Bible Study: November 19, 2025
- Stephen Bell
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Prayer
As always, we start with prayer. Firstly, do we have any praise reports from the the previous week? Next, is there anything we as a group can pray for concerning you or someone close to you?
Praise
How Great is Our God
The splendor of a King,
clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light,
and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
The Lion and the Lamb
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
Passage
Psalm 113
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations
and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord 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 Lord!
Ponder
1 What part of this psalm/song really stands out to you and warms your heart? Why do you think it has that effect on you?
2 Do you notice that the psalm both opens and closes with the same command? And that command is as simple: Hallelujah! (Praise the LORD!). But here’s the fun thing: the verb is plural: “Ya’ll praise the LORD!” It’s almost as if the psalmist refuses to let those who are broken praise alone--and the psalmist is refusing to praise without them. Hmmm. So here’s the question: In this context, what do you think happens when a person tries to “Hallelujah” alone instead of being in the company of other broken? Or maybe a better question is: how can our praises with the broken help out in our worship?
3 Here’s a head-turner: verse four says that Yahweh is “high above all nations.” So far, we agree. But then the same root verb 'ram' appears a second time in verse seven when God “raises” the poor. That’s deliberate: the exalted position and the lowly position gets the same thing here. How? For what he does to the lowly. The God who is highest proves it. How? By lifting the lowest. Can you think of a place in Scripture where the lowest are raised by God? (Think Mary. Think Samuel. Think others!)
4 Verse eight says God makes the poor “sit with princes”. The verb 'yashav' (sit) is the same word used for God being “seated on high” in verse 5. God does not merely rescue us; he enthrones us. In light of Ephesians 2:6, what does it do to your identity on a Monday morning to remember that you are already, right now, "seated with Christ in the heavenly places?"
5 The Hebrew structure of the psalm is a perfect chiasm: praise to God...to God’s height; to God looking down; to God lifting the poor; to God enthroning the poor; to God mothering the barren; and then...praise again. Everything here seems to pivot on verse six: the God who looks far down: not in dismissal, but in care. So here's the question: how does God show He cares through City Centre Church when we see the poor, the broken, and those in barren situations?
6 The final Hallelujah is not a polite moment of praise. It needs to be read as a battle cry. The same mouth that has just described a God who mothers the motherless now shouts defiant joy into God's loved and broken world that still has ash heaps. Outside of the church buildings and gathering comes moments where we are called into battle for God and for the poor, lifting up those who are hurting this time of year in the Name of Jesus. What are good ways to do that while you're at work, at home, or in your local community?
Pray & Part
