Psalm 113 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 113 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord.
Verse 2Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore.
Verse 3From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.
Verse 4The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
Verse 5Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,
Verse 6who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
Verse 7He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
Verse 8to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
Verse 9He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
Devotion
Scholars call this Psalm one of the “Hallelujah” Psalms. Seems appropriate to me! The lavish praise cannot help but get us saying “Amen” frequently as we read it. What I really love about this passage is that the great, glorious and powerful God it praises is also named as the God who “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (v. 7). It is intrinsic to God’s nature that “the least of these” are always in God’s sight. God’s own Son was born of a humble woman, lived in a simple village and died a humiliating death like a common criminal. As we contemplate his coming again to us, we are reminded that we, too, can minister to the least of these.
Prayer
Gracious God, open our hearts to the needs of those around us and our hands to serve them. Amen.