His breath goeth out, he returneth to his ground;
In that day his thoughts perish.
Happy is he who has Jacob’s God for his help,
Whose hope is in Yahwe his God,
Maker of heaven and earth.
Verses 6-9 give the standard reasons why men should praise Yahwe, and verse 10 closes the hymn with that hopeful outlook for the future so significant, and so characteristic of the Hebrew religion and the Hebrew hymn of praise:
Yahwe shall reign forever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise ye Yahwe.
Psalm 115 varies so widely from the standard hymn of praise that it is just a question whether it belongs with the hymns, or with the psalms of petition. As previously pointed out, the introductory call to praise here takes on the form of a petition, fortified moreover as in prayers of petition with reasons why Yahwe should answer it.