Psalms 123
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Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Psalm 123:1-4
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of Ascents.
1To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.
3Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4Our soul has had more than enough
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Psalm 123:1-4
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
This psalm that was sung in unity as pilgrims ascended into Jerusalem begins in an unexpected way - in the voice of an individual. “Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens” - a personal prayer. “When shadows encompass the soul, when we want light and guidance, we must look up; there is light beyond the darkness.” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 657) Only as I look up, can I encourage others to have this faith.
Next comes a beautiful metaphor, “as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters...so our eyes look to the LORD our God.” This teaches us that, “We must learn to distrust self and to rely wholly upon God for guidance and support, for a knowledge of His will, and for strength to perform it.” (RH, November 8, 1887)
Finally, when we are rejected and ridiculed we can cry out in confidence, “Have mercy upon us!” The word translated “mercy” in these verses means, “to look favorably upon.” When we are looked on with contempt by others we can know that we are valued in the eyes of the King of the Universe.
Rachel Ortiz
Glendale, California USA
