577_Looking up to our merciful God (Psalm 123) Psalm 123 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 Behold, 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. 3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. 4 Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud. A few years ago, a well-known mountaineer described an experience that changed the way he viewed life. After a long and exhausting climb, he finally reached a narrow ledge high above the valley floor. As he caught his breath, he looked down. The thousand-foot drop instantly made his knees weak, and fear tightened around his chest. But when he slowly lifted his eyes upward, he saw something he had not noticed before—the sky was turning gold. The first rays of dawn spread across the horizon, painting the mountains with light. In that moment, he said, “I felt the fear drain out of me. Nothing changed about the danger beneath me. But everything changed when I looked up.” Sometimes our lives feel like that narrow ledge. There are moments when we feel hemmed in by fear, pressure, contempt, criticism, or uncertainty. The ground beneath us feels unsafe. The future feels unclear. But Psalm 123 invites us to do what that mountaineer did—to look up. It is another one of the Songs of Ascents, sung by the people of Israel as they made their way toward Jerusalem, going up step by step toward the temple of God. In this psalm, the worshiper has arrived at the holy city, but instead of looking at the noise and activity around him, he lifts his eyes higher. He looks to heaven, to the One enthroned above all, the One who reigns and yet cares for the lowliest of His servants. “I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in the heavens.” These words set the tone for the entire psalm. The psalmist sees God as the King of the whole earth, exalted above every nation, every ruler, every crisis, every mocking voice. Yet he also sees God as a Master who is intimately attentive to His servants. The greatest Sovereign stoops to notice the least. The psalmist describes himself as a servant watching closely for the slightest movement of his master’s hand. In ancient households, masters often communicated quietly—sometimes with only a gesture or a tilt of the hand. A faithful servant learned to keep his eyes fixed, watching eagerly for instruction, permission, or help. The psalmist borrows this image and applies it to our relationship with God: “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
