Psalm 113

Psalms 113-118 constitute the Egyptian Hallel(lit. praise, cf. Hallelujah). Hallelis the imperative singular and is a command to praise. The Hallelwas a collection of psalms the Jews sang at the three yearly feasts that all the males had to attend: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They also used these psalms on other holy days. At Passover it was customary to sing Psalms 113 and 114 before the meal and 115-118 after it. They also sang Psalm 136, the "Great Hallel,"at its climax.

"There was more relevance in these psalms to the Exodus--the greater Exodus--than could be guessed in Old Testament times."¹⁸⁶

This psalm calls on God's servants to praise Him because even though He occupies an exalted position He has humbled Himself to lift up the lowly (cf. Phil. 2:7). It expresses thoughts similar to Hannah's prayer (1 Sam. 2:1-10) and Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).¹⁸⁷

 1. Call to praise the Lord's name 113:1-3

The person of God represented by His name deserves praise from all His servants forever. The rising and setting of the sun describe the East and West, not just daylight hours. In other words God is worthy of universal praise.

 2. Causes to praise the Lord 113:4-9

113:4-5 The first reason God's servants should praise Him is that He is the glorious sovereign ruler over all the earth.

113:6-9 The second reason is that He condescends to pay attention to His creatures. One example of this is the way He occasionally exalts very poor or underprivileged people to positions of wealth and influence. He did this literally for Job and He does it spiritually for every believer. Another example is how He sometimes makes barren women conceive and bear children. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah received this blessing to name a few individuals. In view of God's promises to make the Israelites numerous, the ability to bear children was one they valued greatly.

The psalm closes as it opened with a call to praise the Lord. Psalms 115-117 end with the same exhortation.

The Lord is worthy of praise because He graciously gives great blessings to those who have no hope of obtaining them from any other source.