Psalm 123 is a song for times when God’s people find themselves looking up while the world looks down on them.
The psalm begins with a simple picture: “I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.” The psalmist looks beyond his circumstances to the One who is above them. God is not absent or unaware. He sits in the heavens, where He sees the troubles of His people and has the power to come to their aid.
Then the psalm gives us another picture – the eyes of servants watching the hand of their master.
A servant looks to his master for direction, provision, help, protection, correction, and ultimately reward. In much the same way, God’s people look to Him. We may not know what He is doing, or when He will act, but we know where to look.
That becomes especially important when the world around us is filled with contempt.
The psalmist says, “Have mercy upon us, Yahweh, have mercy upon us, for we have endured much contempt.” The pain here is not merely physical hardship. It is the weariness of being mocked, despised, or treated as though faith in God is something foolish.
Matthew Henry points out that this has often been the experience of God’s people. Those who belong to God may be despised by those who have no regard for Him. Yet the answer is not to return contempt for contempt. The psalmist does something very different: he looks up.
He looks to God for mercy.
Psalm 123 reminds us that when the opinions of people become overwhelming, our eyes need to return to the One who sits in the heavens. His mercy is greater than the contempt we endure, and our hope does not rest in the approval of those around us.
So, we wait. We look to Him. And we trust, that His mercy, will come in His time.
“Our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.”
A Song of Ascent for those who are weary of contempt, waiting quietly for the mercy of God.
Leave a Reply