Read Psalms 113 and 123. What two different aspects of God’s character are depicted in these psalms?

 Psalms 113 and 123 praise both the majesty and mercy of the Lord. The Lord’s majesty is revealed in the greatness of His name and in the exalted place of His throne, which is above all nations and above the heavens (Ps. 113:4, 5; Ps. 123:1). “Who is like the Lord our God” (Ps. 113:5, NKJV) is a statement of faith that no power within or outside of the world can challenge the God of Israel.

 The unapproachable heights where the Lord dwells are illustrated through the fact that the Lord is willing to “humble Himself” or “stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth” (see Ps. 113:6, NIV; emphasis supplied). God’s abiding on high does not prevent Him from seeing what is occurring here below. The Lord’s mercy is manifested in His gracious readiness to be involved with the world and to save the needy and poor from their troubles. His generous hand is obviously not hidden from His servants though His dwelling place is in the distant heavens.

 God’s greatness and care, which cannot be fully discerned in God’s amazing transcendence, becomes explicit in God’s deeds of mercy and compassion. The needy, the poor, and the oppressed might experience firsthand God’s sovereign power in the remarkable reversals that He can perform in their favor. The exalted God manifests His greatness by using His power to exalt the downcast. The people are free to approach the Lord because His sovereign majesty and supremacy do not change the fact that He is their gracious Creator and Sustainer and that the people are His servants, His beloved children.

 Worship is, thus, motivated, not only by God’s magnificence but also by His goodness. Praise is not limited by time and space (Ps. 113:2, 3). God’s greatness and mercy are best manifested in Jesus Christ, who was willing to stoop down from heaven and be brought as low as death on the cross in order to lift up fallen humanity (Phil. 2:6-8). Here, in the Cross, we have the greatest reasons possible to worship and praise God for what He had done for us.