Psalm 113

The Lord Will Exalt the Humble

 The Lord Exalts the Humble

 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 forever.

 3    From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.  

 4    The Lord is high above all nations — His glory is above the heavens.

 5    Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high…

 6    Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and on the earth?  

 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 makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children.

       Praise the Lord!

 

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up…

 

 

Two Aspects of God's Nature

On one side we can see God's Lofty nature, one the other side, God's tender compassion for the poor and needy. 

God will humble Himself—to look down from heaven and see with compassion the things He created on earth.  He will raise us up—from the dust, even from the ash heap, to set us apart to live with the princes of His people.  God does not exclude the lowly from His lofty dwelling place.  Rather we are the ones whom He invites to share it with. 

 

Contrasting God's majesty with our place here on earth—those He created from out of the dust, we see ourselves with as unworthy.  By God's Holy Spirit we share in receiving this grandeur vision.  We need to understand this divine paradox... it is our lowliness that qualifies us to share in God's loftiness.