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Psalms 113

1

Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

2

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

3

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.

4

The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

5

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,

6

Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

7

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

8

That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

9

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

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Psalms 113

Psalm 113 is a hymn of praise celebrating God's supremacy and His compassionate care for the humble and vulnerable, exemplifying the theological concerns of Book 4. The psalmist employs vivid imagery and direct address to God, establishing the intimate dialogue between worshiper and the divine that characterizes the psalmic tradition. The theological assertions center on God's character as both judge and redeemer, creating a comprehensive vision of divine justice and mercy integrated with human experience. The psalm reflects on both personal circumstance and communal identity, suggesting that individual faith finds validation through shared experience with the covenant community. The liturgical context indicates this psalm's function in worship where personal piety integrates with communal celebration of God's acts and attributes. The concluding movement typically affirms confidence in God's faithfulness, exemplifying the psalmic pattern of transformation through prayer and remembrance of divine acts throughout history.

Psalms 113:1

Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. The opening imperative ('Praise the LORD') commands the servants of God to vocalize adoration. The tripled 'praise' intensifies the exhortation. This verse establishes the Hallel's opening note: the community is summoned to praise.

Psalms 113:2

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore. The blessing ('blessed be') of God's name spans temporal extremes ('from this time on and forevermore'), suggesting permanent, unbounded adoration. This verse establishes that God's name deserves blessing across all time.

Psalms 113:3

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised. The geographical scope ('rising of the sun,' 'its setting') encompasses all earthly space where God is praised. The daily cycle suggests that praise persists through the entire movement of creation. This verse extends the scope of praise globally and throughout the day.

Psalms 113:4

The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. God's transcendence—his height above all nations and glory above creation—establishes his unparalleled status. The spatial language (high, above heavens) emphasizes cosmic supremacy. This verse articulates God's transcendent majesty.

Psalms 113:5

Who is like the LORD our God, seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? The rhetorical question asserts God's incomparability ('Who is like the LORD'), while the seated position emphasizes divine stability and authority. The looking 'down' from cosmic height to 'heavens and earth' portrays comprehensive oversight. This verse emphasizes both God's distance (seated on high) and attentiveness (looking down).

Psalms 113:6

He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, the nobles of his people.

Psalms 113:7

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

Psalms 113:8

The psalmist's vision of God lifting the poor from the dust and raising the needy from the ash heap establishes divine action as fundamentally directed toward reversing the degradation and abasement of the most vulnerable in society. This verse embodies the theology that God's justice specifically targets the restoration of the dispossessed, elevating them from the places of refuse and shame where human society has cast them aside. The image of lifting from dust and ash heap suggests not merely provision of material necessities but restoration of human dignity and social status, transforming the lowest members of society into those whom God esteems and honors. By emphasizing this divine orientation toward the poor, the psalmist establishes that God's character fundamentally stands opposed to systems of oppression and inequality, making the elevation of the vulnerable the primary concern of divine justice.

Psalms 113:9

This concluding verse of the psalm depicts God enabling the barren woman to become mother of a joyful family, establishing divine power as capable of reversing the biological and social limitations that leave certain women without the fundamental role and identity that motherhood provided in ancient society. This verse embodies the principle that God's power works against the grain of apparent natural limitation and social marginalization, transforming the seemingly impossible into the celebrated and the rejected into the honored. The image of joy accompanying the transformation suggests that God's restoration brings not merely material provision but fundamental restoration of identity and social integration, healing the profound alienation of those considered cursed or diminished. By concluding the psalm with this vision of comprehensive transformation from shame to joy, the psalmist establishes that God's redemptive work encompasses every dimension of human existence and reaches particularly toward those whom society has deemed hopeless or accursed.