Psalm 113 - Call to Praise

This psalm is the first of the six Hallel psalms that were sung by the Jews at the time of Passover. Apparently, two were sung before the Passover meal and four after it. So Jesus and his disciples would have sung those psalms when they met for the Passover.

The psalm begins with a call to praise the Lord given to those serving him in the temple (v. 1). The focus is to be on his name, as we can see from the last line of verse 1, the first line of verse 2, and the last line of verse 3. His name is Yahweh, the eternal, self-existing God who is the covenant God of his people. His name is connected to his character as faithful and true, as dependable and consistent.

His praise is to be constant with regard to the future (v. 2) and global regarding its extent (v. 3). Perhaps this was an aspiration or maybe it was an anticipation of the extending of his kingdom in gospel times, or even into the eternal state where all of life will be praise of God.

The Lord should be praised because of his position as sovereign God. His dwelling place is unapproachable, beyond our reach, above the heavens. No one can see God and come into his presence in a physical sense while they are in this life. We can see nothing of him, but he sees everything about the universe, even although all of it is far below him (vv. 4-6).

Yet when he looks down, he does so full of mercy and compassion. He does not merely look for information or for discovery of what is going on. Rather he looks with intent, to fulfil his own purpose of blessing. The psalmist highlights two areas of life – the political and the domestic.

Because of his involvement, those at the bottom of society can ascend to the top (vv. 7-8). It is possible for the needy to ascend to the height of human greatness, but even when that happens, they are still far below the Most High. Because of his involvement, he can ensure that the family line will be continued, which was very important as far as Israelites were concerned because that is how the inheritance was preserved (v. 9).

The Lord is the God of providence. There seems to be an allusion in the psalm to the experience of Hannah when she came to the temple to worship. Perhaps there is a reminder here to those working in the temple to remind themselves that the God they profess to serve can do great things for anyone he chooses to help. Praise of the great God should never be a formality.