Teks -- Psalms 115:17-18 (NET)

115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. 115:18 But we will praise the Lord now and forevermore. Praise the Lord!

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Psa 115:17 - Silence

Into the place of silence, the grave.

JFB: Psa 115:15-17

They were not only God's peculiar people, but as living inhabitants of earth, assigned the work of His praise as monuments of divine power, wisdom, and goodness.

JFB: Psa 115:18

Hence let us fulfil the purpose of our creation, and evermore show forth His praise.

Clarke: Psa 115:17 - The dead praise not the Lord

The dead praise not the Lord - המתים hammethim , those dead men who worshipped as gods dumb idols, dying in their sins, worship not Jehovah; nor can any of those who go down into silence praise thee: earth is the place in which to praise the Lord for his mercies, and get a preparation for his glory.

Clarke: Psa 115:18 - But we will bless the Lord

But we will bless the Lord - Our fathers, who received so much from thy bounty, are dead, their tongues are silent in the grave; we are in their place, and wish to magnify thy name, for thou hast dealt bountifully with us. But grant us those farther blessings before we die which we so much need; and we will praise thee as living monuments of thy mercy, and the praise we begin now shall continue for ever and ever

The Targum, for "neither any that go down into silence,"has "nor any that descend into the house of earthly sepulture,"that is, the tomb. The Anglo-Saxon: neither all they that go down into hell. Nogh the dede sal loue the Lorde, ne al that lyghtes in hell. Old Psalter. The word hell among our ancestors meant originally the covered, or hidden obscure place, from helan, to cover or conceal: it now expresses only the place of endless torment

Calvin: Psa 115:17 - O God! the dead shall not praise thee

17.O God! the dead shall not praise thee In these words the prophet goes on to beseech God to show himself propitious towards his Church, were there no other object to be gained than the preventing mankind from being utterly cut off, and the preserving a people, not only to enjoy his kindness, but also to invoke and praise his name. After celebrating God’s peculiar favor towards the Israelites, and the beneficence which he displayed towards mankind at large, he has recourse to the mercy of God for the pardoning of the sins of his people. And he proceeds on this footing, that though the heathen nations revel amidst the profuseness of God’s bounty, yet the seed of Abraham alone are set apart to celebrate his praises. “Lord, if thou shouldst allow us to perish, what would be the result, but that thy name would become extinct, and would be entombed with us?” From his appearing to deprive the dead of all sensibility, a question occurs: If souls, after they have departed from their corporeal prison, still survive? It is certain that they are then more vigorous and active, and; therefore, it must inevitably follow that God is also praised by the dead. Moreover, in appointing mankind their abode upon earth, he so disconnects them with God, that he leaves them a life such as they enjoy in common with the brutal tribes. For the earth was not given exclusively to men, but also to oxen, swine, dogs, lions, and bears, and what is more, to every sort of reptile and insect. For there is not a fly, nor a creeping thing, however mean, which the earth does not supply with an abode. ³⁷² The solution of the first question is easy. Men were so situated on the earth that they might, as it were, with one voice celebrate the praises of God. And it was to this concord that the prophet in this place referred, as does also the Scripture in many other passages.

“I shall not die, but live, and declare the words of the Lord,”
(Psa 118:0 : 17).

The good king Hezekiah also, said,

“The living, the living, he shall praise thee,” (Isa 38:19).

Jonah, too, when cast out of the belly of the fish, said,

“I will offer sacrifices, and I will pay my vows unto the Lord,” (Jon 2:10.) ³⁷³

In short, the prophet very justly excludes the dead from taking any part in the celebration of God’s praises; for among them there is no communion and fellowship qualifying them for mutually sounding forth his praises: the proclaiming of his glory on the earth being the very end of our existence. The reply to the second inquiry is this: The prophet says that the earth was given to mankind, that they might employ themselves in God’s service, until they be put in possession of everlasting felicity. True, indeed, the abundance of the earth belongs also to the brutal tribes; but the Holy Spirit declares that all things were created principally for the use of men, that they might thereby recognize God as their father. In fine, the prophet concludes that the whole course of nature would be subverted, unless God saved his Church. The creation of the world would serve no good purpose, if there were no people to call upon God. Hence he infers that there will always be some left alive upon the earth. And he not only promises that the Church shall be preserved, but also calls upon all who are thus preserved to offer a tribute of gratitude to their deliverer; and, moreover, he engages in their name to set forth the praises of God. He does not speak merely of the persons who belong to one age, but of the whole body of the Church which God upholds from one generation after another, that he may never leave himself without some to testify and declare his justice, goodness, and mercy.

TSK: Psa 115:17 - dead // go down

dead : Psa 6:5, Psa 30:9, Psa 88:10-12; Isa 38:18, Isa 38:19

go down : Psa 31:17; 1Sa 2:9

TSK: Psa 115:18

Psa 113:2, Psa 118:17-19, Psa 145:2, Psa 145:21; Dan 2:20; Rev 5:13

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Psa 115:17 - The dead // Into silence

The dead such as we shall suddenly be, if thou dost not succour us.

Into silence into the place of silence, the grave.

Poole: Psa 115:18 - But we will bless the Lord

But we will bless the Lord but we hope for better things, that notwithstanding our present and urgent danger, yet thou wilt deliver us, and so give us occasion to bless thy name; whereby thou wilt have the praise and glory of our deliverance.

Gill: Psa 115:17 - The dead praise not the Lord // Neither any that go down in silence

The dead praise not the Lord,.... Not the dead in sin; such as the makers of idols, and those that trust in them, who are like unto them; men must be made spiritually alive, ere they can show forth the praises of God: nor the dead corporeally. The souls of departed saints can and do praise the Lord: these die not with their bodies, nor sleep in the grave; they go immediately to God and Christ, and are employed in the service of God continually; particularly in praising him, as do the angels with whom they join; they sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, of providence and grace; especially the song of redeeming love, with which they always praise the Lord: but they cannot praise him with their bodily organs until the resurrection, which by death are rendered useless; they can praise him no more among men on earth, as they have before done; there is no work of this kind in the grave.

Neither any that go down in silence; the grave, so called, because everything is mute and silent there ^c; the instruments of speech are no more used on any account; no noise and clamour there from wicked men; there the wicked cease from troubling; and no songs of praise from good men, all still and quiet there. So the Targum,

"not any that go down to the house of the grave of the earth;''

or the earthly grave. And therefore save us, O Lord, suffer not the enemy to destroy us; for, should he, we shall no more be capable of praising thee, as we have done and desire to do; for no such service is to be done in the grave, see Psa 6:4.

Gill: Psa 115:18 - But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore // Praise the Lord

But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "we who are alive"; both in a corporeal and in a spiritual sense who, as long as we live, and while we have a being, will bless the Lord; being made spiritually alive, quickened by the Spirit and grace of God, and so capable of ascribing blessing, praise, and glory to him, for all the great and good things he has done; and especially when in lively frames, or in the lively exercise of grace: and that from this time; under a sense of present favours, and outward mercies being renewed every day; yea, throughout the whole of life, and so to all eternity in the world above; see Isa 38:19.

Praise the Lord; let others do the same as we; let us join together in this work, now and hereafter.