The big picture
Psalm 113 keeps lifting the reader’s eyes until even heaven is below the one being praised, then drops the gaze all the way to dust, a dunghill, and a household marked by barrenness. The Book of Psalms makes that vertical movement its main argument. Divine greatness is not measured by distance from ordinary need, but by the fact that the one above nations and heavens stoops to see and act below. The poor are raised into the company of princes, while the barren woman’s reversal occurs inside a home rather than a palace. Public honor and private joy stand side by side. The chapter’s briefness sharpens the contrast: the highest position in the poem becomes the reason the lowest circumstances are not overlooked.
Central truth
Psalm 113 praises the Lord whose glory rises above nations and heavens yet whose greatness is displayed in stooping to raise the poor, the needy, and the childless woman.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Psalms 113:1: “Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.”
Slow down at the turning point
Psalms 113:5: “Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,”
Keep this word trail visible
LORD, Praise, name, high, princes, barren
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Psalms 113:1-3
Praise in every direction
Begin with the call. The word praise sounds three times in verse 1, aimed at the servants of the Lord and at his name. Then time stretches forward, “from this time forth and for evermore”, and space stretches across the sky, from sunrise to sunset. Explain that this psalm opens the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, sung at the great feasts and at Passover, probably the hymn sung in Matthew 26:30. Teach the scale first so that the stooping of verse 6 comes as a surprise.
Psalms 113:4-6
High and stooping
Now the height: the Lord is high above all nations and his glory above the heavens. Then the question, “Who is like unto the LORD our God”, and the startling answer of verse 6: he humbles himself to look at heaven and earth. Explain that heaven itself lies below him, so he must stoop even to see it. Teach this as the hinge of the psalm. God's greatness shows in his willingness to look down, which prepares for where he looks.
Psalms 113:7-8
From the dunghill to the princes
Read verses 7-8 slowly: the poor in the dust, the needy on the dunghill, raised and seated with princes. Explain the dunghill as the town's refuse heap, where outcasts sat. Show that Hannah sang almost the same words in 1 Samuel 2:8 and that Mary's song in Luke 1:52-53 takes up the theme. This step makes the reversal concrete: the highest God reaches the lowest people and gives them honour, not merely relief.
Psalms 113:9
A home for the barren woman
End with the most personal reversal: the barren woman becomes a joyful mother of children. Explain the weight of childlessness in Israel and recall Sarah, Rachel and Hannah. Then handle it with great care. The psalm celebrates God's power to reverse shame; it does not say that every childless woman will bear children or that childlessness signals God's displeasure. Close with the final “Praise ye the LORD”, which gathers every reversal into worship.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
“God is too great to notice ordinary people.”
113:5-6 says the opposite. The God who dwells on high “humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth”. His height is the very reason his stooping matters. The next verse shows where he looks: at the poor in the dust and the needy on the dunghill (113:7). The psalm praises God precisely because the greatest one pays attention to the least.
“Verse 9 promises that every childless woman who prays will have children.”
The psalm praises God for reversing the shame of the barren, and Scripture records such reversals for Sarah, Rachel and Hannah. But it is a hymn about God's character, not a promise for each case. Many faithful women never bear children. Teach with great tenderness, never suggest that childlessness reflects a lack of faith, and remember that some in the room may be grieving.
“Raising the poor means God will make every poor person rich.”
113:7-8 shows God's heart for the lowly and his power to raise them to honour, as he did with Joseph, David and Hannah's son. It is a picture of his kingdom and his values, not a guarantee of wealth. It does call God's people to treat the poor as God does, with honour and attention. Keep the emphasis on dignity rather than money.
“Praise ye the LORD is just a filler phrase.”
It is the Hebrew hallelujah, and here it frames the psalm, opening it in 113:1 and closing it in 113:9. Between the two lies the reason: the God above the heavens stoops to raise the low. The closing word gathers the reversals into worship. Read it as a response to what has just been sung, not as a formula to rush past.
Learning objectives
- Trace the widening praise of verses 1–4.
- Explain the question “Who is like unto the LORD.”
- Hold divine height and divine stooping together.
- Identify the social reversals in verses 7–9.
- Explain why raising the poor reveals God’s greatness.
- Connect the opening and closing calls to praise.
Teacher preparation
- Mark every height word and every low-place word: high, heavens, humbleth, dust, dunghill, raises, princes.
- Notice the time-and-space sweep from now forever and sunrise to sunset.
- Prepare to explain “dunghill” as the refuse or ash heap, an image of extreme lowliness.
- Read Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1–10 beforehand because verse 7 closely echoes its reversal language.
- Handle verse 9 with care; the psalm celebrates reversal for the barren woman but does not condemn women who remain childless.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Verses 1–4 explicitly extend praise from the Lord’s servants to all times and from sunrise to sunset.
Scripture-supported
Verses 5–6 support the paradox of transcendence and attention: the God who dwells on high humbles himself to behold heaven and earth.
Strong inference
Verses 7–9 strongly present divine greatness through reversal, lifting the poor and needy and giving the barren woman a household of joy.
Possible or traditional reading
Some Christian readings connect the psalm’s reversal pattern with Mary’s song in Luke 1; the resonance is real, though Psalm 113 remains its own hymn.
Limit
Psalm 113 does not promise every poor person political elevation or every childless woman children within this life; it praises God through representative reversals.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. How large is the praise command in verses 1–3?
What a good answer contains
As far as it can go. It reaches persons, “O ye servants of the LORD” (113:1); time, “from this time forth and for evermore” (113:2); and space, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised” (113:3). A good answer sees every direction covered: who, how long and where. A weak answer stops at the first verse and treats the call as a temple duty only.
Show teacher guidance
It reaches servants, all future time, and the whole span from sunrise to sunset.
2. What makes the question in verse 5 more than a claim about height?
What a good answer contains
Because the answer is not only that God is high but that he bends down. “Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high” (113:5) is followed by “Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth” (113:6). A good answer says God is beyond compare both in height and in condescension: he must stoop even to look at the heavens. A weak answer treats the question as a statement about God's size alone.
Show teacher guidance
The next verse says the high God stoops to behold, so incomparability includes both exaltation and attention.
3. Why mention dust and dunghill in verse 7?
What a good answer contains
Because they are the lowest places in a town. “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill” (113:7). The dunghill was the refuse heap outside the town where the destitute might sit and beg, much as Job sat among the ashes. A good answer sees that God reaches the very bottom of society. A weak answer softens dust and dunghill into poetic decoration.
Show teacher guidance
The images place the poor and needy at the bottom of social visibility before God raises them.
4. Where are the raised poor seated in verse 8?
What a good answer contains
“That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people” (113:8). The poor person is not only rescued but honoured, seated among the leaders of God's people. A good answer sees that the reversal is public, a change of standing and not only of comfort, and may note the echo in Hannah's prayer, 1 Samuel 2:8. A weak answer stops at rescue and misses the seat of honour.
Show teacher guidance
With princes, specifically the princes of God’s people. The reversal is public and honorable.
5. What reversal appears in verse 9?
What a good answer contains
“He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children” (113:9). In Israel childlessness often brought shame and insecurity, as with Sarah, Rachel and Hannah, and God gives her a household and joy. A good answer sees this as another reversal from the bottom to the top, matching the poor of verse 7. A weak answer turns it into a promise that every childless woman will have children, which the psalm does not say.
Show teacher guidance
The barren woman is pictured keeping house as a joyful mother, turning social emptiness into belonging and joy.
6. Why does “Praise ye the LORD” return at the end?
What a good answer contains
Because the reversals are the reason for the praise. The psalm opens and closes with “Praise ye the LORD”, and between them the God who is high above the nations stoops to raise the poor and the barren. A good answer sees that the social reversals are not side notes; they show what kind of God is being praised. A weak answer treats the final hallelujah as a formula.
Show teacher guidance
The psalm’s social reversals are not side notes; they are reasons the incomparable Lord is praised.
Responsible application
Look downward when speaking of greatness
Use verses 5–8 to test whether a group’s idea of greatness includes attention to people with little status.
Praise across the clock
Use verses 2–3 to create a morning-to-evening pattern that names God’s character rather than depending on mood.
Honor without presumption
Use verses 7–9 to celebrate God’s concern for the lowly while refusing to turn poetic reversals into simplistic guarantees.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Sunrise to sunset
Read the psalm aloud. Take question one and mention the Hallel.
Who is like the Lord
Read 113:4-6 and take question two and confusion one.
Dust and princes
Read 113:7-8 and 1 Samuel 2:8. Take questions three and four, and confusion three.
The joyful mother, and the handout
Read 113:9 and take questions five and six, handling confusion two gently. Give out the handout and read the key verse together.
90 minutes
Who sits where
Ask who is usually given the best seats at a wedding or a public event. Then read the psalm.
Praise in every direction
Read 113:1-3 and take question one. Explain the Hallel and Matthew 26:30.
Stooping
Read 113:4-6 and Philippians 2:5-8. Take question two and confusion one.
From the dunghill
Read 113:7-8 with 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Take questions three and four and confusion three.
The barren woman
Read 113:9 and Luke 1:46-55. Take question five and confusion two, with care for anyone grieving childlessness.
Praise and practice
Take question six and confusion four. Ask how the church can honour those the world puts at the bottom.
Handout
Give out the handout, read the key verse together, and sing or say 113:1-3.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Use a step stool or a staircase. Put a picture of the sun at the top and a picture of dust at the bottom. Read 113:5-6 and walk a paper figure down the steps to show God bending low. Then read 113:7-8 and lift a small figure from the bottom to the top. Say that God cares about people others ignore. Keep verse 9 simple: God gives joy to families.
Youth
Ask who is invisible in their school or town. Read 113:7-8 and talk about God seating the poor with princes. Then read Philippians 2:5-8 and show how Jesus stooped further still. Let them think of one person they could honour this week. Treat verse 9 gently and briefly, aware that some may know family grief.
Adults
Adults can explore the Hallel and its place at Passover, the links with Hannah and Mary, and the theology of a God who humbles himself. Handle 113:9 with great care; some will have walked through infertility or the loss of a child. Ask how the congregation reflects God's reversals in whom it honours and serves.
One to one
If the person feels low, overlooked or ashamed, read 113:7-8 slowly and let them hear that God goes looking for people on the dunghill. If childlessness is their grief, do not use verse 9 as a promise; acknowledge their sorrow and the long line of faithful women in Scripture who carried it. Pray together for God's attention and honour.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Psalms 113:1–9
The passage in brief
Psalm 113 calls everyone, everywhere, for ever, to praise the Lord. He is higher than every nation and even above the heavens, so high that he must bend down to look at them. Yet he does bend down. He lifts poor people out of the dust and off the rubbish heap and seats them with princes. He gives a home and joy to a woman who had no children. The psalm praises God because the highest one cares for the lowest.
A verse to keep
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
Psalms 113:7-8 · King James Version
Questions to take home
How far does the call to praise reach in 113:1-3?
What surprising thing does God do in 113:6?
Whom does God lift up in 113:7-9?
This week
This week, give honour to one person others tend to overlook, and thank God that he sees them.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
