Psalm 113:7

Psalm 113:7

He raises the poor and needy

n the human order of things, the higher up the ladder of fame, prosperity and power you go, the greater the respect that you are shown. It comes with the territory, and it is expected by those who climb that ladder; indeed, we call them social climbers! Some of us have had a lifetime of watching from the sidelines as the high and mighty in the world have come and gone, I cannot recall any who gave the Lord God credit for their success or who gave Him glory in the way they conducted themselves. Queen Elizabeth 11 was certainly a religious, Christian lady who spoke of her faith from time to time, but I can think of no others like her. The interesting fact is that this verse tells us that the Lord God Almighty does not align Himself with the rich and famous, it’s as if the very act of climbing that ladder draws individuals away from Him and takes them ever closer to the one who is the ruler of this world – the devil! Instead, God “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.”

As we have seen before, dust and ashes may be metaphors for a state of mind, but the context suggests that the men and women referred to here are in a state of extreme poverty and need. They are unable to help themselves, the world has deserted them, they have been given up for dead. Dust is the equivalent of death and burial, and ash is the equivalent of cremation and incineration; both states spell the end of life and of purpose in this world. So, isn’t it amazing that our God should notice those in such conditions of distress and desperation and reach down to raise these folk to life? He saves from death. He saves from poverty. He saves those who the rest of us have given up on. He lifts them up. That is why churches should not be full of middle-class attendees but places of refuge for the people who have been discarded and rejected by the world. Our psalmist is telling us that these are the ones the Lord wants to raise up. Hallelujah!

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