Psalm 113 is the first psalm in a six-psalm collection called the “Egyptian Hallel” (113–118). It is tradition for Jews to recite (or sing) these six psalms around the time of Passover to commemorate the deliverance from Egyptian slavery. This explains why when Jesus was entering Jerusalem on a donkey during the time of Passover, the people shouted, “Hosannah! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt 21:9). This isn’t random, this is the people of Israel singing Psalm 118:25–26. They are remembering the great salvation of generations past. They faced the difficulties of their present (and the future) while being mindful of God’s faithfulness in the past. This gave them great hope.
What I love about Psalm 113 is that it demonstrates why one should praise God. Namely, it first details that God is all powerful, then it goes it describes how God uses his power. One can tell a lot about a person by what they do with power and influence. Do they abuse their power? Manipulate? Oppress? Not the God of Israel, not the God of the Bible. Israel’s God is all powerful (Ps. 113:4–6), and he uses that power to lift up the downtrodden (113:7–9).
The psalmist goes into further detail still. He tells us that God not only lifts people up, but he lifts the lowest of the low to the place of the highest privilege This is what it means when he says, “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people” (113:7–8). God doesn’t just pursue those who need him, he pursues those who need him most. Jesus was explicit about the fact that he didn’t come for the healthy, but the sick (Mark 2:17). He says this in the context of being ridiculed by religious leaders for not obeying the rules. What they didn’t understand was that Jesus wasn’t concerned about rules as much as he was about bringing healing to a broken and hurting world. He is out to redeem those who look unredeemable to human eyes.
He not only pursues the most dire cases of human need and suffering, he also works until the point of completion. So many settle for mediocre. God is not a god of mediocre. He’s a God of perfection. He works on us and in us until his work is complete. This is what Paul means when he says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Adding to this is Jude, who says, “Now to him who si able to keep you form stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory wiith great joy…” (Jude 1:24).
