This page gives you ready-to-use study questions for Psalm 115, with leader’s notes for each one. It suits a small group, a Sunday class or a quiet personal study. Psalm 115 contrasts the living God with lifeless idols and calls God’s people to trust him alone, so the questions move from what the text says, to what it means, to how it shapes daily life.
Psalm 115 at a Glance
The psalm opens with a plea that God receive glory for his faithful love and truth, not the people who sing about him. It then mocks the nations’ question about where their God is, and answers it by pointing to a God who rules the heavens and does as he pleases. Next comes a sharp description of idols: they have features but cannot sense, speak or move, and those who make and trust them grow like them.
The second half is a call to trust. Israel, the house of Aaron and all who fear the LORD are each urged to trust him, because he is their help and shield. The psalm closes with a promise of blessing, a reminder that the dead cannot praise, and a resolve from the living to bless the LORD from now on.
Observation Questions
Use this set first, before anyone offers an opinion. Read the chapter aloud once, then ask these questions and let people point to the words they see. Keep the answers close to the text and avoid jumping ahead to applications.
Psalm 115:1
Not to us, the LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake.
(WEB)
Read this verse first to set the tone of the session. It places God’s name and character at the center, which frames everything that follows.
Psalm 115:3
But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
(WEB)
This verse answers the mocking question directly. Reading it aloud helps the group hear the confidence of the psalmist before looking at the idols.
Psalm 115:4-7
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see. 6 They have ears, but they don’t hear. They have noses, but they don’t smell. 7 They have hands, but they don’t feel. They have feet, but they don’t walk, neither do they speak through their throat.
(WEB)
Read the description of idols slowly, letting the repeated “but they don’t” build in the room. This passage is the heart of the psalm’s contrast.
Psalm 115:9-11
9 Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 10 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.
(WEB)
The repeated call to trust is the psalm’s core invitation. Reading it aloud together allows each person to hear themselves included in the call.
Psalm 115:17-18
17 The dead don’t praise Yah, neither any who go down into silence; 18 But we will bless Yah, from this time forward and forever more. Praise Yah!
(WEB)
End the reading with this pair of verses to close the contrast between the dead and the living. It leads naturally into the closing prayer.
Memory Verse for Psalm 115
Psalm 115:11
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
(WEB)
This verse is short enough to memorize easily and gives the whole psalm’s invitation in one line. Encourage the group to repeat it during the week whenever they feel anxious or unsure where to turn.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as the LORD who is in the heavens and does as you please. Thank you for your loving kindness and your truth, which you have shown us again and again. Forgive us for the places where we have trusted things that cannot speak, see or help us. Make our hearts alive to you, and teach us to trust you as our help and our shield. Let our lives bless your name today and every day to come, as we praise you with our words and our actions. Amen.
