For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 113

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, you his servants;
    praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised,
    both now and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.

4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
    his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
    the One who sits enthroned on high,
6 who stoops down to look
    on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8 he seats them with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the childless woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

A. Find Out:

1. What is the psalmist’s call? v.1,2
2. Where is the Lord to be praised? v.3,4
3. How does he see the Lord? v.5,6
4. Who does He help? v.7
5. What will He do with them? v.8
6. Who else does He help and in what way? v.9

B. Think:

1. What does the psalmist consider should be the extent of God’s praise?
2. What is the first reason for praise given?
3. What is the second reason given?

C. Comment:

  This is a straight forward psalm of praise or, more to the point, of calling for praise. That is the initial call, to praise the Lord (v.1a), specifically those who consider themselves His servants (v.1b). Indeed this is not to be a quick burst for a moment, this is to be praise that goes on and on and on for ever (v.2). Indeed it is not to be limited in time, and it is not to be limited in location (v.3).

  Now, as we might expect, there are grounds given for this praise. The first of those grounds is the Lord’s greatness. He IS exalted over all nations (v.4a), He is glorified in heaven (v.4b), He reigns from heaven (v.5b) and there is no other like Him (v.5a). He is above all of our experience (v.6) and so He is vastly superior to us (implied).

  Now if those are the aspects of the first of the grounds for praising Him, the second is in stark contrast: He comes down to earth and He meets the needs of the poor and the needy (v.7). These are the lowest of the low, people scrabbling in the dust or the rubbish heaps. Then the Lord comes to them and raises them, lifts them (v.7) and puts them on a par with the top people of society (v.8). Then there is the barren woman, alone at home (v.9a), who He comes to and enables to conceive so she has a family (v.9b). This is not a far off God, but One who comes to His world to bring justice and balance and goodness.

D. Application:

1. The Lord is Almighty, all-powerful, holy, utterly different.
2. Yet he comes to the weakest of the weak and loves them.