"Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!"
Psalm 113
The reference to Exodus 15:11, made in the previous Note, is apt and apposite, for the Exodus deliverance perfectly illustrates not only the incomparable sovereignty of God in the deliverance He wrought, but also His condescension in love and compassion for His poor people (cf Acts 7:34, 'I have seen, I have seen, the affliction of My people...and am come down to deliver them'). This divine condescension is elaborated and spelt out in 7-9, verses in which we find echoes of the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2. Israel's restoration from exile may be in view here, and some commentators think that 9 refers to the same event, in which case the 'barren woman' would represent Israel. But there is no reason why the literal rendering should not also be taken. Indeed, in the song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2) it seems clear that the literal gift of a son to Hannah is not the only thing in view, but that the wider and greater gift of deliverance to the nation is also included, and indeed linked to the other. Hannah's joy became all Israel's, just as centuries later, Mary's joy, expressed in the Magnificat, became joy to the world. Finally, one thinks of our Lord's experience in singing this Psalm on the threshold of His atoning work - here is the promise of fruitfulness and increase. As Isaiah puts it (53:11) 'He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied', and the writer to the Hebrews (12:2) 'Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God'.