Who is like the Lord our God?

Psalm 113:1-9

Key Verse 113:5

This exhorts us to put trust in the Lord who is not aloof to the poor and needy such as a barren woman. The hidden message is that since the opposite is true of the Lord, one should never give up trusting in the Lord, but proceed to the presence of the Lord by prayer and petitions, with songs of praises. [Note: psalms 113-118 called Hallel are recited verbatim during the three Festivals - Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Some bible scholars believe that Jesus must have sung from Psalm 113-118 as he proceeded from the last supper to the Mt. of Olives.]  

According to verse 1 this psalm is dedicated to the servants of the Lord. What would it be like for one to live as: 1) some else's "servant"; and 2) the servant of the Lord? 

** He ought to deny (or fully empty) himself (his will, desires, purpose, etc.) and adopt the will, desires, and purpose of his master as his. He literally lives and dies for the will of his master.

** The supreme (or perfect) example is found in the life of our Lord Jesus who in turn taught his disciples about the servantship as in Luke 17:10 or Mark 10:45. Read also Phi 2:7-10.

Read verses 1-3. In this passage the word 'praise' is repeated. What does it mean to praise the 'name' of the Lord? Verse 2 exhorts to praise the Lord both now and forevermore. Why forevermore?

** Name stands for the identity, esp. the essential nature and characteristics of the person. This requires a servant to know who the Lord is, for without knowing the Lord a servant cannot serve Him in the way he should. 

** This is not for the reasons that are true of the Lord but true of his servants, for by definition the Lord God is the same yesterday, today and forever, so he is to be praised fully all the time, yet one is called to praise him both now and forevermore, because as a servant comes to know the Lord better it will turn out to be the case that he will praise the Lord all the more.

Compare verses 4-5 and verses 6-8. What might it take for the one who is at the top (or above) to take care of the one who is at the bottom? What does the expression 'our God' indicate about the psalmist's relationship with the Lord? Who is like the Lord our God? (Cf. Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 2:12; Matthew 1:23]

** The expression 'stoops down' indicates that on the part of the Lord 'self-denial' (so to speak} is needed. 

Note: The KJV reads "humbles himself" for "stoops down" in NIV. Humble - "shaphel" in Hebrew means "to be or become low, sink, or be abased, or to make low, or set in a lower place". This example reminds us of how Jesus came to a manger, and thereafter got himself humiliated by so many, being mocked on a tree when people were hurling insults at him. Luke 18:32

** His relationship with his God is personal as well as community-based. 

** Answers can be: a) no other gods are like our God; or b) our God is different than all other so called gods in that he alone did this (humbling). Indeed no one (no gods) ever did what Jesus the son of God did and is going. 

Read verses 7-9 again. What does it mean to: 1) "raise the poor from the dust"; 2) "lift the needy from the ash heap"; and 3) make a [barren] woman to be a happy mother? [Cf. 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Phi 2:6-10] 

** While this psalm might have borrowed the ideas from what Hannah said in 1 Samuel 2, it is very likely that this psalm refers to the work of redemption to be fulfilled by the Savior to come, for the expressions such as dust or ashes the words like poor or needy all are based on such biblical facts as the Fall of men, which triggered the Lord God choosing to show mercy, to save men from falling to the bottomless pit to eternal salvation. In Genesis 3 then on falling, man came to be poor and needy, remaining condemned to turn to dust, having become totally fruitless. But God chose to redeem the believers back to the fullness of life. These works of God from among the believing are seen in many Bible passages such as Num. 19 (6-7 for example, where the red heifer turning to ashes which when mixed with ashes of hyssop, scarlet wool (Mt. 27:28), and cedar wood, become the only remedy for the universal impurity, bring men back to the purity of God. Indeed Jesus himself became a servant of all, making himself nothing [like dust or ashes]. He completely offered himself as in the case of a burnt offering. A barren woman turning to a happy mother can be seen as an otherwise unfruitful man being saved rooted in the Lord, bearing good fruit, to be given a place among the righteous.

** Write one thing we can learn about the blessedness of the life serving the Lord.