“Who is like the LORD our God, Who is seated on high, Who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 113:5-9
Devotional Thought For The Day
The psalmist began by calling us to praise the Lord. In these latter verses he expresses the reasons for praising the Lord our God. Yes, He is seated on high. Yes, He is far above creation, the whole cosmos with its vast expanse. But He is also attentive to the poor and needy, and cares deeply for the lonely. He has power to remedy all of our ills and needs and He loves us. Whatever blessings we have, whatever our prerogatives and prestige in this life, it is the Lord Who has lifted us up and blessed us. In truth, we have no power of our own and we remain vulnerable to a host of things that threaten our peace and prosperity – including the sinful aggression of other people. That we continue to have an abundance of blessings to enjoy and celebrate is due to the Lord, and He is indeed worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.
Has He lifted you up and blessed you? Then we are among the “princes” of His people. We tend only to look at those we perceive as being above us – and we want more prestige, more loftiness, more ability to choose and enjoy. Instead, we should look to those whom God is lifting up to sit with us – the poor, the needy, the lonely! These are also people whom God dearly loves and He seeks to bless them through us, to express His love for them and give them joy through us. We are invited and incorporated into His loving care for all people when we also rejoice to interact with all people and when we do what we can to alleviate suffering and need. We are, after all, to love as He has loved us. So one of the more critical things for us to be learning is just how the Lord has in fact loved us and lifted us up! Then we can consider how we are to pass His love on to others.
If ever we forget just how He has lifted us up we need only consider our sin and guilt which warrants the sentence of death. He has not left us guilty and defiled, however, and without hope of redemption. Rather He has forgiven all of our sins and cleansed us from all of our iniquities, and He continues to do so each day. Rather He has embraced us with His love and made known to us His salvation. Rather He has given us the gift of faith and new life, and continues to work within us both to will and to do of His good pleasure [Phil. 2:13]. No, we are not yet perfect, not even close, for we still sin much and even our righteousnesses are still as filthy rags. Nonetheless, He utilizes us for those good works which He has foreordained that we should be walking in them [Eph. 2:10], and this includes many opportunities to also comfort and serve the lowly whom the Lord is lifting up.
It is a somewhat dizzying reorientation to think of our purpose in life as not the pursuit of what pleases us but rather to serve those around us. It contradicts every fiber of our sinful nature. However, when we are blessed with the wisdom to grasp the reality of God’s great pleasure – to bless us and lift us up, we slowly come around to understand that we can entrust our good and welfare to Him, and this frees us from preoccupation with self-interest. We also come to understand that the greatest blessings in this life are still temporal and incomplete; our true fulfillment, happiness, and joy are yet to come – and the Lord has provided this for us as well. He has promised to raise us up with perfect and immortal bodies on the Last Day, to inhabit new heavens and a new earth, the home of righteousness [2 Pet. 3:13]. For all of this the psalmist is correct: “Praise the Lord!”
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to see and understand how You have lifted us up and blessed us, and to grow in understanding and perspective so that we truly fulfill Your blessed purposes. Thank You for all that You have done for us to save us, for Your tender and perfect love. Make us daily more appreciative of Your blessings and more attentive to blessing and lifting up others, in accordance with Your will. Amen