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Psalm 113God the Helper of the Needy1 Praise the L ord! Praise, O servants of the L ord; praise the name of the L ord.
2 Blessed be the name of the L ord from this time on and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the L ord is to be praised. 4 The L ord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the L ord 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 L ord! New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
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9 Who maketh the barren woman to dwell in the family He relates another work of God, which if, apparently, not so notable, ought not, on that account, the less to engage our thoughts. Unimpressed as we are by the ordinary works of God, we are constrained to express our astonishment when a woman who has been for a long period barren, unexpectedly becomes the mother of a numerous family. The Hebrew term, הבית, habbayith, is to be understood, not simply of a house, but also of a household, — that is, the thing containing, for that which is contained, — just as the Greeks apply οικος, and the Latins domus, to a household. The meaning is, that the woman who was formerly barren is blessed with fruitfulness, and fills the house with children. He attributes joy to mothers, because, though the hearts of all are prone to aspire after wealth, or honor, or pleasures, or any other advantages, yet is progeny preferred to every thing else. Wherefore, since God superintends the ordinary course of nature, alters the current of events, elevates those of abject condition and ignoble extraction, and makes the barren woman fruitful, our insensibility is very culpable, if we do not attentively contemplate the works of his hand. |