LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
From the Dunghill to the Throne
"He raises the poor from the dust, and the needy from the dunghill, to make them sit with the princes, with the princes of his people" (Ps. 113:7-8).
This text deals especially with the work of God's grace. In this case we see better than in any other the infinite condescension of God in his dealings with man. He uses what is vile to the world and of no value, to reduce to nothing what boasts of something.
God chooses for himself what the world rejects with contempt. He covers the tabernacle of testimony with rodent skins, chooses rough unhewn stone for material to build the altar, a bramble for a candlestick for his fiery manifestation, and a poor shepherd boy to be the "man after God's own heart".
People and things despised by men are often of great esteem in the eyes of God. He finds tens of thousands of human beings who, due to his state, only deserve to be in a dump, and he raises them, carrying them in his powerful arms of mercy, until he seats them among the princes of his people.
The dunghill is the place where useless, worn-out, and useless things are thrown away. How many times have the chosen of the Lord felt similar to such waste, useless for all use, worthy only of being thrown away!
You, dear friend, perhaps today you feel like one of them. This appreciation causes you sadness, but it is, nevertheless, a sign of health. When we hold ourselves in little, God holds us in high esteem. "God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Even if you are only worthy of being thrown on the dunghill, his tender mercy will take you into account and elevate you among the princes of his people.
Oh friend, if sin makes you feel sick, and if from head to toe you look like a rotten sore, still the love of the God of glory will come down to you, and his infinite grace, manifested in Christ Jesus, is able to lift you up and become a glorious trophy of his grace.
"To make them sit with the princes, with the princes of his people." There is no society more distinguished than this. "Ye are a chosen lineage, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Pet. 2:9). We have not approached Mount Sinai, but "Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the company of many thousands of angels, and the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (Heb. 12:18-24).
Princes enjoy special honor: "And he raised us up with him, and made us sit in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6), so that, as we partake of his cross, we will partake of his honors. When the Lord comes in his glory, as he redeemed you with his blood and honored you on earth, so he will honor you in the future state, making you sit with him and reign among the princes of his people forever. (Spurgeon, Evangelical Sermons).