Psalm 115

Psalm 115
"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory"
Statue in Winiary, Pińczów County, Poland, with an inscription from Psalm 115:1
Other name	Psalm 113 "Non nobis"
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 115 is the 115th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory". It is part of the Egyptian Hallel sequence in the fifth division of the Book of Psalms.

In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this psalm forms the second part of Psalm 113, counted as verses 9–26 of Psalm 113, verses 1–8 being Psalm 114 in Hebrew numbering.^[1] In Latin, that part is known as "Non nobis".^[2]

According to Alexander Kirkpatrick, this psalm "was probably composed for use in the [Second] Temple services after the Return from Babylon", perhaps when the first flush of enthusiasm had died away, and the little community in Jerusalem realised how contemptibly weak it was in the eyes of its neighbours".^[3]

The beginning has been used for inscriptions on buildings, such as the Ca' Vendramin Calergi. Verse 16, "The earth has been given to the children of men", among others, motivated John McConnell to create Earth Day.

Psalm 115 is used as a regular part of Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and various Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, such as a setting in German by Heinrich Schütz for three four-part choirs of voices and instruments, and Bach's early wedding cantata Der Herr denket an uns, BWV 196. During the Romantic period, Felix Mendelssohn set the psalm in German, Gustav Holst in English, and Albert Kellermann in Hebrew.