By Michael Weaver
Psalm 113:
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens.
Is God always worthy?
How does this question strike you today? Is there no question in your mind and heart? Does it bother you that I would even pose such a question? Wherever you find yourself today, I invite you to linger with that question, or even just the word worthy for a little bit. Take five minutes or more (even 15–20 minutes) and sit in silence with that word. Breathing in, breathing out, and repeating the word as you do so. What happens within you as you do this?
Psalm 113 proclaims God’s worthiness. You could say it’s even a little excessive in doing so; in just the first three verses alone, we’re already admonished to praise the Lord four times. Today, we’ve just passed the six-week mark in the season of Lent. That’s 32 days of 40, starting with Ash Wednesday (Sundays are traditionally omitted as resurrection celebrations through the season). Yesterday, you spent some time in Psalm 109. I don’t know what verse, section, or part as I write this, but that psalm is an ardent cry to the God of our praise (109:1). David desperately cries out, “God, do not be silent! Vindicate and deliver me in your steadfast love.” David proclaims that, even in the midst of great difficulty, he will praise the Lord (109:30). And that’s exactly how we learn, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is always praiseworthy.
I love the paradox of the rest of Psalm 113 as it proclaims God as high and lofty, and yet personally and intimately involved in your life and the world in every way. Praise the Lord!
Prayer: God of our praise, blessed be your name and reign in our individual lives and the world from this time on and forevermore. In your grace today, raise us to your throne of grace. And as evening comes, may we find ourselves still singing your praise. Amen.