"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill. That He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people." [Psa 113:7-8]
In Philippians, speaking of his past life and those things wherein he used to trust for righteousness, Paul says,
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” [Phil 3:7-8]
Paul’s language is quite extreme: everything that he used to trust in, all those things which he once counted as gain, he now counts as loss and as dung. In his listing of the well-desired attributes of his past life, Paul mentions, “touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” [Phil 3:6] All of Paul’s former adherence to the law, that which many would look upon with admiration, thinking it to be quite a load of treasure and gold, Paul looked back on, after coming to Christ, as nothing but foul excrement. It was as the dung of the sacrifices, regarding which God said, “but the…dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp.” [Ex 29:14, Lev 8:17] As pictured in the law, so it is true: our righteousness apart from Jesus is as foul as an animal’s excrement. The Bible does not stop there; God has yet another image for us regarding our righteous deeds. In Isaiah it says, “but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as a menstruous cloth…” [Isa 64:6] Let us vividly see our sins: a pile of dung and bloody, menstrual rags, and nothing more. Is there an image more to be despised? Do we think now our righteous deeds shall be accepted of God? In no wise, for they are an abhorrence at best. This is the conclusion Paul reached as well, who said He “count[ed] them but dung, that [he might] win Christ.”
Considering what our righteousnesses are compared to, which in reality now seem more like sin, what must our sins be compared to? What wicked and lowly thing could all our transgressions be compared with, seeing our righteous things are but dung and menstruous cloths? It is a wonder and a praise that The LORD could say as He does in Isaiah,
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of The LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” [Isa 40:1-2]
In that The LORD means well when He says, “she hath received…double for all her sins,” is more apparent when we also read what is written to us of The LORD,
“For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.” [Isa 61:7]
For Christ’s sake God has accepted us; for Jesus’ work upon the cross and resurrection, and our belief in it, The LORD has taken all our sins and given us in return, for no work of our own, a double inheritance. That inheritance which Christ rightly deserved, He being “the firstborn of every creature,” [Col 1:15] and the one “to whom the promise was made,” [Gal 3:19] is gifted to us. “The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” [Rom 8:17] And, “he that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” [Rev 21:7] And these things, God does with joy; as Jesus tells us, “fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” [Lk 12:32] Praise God that He has taken all our sins, all our dung, and in return gifted us a double portion with Jesus His Son. We have not deserved Him nor what He has given us, and yet, He has freely done so, “for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” [Eph 2:8]
With these thoughts, let us come again to our verse for today, wherein we read,
“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill. That He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people.” [Psa 113:7-8]
The LORD lifts, has lifted us, out of the dunghill. From out of our hill of dung, of self-righteousness and works, from our hill of blood-soaked menstrual cloths – yes, from this The LORD has lifted us up. He has thought sweetly upon us, not being abhorred with us nor rejecting us, but for Christ’s sake loving us and saving us, pulling us up. And why has He done such a thing? “That He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people.” The LORD has transformed us from lowly beggars in excrement to glorious princes and princesses in His kingdom. He has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of The Son of His love.” [Col 1:13] By His blood and in great love, God has pulled us up out of the dirt and the muck and the crud, making us beautiful. As it is written,
“He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” [Isa 61:10]
Truly, as God promises Jesus would, He has, giving us “beauty for ashes.” [Isa 61:3] It was The Lord Jesus who stepped down into our suffering – who “tabernacled among us,” [Jn 1:14] taking upon Himself “the likeness of sinful flesh” and “the form of a servant,” [Rom 8:3, Phil 2:7] – that He might “save [us]…from [our] sins,” might rescue us. [Mt 1:21] Jesus “emptied Himself,” [Phil 2:7] and came to earth: ”for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for [our] sakes He became poor, that [we] through His poverty might be rich.” [2 Cor 8:9] Christ Himself, the King, The Son of God, entered into our suffering willingly, becoming poor, that He might graciously deal with us in our sorrowful, doleful, dirty state. And because of that, we have been gifted every spiritual blessing freely, becoming heirs and becoming exceedingly rich. “Blessed be The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.” [Eph 1:3] And again,
“Blessed be The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, guarded in heaven for you.” [1 Pe 1:3-4]
Praise be to our glorious God who loved us, and loves us, so dearly. That He, who is high above all things, would step down to our level, that He would free us from our sinful and stupid clutch of dung, giving us freedom and true riches, is as Paul says, an “indescribable gift.” [2 Cor 9:15]
Click here to see more posts in Daily Meditations on Jesus’ Glory, Vol III