Praise is a duty the believer should much abound in and in which he should be frequently employed,
for in every place there appears the manifest proofs of God’s wisdom, power and goodness.
Psalm 1
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 113 – The Mighty God Uplifteth the Lowly
We detect the song of Samuel’s mother in this psalm. She sang the Old Testament “Magnificat” (Luke 1:46-55) and it was embalmed by the psalmist here. Thus it passed into the psalter of the Church. Note the universality of this ascription of praise. For all time, Psalm 113:2; through all the earth, Psalm 113:3; and above all heavens, Psalm 113:4. What a wonderful God is ours! Heaven cannot contain Him, but He lifts the poor and needy out of the dust. Largeness is not greatness, and the babe in the cot is more important than the palace. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 113:9—He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.
This is an evident reference to Hannah’s psalm of thanksgiving, when she had born Samuel, and God had taken away her reproach. Her story, and these words, should be a great comfort to those who have never been used in soul-winning. Remember, too, how Sarah received strength by faith to bear a child, because she counted Him faithful that promised. God can make barren souls authors of life to thousands. These are the conditions:–
Be content, like Hannah, to cherish a sorrowful spirit. Weep before the Lord. Let your request be poured out before God at Shiloh, with the moving lips, though the voice be inaudible. Ask of God with strong crying and tears, that He would still the taunts of your adversary. Souls are only born to those who cannot live without them.
Next, look away from all creature help to God’s faithful promise, and believe that He can make you to become spiritually productive. Claim this of Him. Believe that of stones He can raise up children. Hold Him to his own word. Remind Him of his promise (Genesis 17:6), “I will make thee exceeding fruitful.”
Hannah promised that her child should be given to the Lord; and Samuel, when old enough, was brought to the Temple in pursuance of her vow. We are too apt to take the glory and credit of soul-winning, instead of acknowledging that, as we could not bear them apart from God, so we may not keep them when they are given. Those who, like Hannah, give their Samuels to God, like her can also break forth and sing, “My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD… because I rejoice in thy salvation” (1 Samuel 2:1). —Our Daily Homily