The Sovereignty of Our God

Text: Psalm 113 ESV

We give praise to what we value! This shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of us. None of us quickly go and write a Google review for mediocre service. Poor service, maybe, but great service—amazing service—absolutely. As Don mentioned recently, we have many who will praise good food here at Table Rock. Want to know of a good restaurant—they will help you. But we also have “praisers” of sports teams, cars, clothing, loved ones, and much more. I found myself recently praising “cranberry fluff!” I mentioned to someone that I don’t like pumpkin pie, and they asked what special food I do like at Thanksgiving if not pumpkin pie. And I said, “Cranberry Fluff!” It is this wonderful mixture of cranberry goo and marshmallows. A perfect companion to stuffing and turkey. 

Knowing this about how praise works, what concerns me, and I am sure what concerns you, is what Jesus in Matthew 12:34 says about our praise: 

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34 ESV)

Whatever we value much, we will talk about and praise much. My phone has recently started telling me how much time I spend looking at it (32 minutes yesterday!), and exactly what I looked at. It is showing me how much I value and, with my actions, praise those things. I am fearful one day they will make an app that will listen to what someone is saying and then categorize what was said, like “Screen Time” does on my iPhone. As someone who speaks much in general, and often for 25-30 minutes non-stop in front of you all, this is a real concern. I’m sure it will show things like sports, news, family, and others. But undoubtedly near the top will be “me,” since I am often the idol that I love the most. 

As we come to Psalm 113 this morning, we are challenged to praise that which really matters. Of course, we would all say, who doesn’t want to praise what is most important! Yet, so often, our lives reveal that we don’t do this. Every preacher has reminded you throughout this series that we are to be moved through the Psalms to praise God! And Psalm 113 helps us on that journey by reminding us that we are created for praise and about the sovereign God who deserves our praise. He is a sovereign God who not only is above everything—but he is a humble sovereign God who intimately cares for me and you. I pray that we would see this picture of our God this morning and that we would value and love him much, resulting in much praise!

Praise Yahweh

Psalm 113 starts with a call to praise:

“Praise Yahweh!

Praise, O servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh!

Blessed be the name of Yahweh from this time forth and forevermore! 

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of Yahweh is to be praised!”

(Psalm 113:1–3 ESV)

As I mentioned in my introduction to this entire sermon series, all that we read about Yahweh in the Psalms is to result in one main goal: Praise! This Psalm, like many in the conclusion section, starts with Hallelujah—"Praise Yahweh”. This isn’t just a generic call to praise, rather it has three very specific aspects. Look with me:

1) Praise Yahweh all his servants!

“Praise, O servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh!” (Psalm 113:1 ESV)

Praise Yahweh all his servants! This is not just the work of some: the preachers, the worship leaders, the newly converted. It is all the servants of Yahweh who are to praise him. None of us get a pass. I’ve already shown you that you all know how to praise, but you are each called to praise Yahweh! 

2) Praise Yahweh all the time!

“Blessed be the name of Yahweh from this time forth and forevermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of Yahweh is to be praised!”

(Psalm 113:2–3 ESV)

Praise Yahweh all the time! This call extends not just to all God’s people, but to their entire experience of him and this life. After my introduction you also hopefully realize we all praise in many ways. There is no one-size fits all approach to praise, but it is woven into who we are—we like to praise and worship things. It’s why idolatry is so real for each of us. But have you thought about how you also have no excuse to not have your life be riddled with the praise of God? “Well,” you say, “of course they don’t mean ALL the time, right?” Really? You don’t think there is a way to talk about your day that gives praise to God for getting you through it? You don’t think there is a way for God to receive praise when you are thankful for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards or as you share a concern about your friend or boss? We are quick to act as though life’s many moments should only be punctuated with praise to God, rather than infused with it as a major vein of worship from our mouths. As if that isn’t enough, this last section could also have a second meaning:

3) Praise Yahweh everywhere!

“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of Yahweh is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3 ESV)

Praise Yahweh everywhere! This idea can also enjoin us to find praise to Yahweh in every part of our world. From the moment the sun rises in the east to the moment it sets in the west, the light of God’s glory is touching every corner of our globe. From Russia, to China, to Zimbabwe, God is to be praised. This should fuel our desire for missions—that as our brothers and sisters in China woke up this morning and praise fueled worship ascended to God, that we would care that every spot on this globe where people live there should be the same thing occurring. Geysers of praise erupting in every nation, city, and home in this world. And where it isn’t, we want to go to see God’s praise reign in every sunlit corner of the world. 

Why? Yahweh is Sovereign!

And why, why should this cacophony of praise be occurring? What reason does the Psalmist give for this requirement of us and all of God’s servants?

“Yahweh is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!” (Psalm 113:4 ESV)

God is sovereign! There is none like him, and his glory surpasses all that we could imagine. When John gets a glimpse into the heavenly realms, listen to what he sees in Revelation 4:

“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8 ESV)

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.””

(Revelation 4:8–11 ESV)

God is over all things. He is sovereign—that’s what it means—he is the supreme ruler. He created everything, and they all exist and were created for him! 

This is where many people balk. They picture a watch-maker God who creates everything and says, “Now, worship me!” Intellectually, we could all likely be convinced that the creator of everything, including you and me, could demand such a thing, regardless of his involvement. He created, what can we, the created say back. Yet, this is exactly what the Psalmists want us to realize is not true about our God. He is not a detached and uncaring God. Look at they say about our sovereign God next:

Yahweh is sovereign and has humbled himself!

“Who is like Yahweh our God, 

who is seated on high,

who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (Psalm 113: 5–6 ESV)

That phrase “looks far down on” is literally “makes low to look” or “humbles to look.” Our sovereign God—Yahweh—is unlike any other God. Not only is he completely sovereign and worthy of praise for that alone, but he has chosen to humble himself to look down on the heavens and earth! That is amazing. He isn’t a watch-maker God—he is intimately engaged with every part of the heavens and earth! He cares about his creation!

Sovereign over heaven and earth

A great example of how much is under God’s control is found in Job 38–39. Remember, Job had been stricken by Satan with many afflictions: loss of home, loss of family, loss of his health. And he has no idea why this is happening. He has miserable “friends” who show up and try to convince him it is his fault, though it wasn’t. And interestingly, when God finally shows up to answer Job’s question of why, he doesn’t even give him the answer. Job doesn’t hear the story we get to hear about what happened between God and Satan in heaven. Rather, this is what he hears. Listen to Job 39:

““Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them.

“Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor? Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.

“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold. From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away. His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.””

(Job 39:1–30 ESV)

God is completely sovereign. Everything, from rain and snow, thunder and lightning, goats, deers, donkeys, oxen, ostrich, horses and hawks, are all guided and directed by the hand of our sovereign God! As the venerable pastor C.H. Spurgeon says:

“I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—

that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat [or your car] has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens—

that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses.

The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence—

the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche.”

This is where our finite brains begin to hurt. Our God can see and control and enjoy all these things at once and still be in “rest” (Hebrews 4:1–11). This is hard for us to comprehend.

Sovereign over people

And this Psalm proclaims a God who is more amazing still. God cares about people! Not just the popular kids. Not just kings and queens, politicians, or the rich. But he cares about and helps those who have nothing they can give back to him: the poor, the needy, and the barren. And he gives them something incredible.

“He raises the poor from the dust 

and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 

to make them sit with princes, 

with the princes of his people. 

He gives the barren woman a home, 

making her the joyous mother of children.” Psalm 113:7–9 ESV)

We see this in Scripture, and we believe it can still happen today. God can take a little bit of heaven through space and time and break it into our world. We see glimpses now of what it will look like in the future when God completely overturns sin and suffering. 

Hannah is a good example of this. Remember Hannah in the Old Testament? She is wandering around outside the Tabernacle, praying to God that he would give her a child. Yet the prophet of God, Eli, thinks she is drunk. When he confronts her, she admits she is praying silently, not drunk. Eli then commends her and prays that God will grant her request. AND HE DOES! It’s literally a miracle. And so much of Hannah’s song is exactly what is said here in Psalm 113. Listen to what she says in 1 Samuel 2:1–10:

““My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.

“There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.

“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.””

(1 Samuel 2:1–10 ESV)

We see God provide for the poor, needy, and barren all through Scripture.

• He provides manna in the desert.

• He provides the widow of Zarephath a meal and raises her son.

• Shunammite’s son is raised.

• He heals people of leprosy.

And we see this today:

• The cancer patient who shows up to the doctor’s office and finds their tumor is gone.

• The college student gets the job offer they had been praying for.

• Women who haven’t been able to conceive do.

• The marriage that is irrevocably broken is healed from beyond repair.

God cares intimately about his people, and sometimes, he chooses it will bring him the most glory to radically change the course of their life by directly interceding for them! We pray for this, and know our sovereign God is more than capable to do it.

But there is much more going on here, Table Rock! Hannah sees it. When she receives a miracle she doesn’t just thank God in her song for giving her Samuel. In fact, she praises God that he gives the barren “seven” offspring. He completes the barren people. He is over the poor and rich. He exalts and makes low.  He controls everything, and Hannah starts by saying, “I rejoice in your salvation!”  

Hannah sees it. The Jews even see it. Psalm 113–118 are part of what is called The Great Hallel, Psalms that are sung over Passover, celebrating Yahweh our Redeemer! 

These miracles and the ways we see God care for the literal poor, needy, and barren—even today—are all just signs and pointers to an even greater reality of who our sovereign God is. 

Our God is sovereign and deserves to be praised—by all his people, all the time, everywhere. Our sovereign God humbles himself to be concerned with heaven and earth. Our sovereign God humbles himself to be concerned with people—even the least of all people. Our sovereign God humbles himself to become a man—a human, and do what no human can do: Redeem us!

Our Sovereign God, humbled to become a man.

Table Rock, praise God that he is this kind of sovereign God! It would be easy to look at this picture in Psalm 113 and think—I am glad God does this for “those” people. The poor, the needy, the barren. Those who are in an extreme position, and as a privileged American think, “That isn’t me.” Oh, Table Rock, I have good news for you—this is exactly a description of you.

As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 40:17:

“As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!” (Psalm 40:17 ESV)

You, Table Rock, were or are, the ones who were blind and needed God to give you sight, whose ears were closed and needed God to help you hear, whose heart was hard and needed God to give you a new, soft heart (Deuteronomy 29-30). We have nothing to bring the almighty but a life marred with sin and struggle; dust to the almighty God. Can you proclaim that you are this needy person? Jesus said this:

“And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”” (Luke 5:31–32 ESV)

Our sovereign God is praise worthy! He didn’t simply call out from afar, giving us commands and regulations to follow. He humbled himself to look down. He became a man—a human—to die for our sins and reconcile us back to himself. That is the kind of sovereign God we have! And now, as Jesus says in Matthew 28, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him! Our sovereign God rules now, forevermore as a God-man!

Conclusion

Table Rock, knowing our sovereign God—this sovereign God that Psalm 113 points us to—changes everything.

• If ever you feared a sovereign God, take comfort and find joy in Jesus this morning. Your God became a man that you might know just how close he has drawn to you and how much he cares for you. He can relate to you on every level, even in our weak state as humans. And he died for your sins.

• If you have ever struggled to call out to God for help, know that he is not distant but wants to hear and meet your needs. Whether it is a job, disease, sickness or sin struggle—God wants to hear and can relate to everything you are going through. 

• This should change our hearts. When we think about our sovereign God who has humbled himself we should love and value what he values. We should care for the poor and the oppressed, the weak and helpless. We should care about his creation in every minute detail just like he does. 

• And we should care about his praise! Would it be that we would go forth, from here to our neighbors, our city, and throughout this entire world, that praise would ring out from the lips of every person proclaiming the glories of our sovereign God, Yahweh!

Benediction

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 ESV)