Essential Praise

Metropolitan UMC, Indian Head, MD

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 Psalm 113

1 Praise the Lord.[a]

Praise the Lord, you his servants;
    praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised,
    both now and forevermore.
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.

Background

Psalm 113 is the last in a triad of praise psalms, each beginning with Praise the Lord (Hallelu Yah; this psalm ends with it as well). It also stands first in the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113–118), a collection of psalms sung at several Jewish holy days to commemorate deliverance from Egypt. Very possibly these psalms were sung by Jesus and the Twelve at the Last Supper. If so, Psalms 113 through 114 probably preceded the meal, and Psalms 115 through 118 followed it.

The opening call to praise (113:1–3) specifies who is to praise—servants of the Lord (113:1), making praise more than flattery. The call also identifies the content of the praise—the name of the Lord (113:1), preventing praise from becoming guesswork. With the name of Yahweh as subject, praise would never lack for content, for this was the name by which He revealed himself to Israel. The call to praise also identifies when to praise (both now and forevermore [113:2]) and where: everywhere, from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets (113:3).

Praise must be wholehearted, for it is due to a God who is exalted over all nations and the heavens themselves (113:4). The rhetorical question, Who is like the Lord our God (113:5a) is followed by a description of God as so far elevated above earth that He must stoop to see what is happening there (113:5b–6).[1]

Video Background click here

Point 1 

Notes from Point 1

Point 2 

Notes from Point 2

Point 3

Notes from Point 3

Summary

[1] Stephen J. Lennox, Psalms: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 1999), 345.