The Promise of Blessings in Psalm 115:12-13

Psalm 115:12-13 NKJV

The Lord has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.

He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.

My Thoughts

Psalm 115:12-13 expresses God’s unwavering mindfulness of His people, promising blessings for the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, and all who fear the Lord, regardless of their status. The commentaries below emphasize the significance of God’s past mercy as an assurance of future blessings, noting His propensity to continually bless all who trust in Him. The passage reassures believers that divine favor is inclusive, reaching both the small and the great, reflecting God’s care for all who revere Him…….Bill

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Commentaries:

Charles Spurgeon

“The Lord hath been mindful of us,” or “Jehovah hath remembered us.” His past mercies prove that we are on his heart, and though for the present he may afflict us, yet he does not forget us. We have not to put him in remembrance as though he found it hard to recollect his children, but he hath remembered us and therefore he will in future deal well with us. “He will bless us.” The word “us” is supplied by the translators, and is superfluous, the passage should run,

“He will bless; he will bless the house of Israel he will bless the house of Aaron.” The repetition of the word “bless” adds great effect to the passage. The Lord has many blessings, each one worthy to be remembered, he blesses and blesses and blesses again. Where he has once bestowed his favor he continues it; his blessing delights to visit the same house very often and to abide where it has once lodged. Blessing does not impoverish the Lord: he has multiplied his mercies in the past, and he will pour them forth thick and threefold in the future. He will have a general blessing for all who fear him, a peculiar blessing for the whole house of Israel, and a double blessing for the sons of Aaron. It is his nature to bless, it is his prerogative to bless, it is his glory to bless, it is his delight to bless; he has promised to bless, and therefore be sure of this, that he will bless and bless and bless without ceasing.

“He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.” So long as a man fears the Lord it matters nothing whether he be prince or peasant, patriarch or pauper, God will assuredly bless him. He supplies the want of every living thing, from the leviathan of the sea to the insect upon a leaf, and he will suffer none of the godly to be forgotten, however small their abilities, or mean their position. This is a sweet cordial for those who are little in faith and own themselves to be mere babes in the family of grace. There is the same blessing for the least saint as for the greatest; yea, if anything, the “small” shall be first; for as the necessity is the more pressing, the supply shall be the more speedy.

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Enduring Word

The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us: The psalmist drew upon God’s past faithfulness and used it as confidence in God’s future blessing. He has not forgotten us in the past and He will not forget to bless us in the future. (Guzik)

i. “God hath, and therefore God will, is an ordinary Scripture argument.” (Trapp)

He will bless the house of Israel: Blessings were pronounced upon all those who were called to trust in the Lord in Psalm 115:9-11. All who trust Him will be blessed, both small and great. (Guzik)

i. We take comfort that the small are mentioned first, meaning they will not be forgotten. “God’s blessing is for you, whoever you may be, if you will only stop trusting in yourself and your own devices and instead begin to trust God.” (Boice)

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Albert Barnes

The Lord hath been mindful of us – This would be especially appropriate if the psalm was written, as is commonly supposed, after the return from the captivity of Babylon. In such circumstances, it would be every way proper to bring before the mind of the people the fact that God had remembered them and had delivered them.

He will bless us – Our past experience furnishes the fullest evidence that he will continue to bless us. He who has delivered us from so great calamities, and who has restored us to our native land after so long and so painful a captivity, will not forsake us now. There can be now no circumstances in which he cannot bestow on us all the blessings which we need; there will be none when we may not hope that he will bless us. If he could save us from such troubles, he can save us from all; if he did thus interpose, we may argue that he will always grant us his help when we need it.

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John Gill

The Lord hath been mindful of us,…. The Targum is, “the Word of the Lord hath remembered us for good.” And is another reason why his people should trust in him: he has been mindful of his covenant with them and promises to them, and has kept them; he remembered them in their low estate, and sent redemption to them; goodness and mercy have followed them all their days. Past experiences of divine favour should encourage trust in the Lord, as well as promises of future blessings, as follows:

he will bless us; with all kind of blessings, temporal and spiritual; with blessings indeed, solid and substantial: it is certain and may be depended upon; he has promised it, and swore to it, that in blessing he will bless. Kimchi interprets it as a wish, “let him bless”: the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, render it in the past tense, “he hath blessed”; but the Targum as we: and as it follows,

he will bless the house of Israel; with whom he has made his new covenant; the household of faith, the family named of Christ, the whole Israel of God.

He will bless the house of Aaron; his priests, his ministers, all that offer up spiritual sacrifices to him; he will bless them with an increase of gifts and grace, and with his presence and Spirit, and therefore they should trust in him.

He will bless them that fear the Lord,…. They shall want no good thing now, and have much goodness laid up for them to be enjoyed hereafter; the sun of righteousness rises upon them, and a book of remembrance is written on their account; the Lord delights in them, his eye is upon them; and they are blessed with more grace now, and will be blessed with glory hereafter.

Both small and great; young and old, rich and poor, high and low, lesser or greater believers; be they children, young men, or fathers; see Revelation 11:18.

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Matthew Henry

We are greatly encouraged to trust in God, and good reason is given us why we should stay ourselves upon him with an entire satisfaction. Consider,

1. What we have experienced (v. 12): The Lord has been mindful of us, and never unmindful, has been so constantly, has been so remarkably upon special occasions. He has been mindful of our case, our wants and burdens, mindful of our prayers to him, his promises to us, and the covenant relation between him and us. All our comforts are derived from God’s thoughts to usward; he has been mindful of us, though we have forgotten him. Let this engage us to trust in him, that we have found him faithful.

2. What we may expect. From what he has done for us we may infer, He will bless us; he that has been our help and our shield will be so; he that has remembered us in our low estate will not forget us; for he is still the same, his power and goodness the same, and his promise inviolable; so that we have reason to hope that he who has delivered, and does, will yet deliver. Yet this is not all: He will bless us; he has promised that he will; he has pronounced a blessing upon all his people. God’s blessing us is not only speaking good to us but doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. It is particularly promised that he will bless the house of Israel, that is, he will bless the commonwealth, will bless his people in their civil interests. He will bless the house of Aaron, that is, the church, the ministry, will bless his people in their religious concerns. The priests were to bless the people; it was their office (Num. 6:23); but God blessed them, and so blessed their blessings. Nay (v. 13), he will bless those that fear the Lord, though they be not of the house of Israel or the house of Aaron; for it was a truth, before Peter perceived it, That in every nation he that fears God is accepted of him, and blessed, Acts 10:34, 35. He will bless them both small and great, both young and old. God has blessings in store for those that are good betimes and for those that are old disciples, both those that are poor in the world and those that make a figure. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be denied to the meanest that fear him. Both the weak in grace and the strong shall be blessed of God, the lambs and the sheep of his flock.

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John D. Barry

115:12 remembers us The Hebrew verb used here, zakhar, refers to a calling to mind that occurs in conjunction with some activity. See note on Exod 2:24.

he will bless Yahweh’s blessing of Israel is a continuation of the sort of blessing that is inherent in creating and sustaining the world; it is also dependent on Israel’s obedience within the context of Yahweh’s covenant. See Deut 28–30.

115:13 the small with the great An expression that means “everybody.”

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ps 115:12–13.

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Matthew Poole

12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

Hath been mindful of us in our former straits and calamities, and therefore we trust he will still bless us, &c. as it follows. Or, is or will be mindful of us. Though he hath chastened us sore, yet he hath not yet cast us out of the care of his providence.

13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small †and great.

Either in age or condition, of whatsoever quality, high and low, rich and poor; for he is no respecter of persons.

Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible, vol. 2 (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1853), 178.

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Cross References

Exodus 2:24 (KJV)

²⁴And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Psalm 98:3 (KJV)

³ He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel:

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Genesis 8:1 (KJV)

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

Genesis 12:2 (KJV)

²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV)

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Psalm 118:2 (KJV)

² Let Israel now say,

That his mercy endureth forever.

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KJV W/Strongs Bible

115:12 The LORD 3068 hath been mindful 2142 8804 of us: he will bless 1288 8762 [us]; he will bless 1288 8762 the house 1004 of Israel 3478; he will bless 1288 8762 the house 1004 of Aaron 175.

115:13 He will bless 1288 8762 them that fear 3373 the LORD 3068, [both] small 6996 and great 1419.(and: Heb. with)

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Geneva Bible 1560

Psalm 115:12-13

12 The Lord hathe been mindful of us: he wil bless, he (h) will bless the house of Israél, he will bless the house of Aarón.

13 He wil bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

(h) That is, he will continue his graces toward his people.

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Closing Thoughts

And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the Lord. “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.” Jeremiah 15:20-21 NKJV

Proverbs 4: 20-27 NKJV

My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes;

Keep them in the midst of your heart;

For they are life to those who find them,

And health to all their flesh.

Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life.

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,

And put perverse lips far from you.

Let your eyes look straight ahead,

And your eyelids look right before you.

Ponder the path of your feet,

And let all your ways be established.

Do not turn to the right or the left;

Remove your foot from evil.