"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees")
steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"
The
spiritual life is one of progress.
The
fourth step in the progress of the spiritual life is to keep our eyes on the
Lord because He is gracious.
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 maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
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 maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 Be gracious to us, O LORD, be
gracious to us,
For we are greatly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is greatly filled
With the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud. (NASV)
For we are greatly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is greatly filled
With the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud. (NASV)
Psalm 123
I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look
up to you for help.
Like servants, alert to their master's commands,
like a maiden attending her lady,
We're watching and waiting, holding our breath,
awaiting your word of mercy.
Mercy, God, mercy!
We've been kicked around long enough,
Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,
kicked when we're down by arrogant brutes.
Like servants, alert to their master's commands,
like a maiden attending her lady,
We're watching and waiting, holding our breath,
awaiting your word of mercy.
Mercy, God, mercy!
We've been kicked around long enough,
Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,
kicked when we're down by arrogant brutes.
The Message
Theme: Gracious
Key
thought: Plea for the mercy of God
Key
verse:
(:2) “As the eyes of slaves
look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her
mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.”
How
is God revealed?
The One Who provides mercy (grace). He is the
Master whose throne is in heaven.
The
time of this writing of this Psalm is uncertain. The people were in a very difficult
time. Yet, in this midst of this they
had their eye on the Lord. The picture
is of the servant looking to his master, the maiden to her lady. They wait for the slightest back and call.
I
am reminded of my days as a “bus boy,” as we were called in the late 1960’s. I worked in the Rosewood Room of the North
Star Inn in downtown Minneapolis. If I remember correctly, it was on the 20th
floor. It was an exquisite dining facility.
One of my jobs was to keep my eye on Fred, our maître d’. He was the manager of the dining facility,
the one greeted and seated the guests. I
had to keep my eye “glued on Fred.” I
learned to know what his slightest motion meant. I had to focus and be ready when he needed
me.
In
the same way, we are servants of the Lord.
We have volunteered for this position.
We are to keep our eyes on the Lord and wait for His call so we can
serve Him.
“My
eyes…”
In
Psalm 121:1 the writer said:
(:1)
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
where does my help come from?
In
Psalm 123:1 the writer knows where his help comes from:
(:1)
I lift up my eyes to you,
to you whose throne is in heaven.
to you whose throne is in heaven.
The Psalmist continues with a picture of concentration and
focus of his eyes.
(:2)
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
Where
do our eyes look?
(:2)
…so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his grace.
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