John Calvin Commentary Psalms 135:15

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men`s hands." — Psalms 135:15 (ASV)

The images of the nations, etc. Since the whole of this part of the Psalm has been explained elsewhere, it is unnecessary to elaborate on it, and repetition might be felt as tiresome by the reader. I will therefore only show in a few words what the Psalmist's scope is.

In rebuking the foolishness of the pagans, who thought that they could not have God near them in any other way than by resorting to idol worship, he reminds the Israelites of the remarkable mercy they had enjoyed. He urges them to adhere more deliberately to the simplicity and purity of God’s worship and to avoid profane superstitions.

He declares that idolaters only bring heavier judgments upon themselves the more zealous they are in the service of their idols. And there is no doubt that, in denouncing the terrible judgments that must fall upon the worshippers of false gods, his object is to deter those who had been brought up under the word of God from following their example.

In Psalm 115 the exhortation given is to trust or hope in the Lord; here, it is to bless Him. The Levites are mentioned in addition to the house of Aaron, as there were two orders of priesthood. Everything else in the two Psalms is the same, except that, in the last verse, the Psalmist here joins with the rest of the Lord’s people in blessing God.

He says, out of Zion, because when God promised to hear their prayers from that place and to reveal from it the rich display of His favor, He thereby gave them good reason to praise Him from it. The reason stated is that He dwelt in Jerusalem; this is not to be understood in the literal and crude sense that He was confined to such a narrow dwelling, but in the sense that He was there regarding the visible manifestation of His favor. Experience shows that while His majesty is such that it fills heaven and earth, His power and grace were granted in a special way to His own people.