The apostle Paul encourages Christians to sing “psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). For 2,000 years, Christians have put the psalms to music. In the 1970s, there was an explosion of new Christian music called “Scripture in Song”. Many verses from the psalms became familiar to Christians through these new songs. Over the years, Psalm 113, or portions of the psalm, has inspired dozens of hymns and choruses.

Psalm 113 begins a bracket of six psalms that were very important in Jewish worship. These were sung at the Passover meal: Psalms 113–114 before the meal, and Psalms 115–118 after. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that when Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, they sang a hymn (26:30). They would have sung all or parts of these psalms.

Psalm 113 begins with a threefold call to praise the name of the Lord. The Lord’s name, “Yahweh” (or “I am”), tells us of His character and His works—the name speaks of the God who is eternal and unchanging. He’s the loving God who has made himself known and has come to rescue His people. The rest of the psalm expands on this. How much praise does God deserve? Essentially, the psalm says that there aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the year to praise God. From sunrise to sunset and on to eternity, “the name of the Lord is to be praised” (v. 3).

Why should people praise the Lord? First, because He reigns supreme over all nations. In three ways the psalmist reminds us that God is King over all nations (vv. 4–6). Throughout history, nations have flexed their muscles, displaying military power, economic power, or the power of ungodly ideas. We can easily feel intimidated, anxious, and scared, particularly if these powers are against us. Psalm 113 reminds us to keep such things in their proper perspective. So tiny are these great powers that the Lord has to stoop down and look at them, like we might stoop to look at an ant or a spider.

Second, we are to praise God for His saving grace (vv. 7–9). God brings down the proud and powerful and lifts up the poor and needy, a theme we also encounter in the New Testament. In the parables Jesus told, the prodigal son is welcomed home (Luke 15), poor Lazarus is in paradise (Luke 16), and the despised tax collector is justified (Luke 18). In his epistle, Paul reminded the Corinthians that not many of them were wise, influential, or of noble birth, but “God chose the lowly things of this world” (1 Corinthians 1:26–28). We are those “lowly things”. The wonderful truth of Psalm 113 is that God exalts the poor and needy to be with Him where He is, “enthroned on high” (v. 5). Praise the Lord!