Psalm 113:7-9 – “Good Management”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷Raising [the] poor from the dust, He raises [the] needy from the dung pile,

⁸to make [him] dwell with nobles, with the nobles of his people,

⁹making [the] barren [woman] to dwell [in] the house, the mother of the sons,

    joyful.

Praise the LORD.

These are amazing verses. Who knows? I might have to write several blogs to cover all I think I’m learning.

In verses 4 and 5 we praised the Lord because He is the High God, the One who sits enthroned above everything. In verses 1-3, we acknowledged this great God is worthy of praise from everyone, everywhere, all the time. He simply is El Elyon, the Most High God.

Then in v6 we marveled at the fact that this Most High God stoops down to observe what is happening here. As I said earlier, that is so unlike humans who, as they rise “higher,” get more and more inaccessible. It is and always has been endearing to any people where their rulers “come down” to actually be with their people and care about them.

That reminds me of a very large factory where several friends of mine worked, the Braun Corporation in Winamac, Indiana. Ralph Braun started the business in his garage and, over the years, turned it into a massive international business. One day my friend was relating, with obvious affection, how for years Ralph had made it a point from time to time to simply travel around the plant and visit with his workers, listen to them, encourage them, and be aware of their needs. Those memories brought a big smile to my friend’s face, then suddenly his face fell, and he said sadly, “He doesn’t do that anymore.”

Such is our habit as human beings and sadly so.

Wonder of wonders is that the Most High God isn’t like that. He “stoops down” to see us.

“But,” someone might ask, “What does He stoop down to see? What does He stoop down for? Why does He ‘visit’ us?”

What does He stoop down for? I think this is precisely a point of profound consequence. What is your answer or mine? What, in your heart of hearts, do you believe He “stoops down” for? I fear that too many people, if they were honest, would say they fear He stoops down to look at their life and judge them. He stoops down to see their faults and failures, to punish them for their sins. In their heart of hearts, they would prefer He just stay up in Heaven and not be stooping down. Would I be wrong to suggest that is how most people see God – that that is the very reason why they keep Him at arms’ length, why they shut him out of their thoughts – because they fear He will only criticize them? Who hasn’t heard preachers warning them, “God is watching you! You’d better do what’s right!” And granted there is an element of truth to that statement. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But it is only the beginning. The end of wisdom is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength and your neighbor as yourself.

And what Psalm 113:7-9 would teach us, I believe, is precisely this, to love the Lord our God.

How so?

Look at the passage. When our God stoops down, what does He do?

He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
He settles the childless woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.

Grace. Grace. Grace. Our God stoops down to do us good! Isn’t that precisely what He said? “For God sent not His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17). When God Himself stepped down and walked in our world, what did He do? He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, made the lame to walk again, and died on a Cross to save us from our sins! Our God is to us a Rock, a Refuge, a Shelter in the time of storm. He would whisper in our ear, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to do you good and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”

Someone might ask, “But what about like Sodom and Gomorrah? God stooped down to see them and rained fire and sulfur to destroy them. Yes, that is true. But “even in judgment, He remembers mercy.” Read Psalm 113 again and realize that judgment is not what He lives for. He is love. He would have far rather seen them repent and, like Jonah and Nineveh, He would have spared them and blessed them instead.

I am marveling in these thoughts this week. I thought a lot about the High God earlier. I don’t know that I’ve ever been impressed before with just how high He is, that His infinity stretches out to the furthest star and down to the tiniest atom. But then to think that same God stoops down to care about me? That He stoops down not to judge me – which I deeply deserve – but rather to love me and do me good???? Mi-cha-el?? Who is like our God?? Amazing grace. How sweet the sound!

But while I’m marveling in who God is, my heart turns to who we are. Having studied this, I think I now really, really understand why it so saddened my friend’s heart, “He doesn’t do that anymore.” Do you see what I see? It is godly to stoop down and care about the people “below” us. What Ralph was doing was right. We should “get around” and see “our” people. We should not let our “position” make us inaccessible, but instead use it to do good to our people. That is good management. It is good rule. And it is good because it is godly!

I guess what is impacting me most is simply seeing this quality in God. No wonder the people loved Diana. As always, here I sit at His feet, seeing Him in His glory, and I understand in a new and deeper way who I want to be – and why. Oh, to see His face, how different would we be as managers and teachers and parents – to have hearts filled with grace that long not to condemn our world, but to save it through Him? – to make it a point of our everyday lives to use “position” (whatever that might mean) to do people good???

No wonder His name is Redeemer. “O, to be like Thee.”