Wednesday, December 22

Psalm 113
“Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time on and forevermore.”

“Praise the Lord” is an exclamation and exhortation, meaning you are praising the Lord and telling others to praise the Lord with one line. As a servant of the Lord, I have had many reasons to praise the Lord.

When should we praise the Lord? The psalm doesn’t say praise Him on Sunday, or before bed; it says now and forevermore. I believe when it says from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, it means we should praise the Lord from birth to death.

The Lord is to be exalted over all the nations, so this is a reminder that we can be patriotic— but don’t lose focus on who is Number One. His glory above the heavens tells me that the glory and praise for the Lord doesn’t stop in this earthly life but is also in heaven. Who else can sit on the throne and look down on the heavens and earth? There isn’t anyone who can even compare with our God and what He controls!

He raises the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap.  So the beginning of this Psalm is explaining how big and powerful our Lord is, sitting on a throne over heaven and earth. But he is so detailed that he raises up what many people find the most insignificant of people: the poor and the needy. Our Lord lifts the poor and needy people and sits them with princes— this means that that princes and poor are on the same level in Gods eyes!  

-Matt Schwartz