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Psalms 113

Chapter Text

Praise to the LORD

Summary

Psalm 113 opens the Egyptian Hallel, the collection of psalms sung during Passover and other major festivals. It begins and ends with Hallelujah, calling servants of the Lord to praise His name from this time forth and forevermore, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

The Lord is exalted above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Yet He humbles Himself to behold the things in heaven and earth, raising the poor from the dust, lifting the needy from the ash heap to set them among princes, and giving the barren woman a home as a joyful mother of children.

Meaning

This psalm captures the astonishing paradox at the heart of biblical theology: the God who is exalted above all creation stoops to attend to the lowliest of His creatures. His transcendence does not produce indifference but compassion.

The specific examples of divine care, raising the poor and giving the barren woman children, echo the song of Hannah and anticipate the Magnificat of Mary. God's characteristic action is reversal: He lifts the lowest and humbles the proud.

The psalm teaches that true greatness is demonstrated not by distance from need but by willingness to enter into it. God's glory is most fully displayed in His mercy toward those the world overlooks.

Background

This psalm begins the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113-118), sung at Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and the Feast of Dedication. At the Passover meal, Psalms 113-114 are sung before the meal and 115-118 after.

Jesus and His disciples would have sung these psalms at the Last Supper, making them among the last words on His lips before Gethsemane.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1-3Call to Praise the LORD's Name
  2. vv. 4-6The LORD's Transcendence and Condescension
  3. vv. 7-9God Lifts the Poor and the Barren

Key Verses

“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.”— 113:3

A sweeping declaration of universal praise, often cited to express that worship of God transcends time, geography, and culture. Echoed in Malachi 1:11 as a vision of global reverence for God's name.

“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;”— 113:7

A cornerstone verse on God's concern for the lowly, drawing directly from Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2:8. It anticipates the great reversal theme later voiced by Mary in the Magnificat (Luke 1:52).

“He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.”— 113:9

Recalls Sarah, Hannah, and other matriarchs whose barrenness God reversed, celebrating His power to bring life and joy from emptiness. The verse closes the psalm with intimate, domestic praise.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Though not directly predictive, Psalm 113 supplies the theological vocabulary later taken up in Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Verses 7-8, on God lifting the poor to sit with princes, are echoed almost verbatim in Luke 1:52, and verse 9's rejoicing of the barren mother foreshadows the miraculous births of John the Baptist and ultimately Christ. Malachi 1:11 likewise picks up verse 3's vision of God's name praised from sunrise to sunset among the nations.

Devotional

Psalm 113 invites us to lift our eyes from our circumstances to the God who is both exalted and intimately attentive. He stoops low to see us — and especially to see those the world overlooks: the poor in the dust, the woman aching for children, the forgotten and the unseen.

When life feels small or hidden, this psalm reminds us that the same God whose glory fills the heavens bends down to lift, to seat, to gladden. Our response is simple: praise. From sunrise to sunset, in seasons of plenty or barrenness, His name is worthy.

Literary Style

Hebrew hymn of praise opening the Hallel collection (Psalms 113-118) sung at Passover. Features synonymous parallelism, an inclusio formed by 'Praise ye the LORD,' and a striking rhetorical movement from God's exaltation in heaven to His tender attention to the lowly on earth.