Day 2798 Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 113:1-9 – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Day 2798 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2798 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 113:1-9 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2798 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2798 of our trek. The purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title of today’s Wisdom-Trek is: The Hallel Begins – The High God Who Stoops Low Today, we cross a significant threshold in our journey through the Psalter. We are stepping into Psalm 113, covering the entire hymn, verses 1-9, in the New Living Translation. To understand the shift we are making today, we need to look back at the trail we have just hiked. For the last two days, we have been trekking through Psalm 111 and Psalm 112. Those two psalms were a matched pair—twin "acrostic" poems that functioned like a classroom. They taught us the "A to Z" of God’s character and the "A to Z" of the godly person’s character. They were wisdom psalms, designed to be studied, pondered, and memorized in the quiet of the study hall. But today, the bell rings, and the class is dismissed. We are moving from the study hall to the Festival. Psalm 113 marks the beginning of a special collection known as the "Egyptian Hallel" (Psalms 113-118). These six psalms were, and still are, the liturgical soundtrack of the Passover Seder. They celebrate God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. In Jewish tradition, Psalms 113 and 114 are sung before the Passover meal, and Psalms 115 through 118 are sung after the meal. This means that on the night Jesus was betrayed, just before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, He likely sang these very words with His disciples. So, as we read this psalm, we are not just reading poetry; we are stepping into the Upper Room. We are hearing the song that fortified the Messiah for the cross. The theme of this psalm is a magnificent paradox. It presents Yahweh as the God who is Infinitely High—seated above the nations and the heavens—yet who insists on stooping Infinitely Low to lift the poor from the dust and the barren woman from her grief. It is the theology of the Great Descent. So, let us lift our voices with the choir of history and begin the Hallel. The first segment is: The Call to the Servants: A Praise without Borders. Psalm 113:1-3 Praise the Lord!Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever. Everywhere—from east to west— praise the name of the Lord. The psalm opens with the signature shout of the Hallel: "Hallelujah!" ("Praise the Lord!"). But notice who is being addressed: "Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord." This is not a general call to the world; it is a specific command to the "servants" (abdei) of Yahweh. In the context of the Passover, this is deeply significant. In Egypt, the Israelites were "servants of Pharaoh." They built his cities; they bowed to his gods. But the Exodus transferred their allegiance. They were redeemed from the house of bondage so they could become servants of the True King. Only a servant who has been set free knows the true value of the Master. And what are they praising? "Praise the name of the Lord!" As we have discussed in previous treks, the "Name" (Shem) is not just a label; it represents the reputation, the character, and the presence of God. It is the reality of who He is. The psalmist then expands the dimensions of this praise in two directions: Time and Space. First, Time: "Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever." Literally, "From this time forth and forevermore." The praise of Yahweh is not a fad. It is not tied to a single dynasty or a single temple. It is an eternal activity. Even when the temple is destroyed, the Name remains blessed. Second, Space: "Everywhere—from east to west—praise the name of the Lord." The literal Hebrew phrase is, "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of Yahweh is to be praised." In the Ancient Israelite worldview, the sun was often worshipped as a god (Ra in Egypt, Shamash in Babylon). The daily journey of the sun across the sky was seen as the jurisdiction of the solar deity. But here, the psalmist demotes the sun. He says the sun is merely a timekeeper for Yahweh’s worship. The sun’s job is simply to mark the boundaries of God’s praise. As the sun travels from the eastern horizon to the western sea, it is illuminating a world that belongs entirely to the Lord. This is a claim of universal dominion. It means there is no place on earth—no time zone, no longitude—where the praise of God is inappropriate. The second segment is: The Incomparable God: The View from the High Council. Psalm 113:4-6 For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens. Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. Now, the psalmist gives the theological reason for this praise. He establishes the absolute transcendence of God. "For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens." This language takes us directly into the Divine Council worldview as taught by Dr. Michael Heiser. Remember, since the Tower of Babel (Deuteronomy Thirty-two: eight), the "nations" (goyim) were disinherited by Yahweh and placed under the authority of lesser spiritual beings (the "sons of God" or elohim). These nations had their own gods, their own territories, and their own glory. But the psalmist declares that Yahweh is "high above" all of them. He is not just a local deity competing for space on the map. He is the Most High (Elyon). His jurisdiction supersedes the boundaries of the nations. Furthermore, His glory is "higher than the heavens." The "heavens" are the dwelling place of the spiritual powers—the angels, the seraphim, the divine council. Yahweh is not just the Chairman of the Board; He is in a class by Himself. His glory bursts the container of the cosmos. This leads to the central challenge of the psalm: "Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high?" Literally, "Who is like Yahweh our Elohim?" This is the great rhetorical question of the Old Testament (Exodus Fifteen: eleven, Psalm Eighty-nine: six). In the assembly of the "holy ones"—in the midst of the millions of spiritual entities that exist—is there any peer to Yahweh? The answer is a resounding No. He is Species Unique. He is the Uncreated One. Everyone else—from the highest archangel to the smallest insect—is creature. He alone is Creator. This is the doctrine of Incomparability. But here is the twist. What makes Him incomparable? Is it just His power? Is it just His height? No. It is His Humility. "He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth." The Hebrew here is stunning. It literally says, "He humbles Himself to see." God is so high that He has to bend over just to see the "heavens." Think about that. To us, the heavens (the stars, the angels) are "up." But to God, the heavens are "down." The highest archangel is beneath His feet. If He has to stoop to see the angels, how much more does He have to stoop to see us on the earth? In pagan religions, the gods were often depicted as distant, needing to be woken up or fed by humans. They didn't "stoop." They demanded that humans climb up to them. But Yahweh is the God who comes down. He is the God who humbles Himself. This verse is the Old Testament precursor to Philippians 2, where Jesus, "being in very nature God... humbled himself." The glory of God is not just that He is high; it is that being so high, He chooses to be with the lowly. The third segment is: The Great Reversal: From the Ash Heap to the Throne. Psalm 113:7-9 He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people! He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord! Because God is the "Stooping God," He engages in social engineering. He reverses the order of the world. "He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump." The word for...