Psalm 113—There Is No One Like Our Praise-Worthy God

“Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!” Psalm 113:1

Servants of God—those who are his followers—are to praise the Lord. To praise is to express adoration and reverence. Praise is to assign approval. Praise and worship are purposeful acts of assigning love and awe to the name of the Lord.

Paul says in Philippians 2:10-11, “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…”

Servants of the Lord should be first to fall on their knees and lift their voices in praise!

“Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” Psalm 113:2-3

Rocks cry out and birds chirp praise continually. All of creation resounds with his glory. Likewise, our blessing should echo daily—from sunrise to sunset to the night watch—as we lift his name in praise. Our blessing should echo uninterrupted throughout time. Enthused, we bless and praise the name of the Lord.

“The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” Psalm 113:4-6

The heralding of his name should echo across the world. He is to be known and honored above and in all nations. His glory reaches to the heavens. Indeed, who is like our Lord? As Lincoln Brewster says in his song, “There is no one like our God…Who hung the stars…showed the sun how bright to shine…shaped the world within his hands?” Our God looks down from his throne on high and governs all. He is mighty and to be praised.

Who is like our Lord?

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap…” Psalm 113:7

One of my favorite words is “condescend.” Condescending can have two meanings. First, someone can treat another in an arrogant, condescending manner. Second, someone can humbly lower themselves by condescending to the level of another. Immanuel, God with us, is condescension at its best. He humbled himself to raise us up. He can be trusted even though we seem to be stuck in the dust. Even if we are in the darkness of an ash heap, he can be trusted.

“…faith is to trust God in the dark and through the dark.” Theodore Cuyler, God’s Light on Dark Clouds

Our highly praised God reaches down to us and raises the poor out of the dust. He reaches down to lift the needy from the ash heap. Philippians 2:8 comes to mind: “…being found in human form, he humbled himself…” He condescends to elevate us. We—who are broken, poor, and needy—are made royalty.

Brokenness causes us to feel our frailty. Faith tells us we sit with princes in a royal family.

“He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.” Psalm 113:9

Brokenness and barrenness go together. And when he lifts us out of the dust and ash, he gives us offspring. The barren one is made a joy-filled mother.

Our Savior—who condescended to be with us—is worthy of our praise. Indeed, there is no one like our God.

“…Praise the Lord!” Psalm 113:9