The Use of Power

Matt Ayers has great thoughts on The Use of Power as he relates how God uses His power from Psalms 113.

THE USE OF POWER

Psalm 113 is the first psalm in a six-psalm collection called the “Egyptian Hallel” (113–118). It is tradition for Jews to recite (or sing) these six psalms around the time of Passover to commemorate the deliverance from Egyptian slavery. This explains why when Jesus was entering Jerusalem on a donkey during the time of Passover, the people shouted, “Hosannah! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt 21:9). This isn’t random, this is the people of Israel singing Psalm 118:25–26. They are remembering the great salvation of generations past. They faced the difficulties of their present (and the future) while being mindful of God’s faithfulness in the past. This gave them great hope.

What I love about Psalm 113 is that it demonstrates why one should praise God. Namely, it first details that God is all powerful, then it goes it describes how God uses his power. One can tell a lot about a person by what they do with power and influence. Do they abuse their power? Manipulate? Oppress? Not the God of Israel, not the God of the Bible. Israel’s God is all powerful (Ps. 113:4–6), and he uses that power to lift up the downtrodden (113:7–9).

The psalmist goes into further detail still. He tells us that God not only lifts people up, but he lifts the lowest of the low to the place of the highest privilege. This is what it means when he says, “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” (113:7–8). God doesn’t just pursue those who need him, he pursues those who need him most.  Jesus was explicit about the fact that he didn’t come for the healthy, but the sick (Mark 2:17). He says this in the context of being ridiculed by religious leaders for not obeying the rules. What they didn’t understand was that Jesus wasn’t concerned about rules as much as he was about bringing healing to a broken and hurting world. He is out to redeem those who look unredeemable to human eyes.

He not only pursues the most dire cases of human need and suffering, he also works until the point of completion. So many settle for mediocre. God is not a god of mediocre. He’s a God of perfection. He works on us and in us until his work is complete.  This is what Paul means when he says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Adding to this is Jude, who says, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…” (Jude 1:24).

How do you use the power that you have?  Each of us has some kind of power in influence and action.  Do we seek to lift ourselves up or drag others down?  Is our focus selfish or encouraging?  (This can be tricky, I know someone who claims to only want to help others and encourage them, but he clearly does this so everyone who knows him will think he’s a great person.  He does it for his own reward.  When we truly help others, do we sincerely only want for them to be helped and for no one to know we were a part of it?) 

Every day it is important for me to know that I am no greater than any other person who has ever lived and that no other person is greater than I am.  Remember the “we are all beggars at the Cross” example?  How can I use my power, no matter how weak it is, to lift someone closer to the Cross?  This is the real question that matters every day.