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Psalm 113 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
2 Let the name of the LORD be praised,
both now and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
6 who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8 he seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
9 He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD.
The Lectionary presents this psalm on the eighth day after Christmas, recognising the occasion of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus. It may help us therefore to consider the source of his name.
The Gospel of Luke (2: 21) tells us, “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.” From the same Gospel (1: 30-33) we learn of the visitation of the angel Gabriel to Mary.
The angel said to her “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end.”
This psalm of praise recognises the sovereign rule of “the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high”. The LORD sent the angel Gabriel with this amazing message for the youthful Mary about the arrival on the earth of the Son of the Most High. Not only is he the Son of the Most High but he is to reign over a kingdom that will never end.
The Gospel of Matthew tells us (1: 20-21) that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
The name “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua” meaning “the LORD saves”. Psalm 113 recognises that the LORD raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. The saving grace of the LORD is for those burdened by life’s troubles and for those burdened by life’s sins.
We enter 2017 with very little indication of what the year holds for us as a planet and for us as individual sojourners on it. Let us be bold in our approach to uncertain times because of the confidence we have in the One who rules all that is in heaven and on earth!
Praise the LORD.
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Let the name of the LORD be praised,
both now and for evermore.