the faithful will hear the unbelief of many regarding Christ’s second coming chattering and suggesting despair of such an advent, saying, “Where is their God?”
Therefore, our God is in heaven. But, O Gentiles, who is yours? No one at all…”

In fact, those that worship idols become just like the very thing they worship. Think about that! Whatever you fear, love, and trust in above all things you actually become like that thing! The object of your worship, of your fear, love, and trust matters more than anything else! 

Luther says, “He speaks prophetically, in the first place, because they themselves will also become images and idols, not by nature, but by similarity, as Zech. 11:17 says: “O shepherd and idol,” because they are vain. A remarkable love of one’s own powers does all these things, a love which changes the lover into the beloved, as blessed Augustine says: “Love the earth, and you are earth; love gold, and you are gold; love God and you are God.”

Hence it happens that he who loves flowing things flows, and wherever the thing goes, the love follows and goes with it. Hence it happens that when money is removed from someone, the will of him who loves gold is captured at the same time. For he thinks himself captive and lost when his gold is lost, and found when the gold is found. Why? Only because his will has been made gold through his love of gold. If he did not love the gold, he would rather consider himself set free when the gold is taken away. So, similarly, in other things." (LW 11:399)

The one true God is not absent, but as the psalmist declares is there helping and blessing His people – no matter how things look.  Therefore, God’s people can trust Him.  He is able and willing to help and bless them. If we ever doubt this, we only have to remember that our Father sent His Son to suffer and die in our place. The cross is the clearest picture we have that God loves us and has not abandoned us.

 The futility of idols is revealed fully on the cross.  For which idol of man’s imagination could ever suffer and die on behalf of your sins?  The cross reveals the futility of the idols and the love and ability of our God to save and redeem you.
 
Collect
O Lord, You are the One true God, all others are idols that cannot and will not save us.  Grant us the faith to see idols for what they are, to repent of our worship of them, and to put our faith in Christ alone for our salvation; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord. Amen.