Psalm 113:7

Psalm 113:7, in plain English

God lifts people who are at the absolute bottom of society — the poor and the discarded — up from their desperate situations.

Why it's here

The imagery here is stark and real. 'The dust' and 'the dump' aren't poetic exaggerations but literal descriptions of where the poorest and most vulnerable ended up. In ancient society, if you had nothing, you might live literally in the refuse heaps outside the city. The psalmist is saying God sees them there and acts.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, proclaiming God's particular care for the forgotten and marginalized.

Where it sits in the story

This echoes God's character throughout Scripture — from rescuing slaves in Egypt to Jesus' consistent focus on the poor, sick, and outcasts. God's kingdom repeatedly lifts up those the world pushes down.

The scholarly reading

God actively intervenes in the social order, lifting the destitute from their degradation and restoring their dignity.

Language and setting

The phrase 'raises the poor from the dust' (מֵקִים מִן־עָפָר דָּל, mekim min-afar dal) employs visceral imagery: 'dust' ('afar) evokes both burial and the lowest social position, while 'dal' (poor) specifically denotes those economically vulnerable and socially powerless. The verb 'raises' (qum) carries connotations of resurrection and restoration—it's the language of liberation. This verse shifts the psalm's focus from cosmological supremacy to soteriological action (divine rescue and healing). The parallel reference to 'needy from the dump' (מִשְׁפַּת יָרִים אֶבְיוֹן, mishipat yarim evyon)—literally from the ash heap where refuse and corpses were disposed—visualizes utter degradation.

Voice

The psalmist, now expressing God's preferential concern for the socially marginal.

Significance

This verse embodies the liberation theme woven throughout Scripture—from the Exodus deliverance to the Jubilee provisions in Leviticus, to the Magnificat's declaration that God 'has brought down rulers from their thrones and has lifted up the humble' (Luke 1:52). It provides scriptural foundation for what liberation theologians (following Gustavo Gutiérrez) call God's 'preferential option for the poor.'

5Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?

6He humbles Himself to behold the heavens and the earth.

7He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump

8to seat them with nobles, with the princes of His people.

9He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!

Read all of Psalm 113 — God is so high He looks down on the heavens — yet He lifts the poor from the dust and seats them with princes.