Psalms 113:7

7 God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the garbage pile

Psalms 113:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 113:7

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust
Persons of mean extraction and in low life are sometimes raised by him to great honour and dignity, as Saul, David, and others; and is true of many who are spiritually poor and needy, as all men are, but all are not sensible of it; some are, and these are called poor "in spirit", and are pronounced "blessed", for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven": they are raised out of a low and mean estate, out of the dust of sin, and self-abhorrence for it, in which they lie when convicted of it.

And lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
which denotes a mean condition; so one born in a mean place, and brought up in a mean manner, is sometimes represented as taken out of a dunghill F20: and also it is expressive of a filthy one; men by sin are not only brought into a low estate, but into a loathsome one, and are justly abominable in the sight of God, and yet he lifts them out of it: the phrases of "raising up" and "lifting out" suppose them to be fallen, as men are in Adam, fallen from a state of honour and glory, in which he was created, into a state of sin and misery, and out of which they cannot deliver themselves; it is Christ's work, and his only, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to help or lift up his servant Israel, ( Isaiah 49:6 ) ( Luke 1:54 ) ( 1 Samuel 2:8 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F20 "Ex sterquilinio effosse", Plauti Casina, Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 26.

Psalms 113:7 In-Context

5 Who could possibly compare to the LORD our God? God rules from on high;
6 he has to come down to even see heaven and earth!
7 God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the garbage pile
8 to seat them with leaders— with the leaders of his own people!
9 God nests the once barren woman at home— now a joyful mother with children! Praise the LORD!
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