Moving Forward With God’s Mercy – Psalm 123

A Song of Ascents. [1]

“Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.” Psalm 123:1

God’s people express their faith and hope in Him. He dwells in heaven. [2] He sees the big picture. He is the Alpha and Omega; the first and last; the beginning and the end; the original source and the final destination.

Who better should we lift up our eyes to see?

Jesus taught us in “The Lord’s Prayer” to look to God as our Father in heaven. This does not mean God is limited to one place, but that heaven is where He especially reveals His glory, like a king sitting upon his throne. [3]

God sees from heaven the troubles of His people and He has the power and desire to save us. [4]

Sometimes it may seem that God has forgotten the earth, and unbelievers may ask, “Where is your God?” But we as God's people can confidently say in the words of Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in heaven.” [5]

God is the righteous Judge. His throne is established in heaven. Those who suffer injustice can appeal to Him. [6]

“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us.” Psalm 123:2

Our eyes wait on God for His mercy. David compares his relationship with God to that of a servant looking to his master. God is overseeing the sustenance and management of the entire universe. Does He have time to stop and consider my concern? Who am I compared with Him?

In Acts 9:6, after Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what would You have me to do?” In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus instructed His disciples not to worry about their provisions. He promised that God knows what we need. He told them to focus on serving God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

Think about it! God set up the whole universe and made it livable for us. There’s the right mix of oxygen in the atmosphere for us to breathe. There’s the correct weight of gravity to hold us to the ground but not crush us. There’s a wide variety of edible foods on the earth to supply all the nutrients our body needs to be healthy. He gave us bodies that are fearfully and wonderfully made. Why do we ever doubt His ability and His desire to provide good things for us?

A servant cannot properly serve God without first listening to God’s clear instructions. So, he looks to his master for instruction and also for the tools that he needs to get the job done.

“Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.” Psalm 123:3

A servant looks to his master for reinforcements when an enemy is overwhelming him. He prays, “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.” He is happy to serve the Lord, but does not enjoy the way proud people mistreat him for doing so. Thus, he appeals to God, asking God to intervene and thwart the efforts of his enemy to make his service unto God miserable.

“Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.” Psalm 123:4

Those who mock God’s servants have a pride problem. They live to please their fleshly desires and the devil is happy to keep them there. He gives to them the kingdoms of the world. The problem for them is that the devil has an expiration date. In Revelation 20:10, it is written, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Those who join with the devil will suffer the same eternity. In Revelation 20:15, it is written, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

In 1 Peter 4:12-13, Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”

In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul wrote, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

On the one hand, when people attack our reputation and treat us unfairly, we can pray: “Hear, O our God, for we are despised.” On the other hand, we can rejoice as Jesus said to do in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

When we stand for the Lord, those who oppose Him oppose us. When we do what is right, those who scam and abuse will hate us for exposing evil. It is better, however, to stand with the Lord than to fall with the wicked. Our suffering is temporary. Theirs is eternal.

The desire of God and His servants is as Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:4 that all people will “be saved an come to the knowledge of the truth.” Amen!


[1] “The Song of Ascents refers to a specific group of fifteen biblical psalms (Psalms 120 through 134), also known as Pilgrim Songs. They are traditionally understood as songs of journey, temple steps, and returning hope.” – GotQuestions.org

[2-6] Material developed, added to and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary