113 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!
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?
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!
Section Overview
Psalm 113 provides a short hymn of praise to celebrate the way in which the great and majestic God, who rules over all, takes notice of the lowly. Such a God is indeed worthy to be praised by all humankind.
Verses 7–8 overlap with part of Hannah’s Song (1 Sam. 2:8). Perhaps the psalm borrowed the words, as the reference to a “barren woman” (113:9) suggests.
Psalms 113–118 have been called the Hallel, as the Hebrew word hallel means “praise” (cf. 113:1–3; 115:17, 18; 116:19; 117:1–2). This sequence of psalms came to be a regular part of the great festivals of the liturgical year (including Hanukkah, the Dedication, once it was instituted in the intertestamental period: cf. Section Overview of Psalm 30).690 They are also sometimes called the Egyptian Hallel, with a specific connection with Passover. These psalms likely provided the hymn Jesus and his disciples sang after their Passover meal (Matt. 26:30).
Psalm 113 has two sections. The first (vv. 1–3) repeats the word “praise” and stresses the universal praise that God deserves. The second (vv. 4–9) stresses that God, in his height and majesty, looks kindly upon the lowly and needy.
Section Outline
I. The Lord Is to Be Praised through All the World (113:1–3)
II. Though He Is on High, He Looks upon the Lowly (113:4–9)
Response
On its own, Psalm 113 serves as a hymn that reaffirms the universal Lord’s intimate care for his people, especially for those of them who are poor and lowly. It thereby fosters a stance of love and trust toward God and of mutual respect toward one’s fellow Israelites that should lead to siding with them when they are under threat from exploitation and oppression.
But the psalm has a more specific function in the Hallel, associated with Israel’s festivals. These festivals celebrate the Lord’s choice of Abraham’s family, deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and giving of the Promised Land with a view toward putting each Israelite’s daily life on the farm in the larger perspective of the Lord’s overarching purposes for his people and the whole world. From this viewpoint, in the exodus the one true God, high over all, looked down and delivered his poor and needy people—and he calls them to live their lives as a set of social relationships in which they care for and honor one another.
Christians recognize that God has extended his tender care beyond Israel to include Gentile believers. As they celebrate the particular instances of God’s tenderness, they should aspire to show a tenderness and honor toward one another that reflects God’s own character.Psalm 113
Psalm 114