Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 113:5
Who [is] like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
Who is like unto the Lord our God? – Who can be compared with Yahweh our God? See the notes at Isa 40:17-25. The meaning is, that no creature – no idol – can be compared with Yahweh. The remark here has special reference to his attributes as immediately specified – his humbling himself to behold the things in heaven and in earth; his raising up the poor, etc. It is true in general, in regard to God, that no creature can be compared with him; it is true, in regard to each one of his attributes, that they are far above all created excellence.
Who dwelleth on high – Margin, exalteth himself to dwell. Literally, The one making high to sit. The language is applicable to one who is seated on a lofty throne. Compare Psa 8:1. He has his dwelling – his throne – his permanent seat – in the heavens: so high and exalted that it requires infinite condescension to look upon the earth, or even upon the heavens.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 113:5-8
Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high?
The greatness and goodness of God
I. His inconceivable greatness (verse 5).
1. The place of His habitation. With great propriety, heaven, and the heaven of heavens, though they cannot contain Gods essence, are represented to us as the place of His immediate abode; there His glory dwells. This heaven is called the high and the holy place. He dwelleth on high, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named.
2. His infinite superiority to the greatest of beings and the greatest of things. The purest and loftiest angel that stands in the presence of God is far removed beneath Him. How much more must He stoop, then, to behold the things that are done on the earth, things of the greatest interests–things that in our view swell into the mightiest importance.
II. His matchless goodness (Psa 113:6-8).
1. The ministrations of His providence.
2. The manifestations of His grace. Consider not only the general scheme of our recovery by grace Divine, through the humiliation, and suffering, and death, and burial of the Divine Redeemer, but consider the manner in which this salvation is applied by the sovereign and gracious operations of the Holy Spirit.
3. The revelations of eternity. Eye hath not seen, etc.
III. What practical lessons may we learn from the combined or associated display of the greatness and goodness of God.
1. Let it fix on our minds a deep sense of our own insignificance, meanness, and vileness.
2. Let it promote reverence in worship.
3. Let it nourish in our bosoms confidence towards God.
4. Let it scatter–
(1) Those doubts of scepticism, and those hesitations of infidelity which are too industriously spread amongst us at the present day. The minute observation which Gods providence takes of the affairs of men.
(2) The efficacy of believing prayer. (G. Clayton.)
Gods condescension in beholding the things in heaven and in earth
I. The unequalled majesty and glory of God.
1. He dwelleth on high. He is described as seated on a throne high and lifted up (Isa 6:1). The residence of His glory is in the heavenly world. From thence He beholds the whole universe, reigneth over it; and all creatures, and all worlds are under His government and control.
2. There is none like Him. It is impossible, in the nature of things, that there should be any more than one eternal, self-existent Being.
II. His great and amazing condescension.
1. It is great condescension in God to behold the things that are in heaven–the saints and angels; for they are creatures, and fall infinitely short of Him in perfection. They cannot by searching find out God, nor have they minds capacious enough to receive Him, Besides, their best services, though not sinful and polluted, are yet imperfect. They are not equal to His glory; for He is exalted above all blessing and praise.
2. It is greater and more wonderful condescension to behold the things on earth. They derive their being from the dust; dwell in houses of clay; at their best estate they are altogether vanity; will soon be laid in the grave and turned to corruption. They have lost their innocence and are become unclean; have lost their order and are become irregular. They often desire, judge, and act wrong; and there is not one that perfectly doeth good, no, not one. By the generality of men God is affronted, neglected, or forgotten. Even the worship and obedience of His saints, of the best of His saints, are imperfect and polluted. Who, then, is like to the Lord our God, that stoops to regard such creatures, and be so good to a world so full of vanity, sin, and pollution?
III. Application.
1. Learn to reverence this great and glorious Being, since He dwelleth on high, and there is none like Him.
2. Learn the odious nature of pride.
3. The condescension of God affords much comfort to His people.
4. How strongly should the condescension of God attract our hearts to Him, and make our gratitude and love to Him warm and constant.
5. Learn to imitate the condescension of God. To be friendly and affable to all, and stoop with a grace, is to be polite, to be a gentleman; yea, what is better, it is to be a Christian; to be so far like God. Condescension is not meanness. The very word implies dignity. As you owe more to God than others, for His bounty to you, show your gratitude this way. By kindness and condescension you will be esteemed and beloved; for before honour is humility; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Job Orton, D.D.)
The majesty and condescension of God
There are two propositions in the text which human reason could never unite. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high?–but yet He humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and that are in the earth. And the reason why the mere unassisted faculties of man could never unite these two ideas is, that they could not, in the nature of things, be united, but by the third discovery, which must come from God Himself, and show the other two in perfect harmony,–the discovery that God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, etc. There God and man met. And when we know this, and enter into the spirit of this great truth, then we know that there is a philanthropy, a love of man, in God; an intense, a boundless love even of creatures low and degraded as they are; then we wonder no longer how it is that He who exalteth Himself to dwell on high should humble Himself to behold, not only the things which are in heaven, but those also upon the earth.
I. God dwelleth on high.
1. This is a declaration of the Divine majesty, designed to rebuke that thoughtlessness which we are so apt to indulge, and to impress us with that reverence which is at once so becoming and so necessary.
2. This is a revelation of His power. Everything being subject to Him who is high above all, whose almighty power has hitherto controlled all things, and continues to control and regulate them, this revelation of the Divine power is made, that man–the man that trusts in God, and rests upon His almighty power–may be afraid of nothing; and that, when he has to believe any express promise which is made to him in the Word of God, whose accomplishment, to the man of the world, seems altogether impossible, he may say, Is any thing too hard for the Lord?
3. This is a revelation of His wisdom, of His infinite and arranging wisdom. It is connected with our comfort, as to individual life; connected with our confidence, as to Gods Church; and connected with all our views of Providence, as to the management and issues of the affairs of this world.
II. As is the majesty, so also is the mercy of our God (verse 7).
1. This condescension of God to things on earth respects, the regard which He has had for our race, for the race fallen indeed as it is, poor, and seated in the dust, and lying on the dunghill.
2. There is, no doubt, also, a reference in this to the respect which God pays even to the lower ranks of the race, seeing that He raiseth up the poor, and lifteth up the needy.
3. The text includes a reference, also, to the condescension of God in His relation to man in circumstances of trouble. His eye penetrates through the ranks of angels, and fixes upon a trembling, humble, contrite sinner.
4. The expressions of the text refer to our nature. Christ, who is the head, cannot be exalted without the members; and therefore Christs exaltation is the pattern of ours; His body, now incorruptible, the pattern of our body to be glorified; His stainless glorified spirit the pattern of ours, which is to be without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, pure as the light in which God dwells in the kingdom of heaven, the very place into which He has entered; this glory is to be the residence of His people for ever. (R. Watson.)
The extent of the Divine condescension
God, in addition to the bare faculty of dwelling on a multiplicity of objects at one and the same time, has this faculty in such wonderful perfection, that He can attend as fully, and provide as richly, and manifest all His attributes as illustriously, on every one of these objects, as if the rest had no existence, and no place whatever in His government or in His thoughts.
I. For the evidence of this position, we appeal, in the first place, to the personal history of each individual. His eye is upon every hour of my existence. His Spirit is intimately present with every thought of my heart. His inspiration gives birth to every purpose within me. His hand impresses a direction on every footstep of my goings. Every breath I inhale is drawn by an energy which God deals out to me. And what God is doing with me, He is doing with every individual.
2. But, secondly, were the mind of God so fatigued, and so occupied with the care of other worlds, as the objection presumes Him to be, should we not see some traces of neglect or of carelessness in His management of ours? Should we not behold, in many a field of observation, the evidence of its Master being overcrowded with the variety of His other engagements?
3. But, thirdly, it was the telescope, that, by piercing the obscurity which lies between us and distant worlds, put infidelity in possession of the argument against which we are now contending. But, about the time of its invention, another instrument was formed which laid open a scene no less wonderful, and rewarded the inquisitive spirit of man with a discovery which serves to neutralize the whole of this argument. This was the microscope. The one led me to see a system in every star. The other leads me to see a world in every atom. The one taught me that this mighty globe, with the whole burden of its people and of its countries, is but a grain of sand on the high field of immensity. The other teaches me that every grain of sand may harbour within it the tribes and the families of a busy population. They, therefore, who think that God will not put forth such a power, and such a goodness, and such a condescension in behalf of this world, as are ascribed to Him in the New Testament, because He has so many other worlds to attend to, think of Him as a man. They confine their view to the informations of the telescope, and forget altogether the informations of the other instruments. They only find room in their minds for His one attribute of a large and general superintendence; and keep out of their remembrance the equally impressive proofs we have for His other attribute, of a minute and multiplied attention to all that diversity of operations, where it is He that worketh all in all. And when I think that as one of the instruments of philosophy has heightened our every impression of the first of these attributes, so another instrument has no less heightened our impression of the second of them–then I can no longer resist the conclusion, that it would be a transgression of sound argument, as well as a daring of impiety, to draw a limit around the doings of this unsearchable God–and should a professed revelation from heaven tell me of an act of condescension in behalf of some separate world, so wonderful that angels desired to look into it, and the Eternal Son had to move from His seat of glory to carry it into accomplishment, all I ask is the evidence of such a revelation; for, let it tell me as much as it may of God letting Himself down for the benefit of one single province of His dominions, this is no more than what I see lying scattered, in numberless examples before me–and running through the whole line of my recollections–and meeting me in every walk of observation to which I can betake myself; and, now that the microscope has unveiled the wonders of another region, I see strewed around me, with a profusion which baffles my every attempt to comprehend it, the evidence that there is no one portion of the universe of God too minute for His notice, nor too humble for the visitations of His care. What a grandeur does it throw over every step in the redemption of a fallen world, to think of its being done by Him who unrobed Him of the glories of so wide a monarchy, and came to this humblest of its provinces, in the disguise of a servant, and took upon Him the form of our degraded species, and let Himself down to sorrows and to sufferings and to death for us! (T. Chalmers, D.D.)
The nature, possibility and truth of a particular providence
I. State the doctrine of a particular providence.
1. We must not expect that Gods particular providence would interpose, where our own endeavours are sufficient. For that would be to encourage sloth and idleness, instead of countenancing and supporting virtue. Nor ought we to expect to be relieved from difficulties and distresses, into which our own mismanagement and criminal conduct have plunged us.
2. We must not expect that Providence would so far consult our private interest, as to counterwork that of the whole.
3. We are not to expect that Providence upon our repeated requests would grant what we imagine a blessing; there being several things which we think to be blessings, that are not so upon the whole, or not so to us. And Providence is not like an over-indulgent parent, who destroys the future happiness of His children, by complying with their importunate petitions, and removing their present uneasiness.
4. Nor must we hope that Providence will prevent every calamity that may befall good men. All that the assertors of a particular providence contend for is that, if He does not think fit to prevent it, He will either support them under it, or rescue them from it; or make all things, at the last winding up of the drama, work together for good to them who love Him.
II. Having stated the doctrine of a particular providence, prove the possibility of it. We must distinguish between the grand and fundamental laws of nature, and those of an inferior and subordinate nature. The economy of Nature may be in a great measure unalterable, as to the grand and fundamental laws, by which the universe is steered: such are those respecting the revolution of the heavenly bodies, the succession of day and night, and the round of the seasons. But there are subordinate and inferior laws, which God may alter without any seeming or visible alteration. And to recede from them, under proper limitations, occasionally at the instance of particular persons, may be no detriment to the universe, and yet of great importance to them. Such are the laws relating to the course of infectious and pestilential vapours, the state of the atmosphere, etc.
III. Prove the truth and certainty of a particular providence.
1. That the Deity should not grant every particular good man what is really for his good upon the whole, and no ways inconsistent with that of the public, must either argue that He is unwilling or that He is unable to grant it. Infinite goodness cannot but be willing to communicate happiness to every individual, who is not wanting to himself, and infinite power cannot but be able to bring about whatever His goodness wills.
2. God will respect and treat every man agreeably to what he is, and therefore there can be no irrespective course of things.
3. Instinct is a proof that providence extends itself to every particular brute; instinct being the immediate energy of the Deity acting upon each of the brute creation. Now, if Providence condescends to regard every individual in the brute creation so far as to act constantly in it and upon it, shall He not much more extend His care to every particular person in the rational world, and adapt His dispensations to the necessities of each single person in it?
4. Those who admit a general providence, but deny a particular one, seem to forget that generals are nothing but a collection of particulars; they are nothing but the sum total of individuals. And consequently as generals include particulars, a general providence must imply a particular one.
5. The surprising discoveries of murder, the fall of the wicked into the pit which they made for others; the strange and judicial infatuation of men, wise at all other times, when some great event was to be brought about, which can only be resolved into His power, who maketh the knowledge of the wise foolish, and turneth their counsels backwards; the indiscretion of others succeeding, when well-concerted plots have failed; the disproportion of the visible means to the effect; these are so many arguments to prove a particular providence at the helm, who has a perfect view of all things, whether great or small, at all times, and in all places, with infinitely more ease, than we can attend to one thing at once.
IV. Reflections.
1. Let us learn from hence to form the most august ideas of the Divine nature of which ours is capable.
2. Instead of scaring yourself with melancholy views, let it be a matter of joy and comfort to you, that, amidst all the confusion and madness of the world, men cannot faster perplex and entangle things than God can unravel them; or embroil the world, than He can bring order out of confusion.
3. Let us never do anything to throw ourselves out of His protection. While we enjoy the light of the Divine countenance, we need not be dejected at the frowns of the whole world. For if God be for us, it will in a short time signify little or nothing who was against us: but if He be against us, what will it signify who was for us? (J. Seed.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Who is like unto the Lord] Those who are highly exalted are generally unapproachable; they are proud and overbearing; or so surrounded with magnificence and flatterers, that to them the poor have no access; but God, though infinitely exalted, humbleth himself to behold even heaven itself, and much more does he humble himself when he condescends to behold earth and her inhabitants; (Ps 113:6.) But so does he love his creatures that he rejoices over even the meanest of them to do them good.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To wit, far above all heavens, as was now said, being exalted as in place, so in power and dignity, above all persons and things, visible and invisible.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Who is like unto the Lord our God,…. Among the gods of the nations, as Kimchi; or among the angels of heaven, or among any of the mighty monarchs on earth; there is none like him for the perfections of his nature, for his wisdom, power, truth, and faithfulness; for his holiness, justice, goodness, grace, and mercy; who is eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; nor for the works of his hands, his works of creation, providence, and grace; none ever did the like: and what makes this reflection the more delightful to truly good men is, that this God is their God; and all this is true of our Immanuel, God with us; who is God over all, and the only Saviour and Redeemer; and there is none in heaven and earth like him, or to be desired besides him.
Who dwelleth on high? in the high and holy place, in the highest heaven, which is his throne; or “who exalteth himself to dwell” s; so the Targum,
“he exalteth his habitation to dwell,”
suitable to the dignity and the greatness of his majesty; as he is high and above all, so he has fixed his habitation in the highest heavens; as he is self-existent, he is self-exalted, and none can exalt him as himself; he is exalted above all blessing and praise; and if it is an exaltation of him to dwell in the highest heavens, what an exaltation will it be of the saints to dwell with him there, in those mansions in his house which Christ is gone to prepare for them! This clause may be applied to Christ, who, both previous to his humiliation, and after it, dwelt in the highest heavens with his Father, in his bosom, from whence he came down on earth, and whither he is gone again, and is highly exalted there.
s “sustollens se ad habitandum”, Montanus; “qui se elevat”, Pagninus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5 Who is like unto Jehovah our God The prophet strengthens his position for the celebration of God’s praises, by contrasting the height of his glory and power with his unbounded goodness. Not that his goodness can be separated from his glory; but this distinction is made out of regard to men, who would not be able to endure his majesty, were he not kindly to humble himself, and gently and kindly draw us towards him. The amount is, that God’s dwelling above the heavens, at such a distance from us, does not prevent him from showing himself to be near at hand, and plainly providing for our welfare; and, in saying that God is exalted above the heavens, he magnifies his mercy towards men, whose condition is mean and despicable, and informs us that he might righteously hold even angels in contempt, were it not that, moved by paternal regard, he condescends to take them under his care. If in regard to angels he humble himself, what is to be said in regard to men, who, grovelling upon the earth, are altogether filthy? Is it asked, whether or not God fills heaven and earth? The answer is obvious. The words of the prophet simply mean, that God may trample the noblest of his creatures under his feet, or rather that, by reason of their infinite distance, he may entirely disregard them. In short, we must conclude that it is not from our proximity to him, but from his own free choice, that he condescends to make us the objects of his peculiar care.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
5. Who dwelleth on high Literally, who maketh high to sit; that is, who exalteth his throne, for the sitting is that of a king for judgment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 687
GREATNESS AND CONDESCENSION OF GOD
Psa 113:5-8. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
VERILY, God is to be praised: from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, his name should be glorious: He is above all blessing and praise. Whether we consider what he is in himself, or what he is to us, we cannot but exclaim, Who is like unto the Lord? If men be not filled with admiring and adoring thoughts of him, it is because they know him not, neither contemplate him: but we can scarcely fail of being in some measure suitably impressed with his excellency, if we consider those perfections of his which are set before us in our text:
I.
His greatness
[But how shall we convey any idea of this! If we speak of created things, however great, we can give some kind of statement, which, though very inadequate, will convey a slight notion at least of the subject. However great the disparity between a monarch and a worm, or between the globe and a grain of sand, there is something whereon we may ground a comparison between them, and something to which we may affix tolerably definite ideas. But between the Creator and the creature there is no point of contact. If we attempt to declare his immensity, and say, that in all the boundless regions of space God is every where, and as entirely present in every different spot as if he were no where in the universe besides, what are we the nearer to any just apprehension of him? Our intellect is not capable of conceiving of him aright. Were a peasant told respecting the motions and distances and mutual dependence of the heavenly bodies, how much of it would he understand? It would be far above his comprehension: he could not embrace any part of the system. So, if we presume to speak of the greatness and incomprehensibility of Jehovah, we only darken counsel by words without knowledge: it is a knowledge too wonderful for us; we cannot attain unto it. The sentiments of Zophar on this subject are well worthy of our attention: Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea [Note: Job 11:7-9.]. And Elihu, another of Jobs friends, exactly to the same purpose says, Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out [Note: Job 37:23.]. Sometimes indeed God is pleased to give us some little glimpse of his majesty; light enough, if we may so speak, to make our darkness visible. Thus by the Prophet Isaiah he asks, Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. He then adds, To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him [Note: Isa 40:12; Isa 40:15; Isa 40:17-18.]? The Psalmist also, with exquisite beauty, thus sets forth the glory of his majesty: O Lord my God, thou art very great: thou art clothed with honour and majesty: who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind; who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire [Note: Psa 104:1-4.]. But, after all, what idea does this description give us of Him, who filleth all things, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain? We are altogether at a loss on so mysterious a subject; which therefore we close with that declaration of the Psalmist, His greatness is unsearchable [Note: Psa 145:3.].]
But though we can add nothing to what is said in the words before our text, The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens, yet we see in this what will serve to illustrate the depth of,
II.
His condescension
[He humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven: yes, if he deign to cast an eye upon the highest angels and archangels, it is an act of infinite condescension: for, intelligent as they are in comparison of us, he chargeth them with folly; and pure as heaven itself is in comparison of earth, it is not clean in his sight [Note: Job 4:18; Job 15:15.]. But he will stoop even to look down on earth, yea and on the meanest and vilest of its inhabitants, provided they do but humble themselves before him. The poor and needy, even in their lowest state, ever have been, and ever shall be, objects of his peculiar regard. Men may be low in station, in character, and in spirit; but he will notice them notwithstanding. The description given us of Lazarus, represents a condition more deplorable than usually falls to the lot of man yet was he set forth as an object of the tenderest compassion to Almighty God. The dying thief may well be adduced as amongst the most degraded of the human race yet did the Saviour honour him with an express and audible assurance, that he should that very day be with him in Paradise. To the man that is poor and of a contrite spirit God has promised in a more especial manner to look, in order to revive and comfort his drooping spirit. Only let a person lie in the dust before God, and sit, like Job, upon the dunghill, from a consciousness of his own extreme unworthiness, and God will fly instantly to his relief: he will raise the poor out of the dust, and lift up the needy out of the dunghill: nor is there any dignity, however high, to which he will not exalt him: he will set him among the princes, even with the princes of his people: yes, he will cause him to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, and to reign with them in glory for ever and ever.
Perhaps the primary import of our text may be found in the elevation of such men as Saul and David from the lowest offices to the throne of Israel: but in the psalm, as well as in the Song of Hannah, from whence it is taken [Note: 1Sa 2:8.], we must undoubtedly look for a higher meaning, even the elevation of an immortal soul from the lowest state of sin and misery to all the glory and felicity of heaven. Would we have a just conception of the change which by the tender mercy of our God shall be wrought on the poor and contrite, we may behold our blessed Lord raised from the grave, to which with unparalleled ignominy he had been committed, and exalted to the right hand of God, above all the principalities and powers both of earth and heaven. Thus will the poor and contrite soul be raised from guilt to peace, from sin to holiness, from the very gates of hell even to the throne of God.]
Does our God so condescend to you? then let me call on you,
1.
To adore him
[Frequently does this expression occur in the Holy Scriptures, O Lord, who is like unto thee? And continually should the thought be in our minds. It is impossible to know any thing of the condescension and grace of God, and not be lost in wonder and in praise. We say not that livelier emotions of joy are wrong; but they are always to be suspected, if they be not blended with a considerable measure of self-lothing and self-abhorrence. Profound adoration seems to be the proper posture of a redeemed soul. O ye poor, whose station is so low that the greater part of your fellow-creatures would scarcely deign to notice you, think what love God has shewn towards you, if he has made you rich in faith and heirs of his kingdom [Note: Jam 2:5.] And ye whose character has been so degraded as to have almost resembled that of the Corinthians, think what reason you have to adore your God, if it can be said of you, as of them, But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God [Note: 1Co 6:9-11.]. Above all, ye drooping and desponding souls, who once were ready to say, There is no hope, what thanks can ye give for those rich assurances and consolations which now form a very foretaste of heaven in your souls? And in all these changes, consider chiefly the means which have been used to effect them. It is not by a mere act of mercy that God has wrought these things for you, but by taking on himself your miseries, that ye may be partakers of his glory. To view the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ aright, you must bear in mind, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich [Note: 2Co 8:9.]. Yes: He was made sin for you, that you might be made the righteousness of God in him [Note: 2Co 5:21.]. O bless him, praise him, magnify him, and adore him, and let all that is within you bless his holy name.]
2.
To trust in him
[The greatest discouragements of the saints arise from a view of their own unworthiness. But God, if I may so speak, loves to see you in the dust and on the dunghill. The lower you are abased before him, the more he delights to exalt you. He even derives to himself a glory from the very depths to which he condescends for you. Add not then to all your other sins, that most hateful one of limiting his mercy. If your sins have ever so much abounded, his grace will much more abound, if only ye seek it in Christ Jesus, your Mediator and Redeemer. If you attempt to measure Gods love and mercy by any created standard, you must of necessity dishonour him exceedingly: for there is nothing finite that will admit of a comparison with him who is infinite. As for his mercy, he most of all is grieved to have that disparaged, because it is the attribute in which he chiefly delights. Whatever then be your sins, or sorrows, or wants, or fears, cast them all on him, and know that you shall never be disappointed: for as his majesty is, so also is his mercy.]
3.
To glorify him
[We have no fear, but that if once you are led to trust in him aright, your most anxious inquiry will be, What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me? Methinks you will of yourselves be panting after opportunities to testify to him your love and gratitude [Note: Jer 10:6-7.]. You will see, that to surrender up yourselves wholly to him is your reasonable service [Note: Rom 12:1.]. Knowing that you are not your own, but are bought with a price, you will long to glorify God with your body and your spirit, which are his [Note: 1Co 6:20.]. We call you then to this blessed duty, to live no more unto yourselves, but unto Him who died for you and rose again. He has made you most blessed among men; for who is like unto thee, O Israel, O people saved by the Lord [Note: Deu 33:29.]? O let it be seen then, that he has made you also the most holy of all the people upon earth. He has set you among the princes now, that you may have fellowship with all the holy Prophets and Apostles of old: and by walking in their steps, you will soon arrive at those blissful mansions, where you shall share with them in their inheritance, and be yourselves kings and priests unto God and our Father for ever and ever.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 113:5 Who [is] like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
Ver. 5. Who is like, &c. ] See Psa 89:6 . He is imparallel.
Who dwelleth on high
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 113:5-9 c
5Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8To make them sit with princes,
With the princes of His people.
9He makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
Psa 113:5 Who is like the Lord our God Notice both YHWH and Elohim are used for the Deity of Israel (see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY .
Who is enthroned on high This is parallel to Psa 113:4 b. It is an idiom of kingship (cf. Psa 103:19). YHWH is king (note 1Sa 8:7). The ancient Israelites viewed their God as sitting on His throne above the atmosphere of the earth with His feet resting (i.e., footstool) on the ark of the covenant. The ark’s lid was where heaven and earth symbolically met!
Psa 113:6
NASB, NKJVWho humbles Himself
NRSVwho looks far down
TEV, NEThe bends down to see
NJBhe stoops to look down
JPSOAsee what is below
REBdeigns to look down so low
This unusual phrase denotes that YHWH knows what is happening on earth, especially to His people (cf. Exo 3:7-8; Psa 138:6 a,b).
The LXX translates this verse as YHWH looking on the lowly (i.e., humans).
The Peshitta translates it as the deep and makes it one of three levels of this planet.
1. atmosphere
2. land
3. water
in heaven and in the earth This is speaking of this planet and its atmosphere. See SPECIAL TOPIC: HEAVEN .
Psa 113:9 a,b All of the wives of the early Patriarchs were barren, but YHWH opened their wombs.
1. Sarah – Gen 21:6
2. Rebekah – Gen 25:21
3. Rachel – Gen 30:22-23
However, a child was a special act of YHWH to show
1. His care
2. His power
3. His plan for Israel and the whole world (cf. Psa 113:4)
See Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan .
Psa 113:9 c The Psalm ends as it began. Some scholars see this line as the beginning of the next Psalm (LXX). This phrase is the introduction to Psalms 111; Psalms 112; Psalms 113.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. List the descriptions of God.
2. How does God humble Himself? (Psa 113:6)
3. Which verse speaks of monotheism?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Who is like . . . ? This is ever the outburst of the saints’ praise. See note on Exo 15:11.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
like: Psa 89:6, Psa 89:8, Exo 15:11, Deu 33:26, Isa 40:18, Isa 40:25, Isa 16:5, Jer 10:6
dwelleth: Heb. exalteth himself to dwell
Reciprocal: 1Ki 8:23 – no God 1Ki 8:30 – and hear 2Ch 6:18 – But will Job 16:19 – on high Job 21:22 – he judgeth Psa 7:7 – return Psa 21:13 – Be thou Psa 123:1 – O thou Psa 138:6 – Though Isa 6:1 – high Isa 12:4 – his name Isa 33:5 – he dwelleth Isa 46:5 – General Isa 63:15 – the habitation Jer 23:23 – General Jer 49:19 – who is like Dan 2:11 – whose Mic 7:18 – a God Luk 12:6 – and