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546_Who is like the Lord our God?

Psalm 113 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 forth 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!
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

The year was 1857. A man named Hudson Taylor stood on the deck of a ship bound for China. The voyage was long and perilous, and the young missionary was only twenty-one years old. He had no wealthy patrons, no mission board to fund his journey, and no guarantee of success. What he did have was an unshakable conviction that the God who called him was able. Despite the seeming rashness or even folly of his decision. Hudson Taylor based it on his conviction that, “There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all He has promised.”

Taylor’s life of faith changed millions of lives. His confidence was not in himself, but in the Lord his God. His heart echoed the praise of the psalmist: “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (Psalm 113:5–6).

Psalm 113 fixes our eyes on the greatness and goodness of God. It is part of a beautiful collection of psalms known as the Hallel, meaning “praise.” These psalms (113–118) were traditionally sung during the great Jewish feasts, including Passover. Our Lord likely sang this very psalm with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, before they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30).

It begins with a call:
“Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!” (v.1)

The psalmist reminds us that God’s servants have a special reason to praise. We are not merely His subjects; we are His redeemed ones. We were once outside his kingdom because of our sins. We deserved the wages of death. Yet he forgave us, called us into His fellowship, and made us share in His divine nature. What a privilege it is to serve such a God!

The praise of God should not be occasional or mechanical. Verse 3 declares, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” He is worthy of praise all the time, in all generations. His mercies are new every morning. The more we walk with Him, the more reasons we find to worship Him. Every sunrise brings a fresh reminder that His steadfast love endures forever.

The psalmist continues:
“The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!” (v.4)

The Lord is not a tribal or regional deity, tied to one place or people. He reigns over all nations. His glory is not confined to a temple or a mountain; it stretches above the heavens. His sovereignty is universal, His wisdom infinite, His power unsearchable. And so the psalmist marvels:

“Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (v.5–6)

The answer resounds through all creation: there is none like Him. The gods of the nations are idols, created and not creators. They can do nothing, but God sits enthroned in majesty, higher than the very heavens. Yet He sees all that goes on, in heaven and on earth. The powers and authorities that overawe men, whether on earth or in heaven, are beneath this watchful gaze.

Saul of Tarsus—later the apostle Paul—came face to face with this fact while on his way to Damascus, to persecute the disciples of Christ there. He thought he was defending God’s honor by attacking the followers of Jesus. But when he was almost there, a brilliant light from heaven shone around him, and he heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” Trembling, Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” And the answer came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” In that moment, Saul understood that he had been resisting the One who was sent from heaven, and who now spoke from heaven. He was opposing, not a mere man, far less a blasphemer, but the Son of God, the Lord of glory. The exalted Christ revealed Himself to a man blinded by pride, and that encounter turned Saul into Paul—his passionate servant.

Isaiah 44:6–7 echoes this question:
“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it… let them declare what is to come.”

God’s challenge was simple: anyone who claims to be God must prove it by his knowledge of the past and the future, for time is completely open only to God. Knowing the past provides us with our sense of identity; knowing the future gives us hope. When we forget who God is, we lose sight of who we are. When we lose faith in His sovereignty, we lose hope for tomorrow. But knowing him gives us both purpose and peace.

The psalmist reveals the heart of God through his deeds, this incomparable God. Verses 7 and 8 declare:
“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.”

God, reigning on high, stoops to gently raise the poor and needy from the dust heap of poverty, contempt, and rejection. He raises them up, not just to a respectable place, but to a place of honor among the noble. Joseph’s story in Genesis exemplifies this truth. Sold as a slave by his brothers, falsely accused, and thrown into prison, Joseph seemed to have no future. Yet God saw all that was done, and raised him to the highest place among Pharaoh’s servants, in a single moment. He became a prince in Egypt and the rescuer of his people.

God delights to exalt the humble and bring beauty out of ashes. This isn’t just Joseph’s story—it’s ours too. His grace lifts every believer from the hopelessness and guilt of sin to the heavenly places where they sit with Christ our Savior at the right hand of God (Ephesians 2:6). It finds us where we are and places us where we could never reach on our own.

The second example in the psalm is just as moving:
“He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.” (v.9)

Throughout human history, barrenness has been considered a mark of disgrace. But God shows His tenderness toward those who feel forgotten or fruitless. Hannah, mother of Samuel, wept year after year as she was mocked by her rival for her childlessness. Yet she brought her pain before God in desperate faith. And God gave her, not just any baby, but Samuel, one of Israel’s greatest prophets, and the one who anointed David.

The psalmist echoes her song of praise, where she cried, “There is none holy like the Lord; there is no rock like our God.”

Psalm 113 reminds us that God is not only exalted in majesty; He is tender in mercy. The One who rules the galaxies also wipes away the tears of the humble. The One enthroned above the heavens stoops down to comfort the brokenhearted. No one else is like Him.

Hudson Taylor once said, “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.” When we see God as He is—as this psalm does: majestic, merciful, incomparable—we can live in faith rather than fear.

When we, like Joseph, seem to be imprisoned in futility and rejection; like Hannah, frustrated in barrenness; or like Saul, we resist the very One who loves us; let us lift our eyes in faith to the Lord who is sovereign and kind, and hang on. From the rising of the sun to its setting, let His praise never leave our lips. For the Lord who reigns above the heavens is the one who saves us when we are lowest. God bless.