The Meaning of Psalms 113:7 Explained

Psalms 113:7

KJV: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

YLT: He is raising up from the dust the poor, From a dunghill He exalteth the needy.

Darby: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; from the dung-hill he lifteth up the needy,

ASV: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, And lifteth up the needy from the dunghill;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He raiseth up  the poor  out of the dust,  [and] lifteth  the needy  out of the dunghill; 

What does Psalms 113:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 113:1-9 - The Mighty God Uplifteth The Lowly
We detect the song of Samuel's mother in the first of these psalms. She sang the Old Testament "Magnificat" and it was embalmed by the psalmist here. Thus it passed into the psalter of the Church. Note the universality of this ascription of praise. For all time, Psalms 113:2; through all the earth, Psalms 113:3; and above all heavens, Psalms 113:4. What a wonderful God is ours! Heaven cannot contain Him, but He lifts the poor and needy out of the dust. Largeness is not greatness, and the babe in the cot is more important than the palace.
In Psalms 114:1-8 Egypt represents the tyranny of sin; but we have been redeemed. Like Israel we have gone forth. We belong no more to the present world with its strange tongue. Ours is the language of Canaan, our home. This exodus of ours has made us the temple and sanctuary of God. If once the Church realized that she is God-possessed, she would become irresistible. Seas would divide, rivers would start back, mountains would cleave, and the hills would remove. "Impossible" would be blotted from our vocabulary. The power that made Sinai tremble gave earth water-springs. When the soul finds its all in God, the world ceases to affright or attract it, and the rocks yield refreshing streams. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 113

1  An exhortation to praise God for his excellence
6  For his mercy

What do the individual words in Psalms 113:7 mean?

He raises out of the dust the poor out of the ash heap [And] lifts the needy
מְקִֽימִ֣י מֵעָפָ֣ר דָּ֑ל מֵֽ֝אַשְׁפֹּ֗ת יָרִ֥ים אֶבְיֽוֹן

מְקִֽימִ֣י  He  raises 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
מֵעָפָ֣ר  out  of  the  dust 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
דָּ֑ל  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: דַּל  
Sense: low, poor, weak, thin, one who is low.
מֵֽ֝אַשְׁפֹּ֗ת  out  of  the  ash  heap 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַשְׁפֹּת  
Sense: ash heap, refuse heap, dung-hill.
יָרִ֥ים  [And]  lifts 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרוּם 
Sense: to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted.
אֶבְיֽוֹן  the  needy 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: אֶבְיׄון  
Sense: in want, needy, chiefly poor, needy person.