Psalm 113

1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!

2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore!

3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!

The psalm begins with an emphatic “Hallelujah!” -- Praise YHWH! This is followed by two more commands to praise, the first directed to the servants of the LORD (priests?) and the second is more general, to everyone else. The “name” of the LORD represents the LORD himself, and in these three verses, the praising or blessing of the name of the LORD is commanded three times. This rhythmic repetition has the force of emphasizing the all-encompassing nature of worship. It is something that we are doing constantly through the words that we use and the lifestyle that we pursue. All of it should be honoring God. The LORD is to be worshiped at all times and in all places -- from this time and forevermore, and from the east to the west. This language is typical of psalms of praise as they express the all-encompassing nature of God. While this psalm is particularly calling us to express verbal praise, it’s important to remember that the New Testament calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices as our act of worship, our reasonable response to the grace of God (Romans 12:1-3). What would it look like to continually offer yourself sacrificially to God? What would you do? Where would you go? Whom would you serve? Let this summons to worship be your wake up call each morning, an alarm clock that calls you to bless the LORD from the beginning of the day to the end, from your first breath to your last. 

4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!

5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,

6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?

The first three verses call for the worship of YHWH at all times and in all places, and these following verses give the rationale for this. The answer is somewhat paradoxical. YHWH is both high and low. Verses 4-6 focus on his height and 7-9 on his depth, how low he will go to lift up his people. First, the LORD is high above the nations and his glory is above the heavens themselves. The LORD is sovereign over all the nations. Every king and tyrant and every democratic system of government is subservient to Him. Don’t fear the actions of king and government, they can only kill the body and steal all that you have on this earth. They can strip you of your natural rights and decree their own reality. But they cannot take you from God’s presence, neither in this world or the next. They cannot take your faith and your hope in the ultimate reign and peace of God. The things that endure forever are yours. The things that rot and rust are theirs. Second, the LORD is high above the heavens. In fact, his glory extends beyond them. This week a new star was discovered, the furthest yet detected from the earth, some 12 billion+ light years away. God is higher still. Everywhere we look above we see his glory. He paints the sky morning, evening, and night in a dazzling display of artistry and beauty. There’s just no one like him. No gods that we might conjure who compare in the least bit to Him. He is above it all in every way. And yet, finally, he looks down on the heavens and earth. He doesn’t have to. There’s nothing missing in him that would compel him to, and yet he does. As the NIV says, “he stoops down” to look on the heavens and the earth. “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you visitest him?” (KJV). This psalm presents a veiled glimpse of Jesus, God in the flesh, stooping down from his seat above the heavens, to dwell among us and lift us up with him. Who is like the LORD our God, indeed! 

7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.

9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

Having condescended to look on the heavens and the earth, YHWH sees the poor, the needy, and the barren woman. Moved with pity he takes action to change their station in life. The poor are in the dust, low to the ground, beaten down by injustice and the weight of their own struggles, unable to ever get ahead. The needy are in the ash heap, the place where the useless remains of fire are tossed. The ash heap is often associated with grief and penitence (e.g. wearing sackcloth and ashes), so this may suggest those who mourn, broken by grief or sin. YHWH lifts the poor and needy and seats them with princes. He elevates them to a high status in the community, their position reversed. Finally, YHWH sees the barren woman whose desire is for children and a home. Frustrated and disgraced in her community, seemingly cursed by God for something she must have done, there doesn’t seem to be a happy future for her, rather loneliness and disappointment. Like the poor and the needy, YHWH sees this woman and reverses her situation, granting her children and a home. The LORD is the one who changes everything, undoing all that is sad. This is accomplished through Jesus who though he was rich for our sake became poor. Though he was the source of life, he became barren and lifeless on the cross. It was the great exchange, an unbelievable reversal in which our Creator would take our place, that he would become the poor, the needy and the barren. Then lifted up with him in his resurrection, we follow him and are seated with him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). How does God do this today? How are the poor, needy and barren lifted up and made happy? It is through the work of the Holy Spirit through his church. One of the primary works of the church must be to care for the poor and place the needy in families, to create happy homes through healthy marriages and families. In doing so we complete the work that is described in these verses. This is how God raises people up and gives them contentment. Don’t discount the church. She is the primary means through which God acts on earth.