"Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens." Psalm 123:1
Psalm 123
Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
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.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
_______
“Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens.”
Ah! how much is connected in the Scriptures with the lifting up the eyes or the hands to heaven! The Old Testament is full of instruction on this point; and we read of the blessed Lord Himself lifting up His eyes to heaven as He poured forth His heart’s desires in John 17 (See also chapter 11:41.) This action proclaims that God Himself is the confidence and succor of those that wait upon Him, that He is their only resource, and that no help is elsewhere to be found. Blessed is it for the soul that has learned this lesson. We have before seen that the last clause of verse 1 of Psalm 121 may be rendered, “From whence shall my help come?” The next verse contains the answer; and in accordance with this, the Psalm before us commences with this posture of expectation from Him who dwelleth in the heavens."
Edward B. Dennett, from Chapter 4: Psalms 123; 124
_______
Psalm 124
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say;
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
_______