Stick At It | Bible in One Year

Stick At It | Bible in One Year: Maryam and Marziyeh were arrested in Iran in 2009. Their crime: being Christians. They were blindfolded, interrogated and became ill during their time in prison. They were taken to court. Mr Haddad, the prosecuting lawyer, asked the two women if they were..Wisdom

Psalm 123:1-4

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

    1 I lift up my eyes to you,
        to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
    2 As 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.

    3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
        for we have endured no end of contempt.
    4 We have endured no end
        of ridicule from the arrogant,
        of contempt from the proud.

Commentary

Look to God for help

‘I look to you... God, look up to you for help’ (v.1, MSG). Like the psalmist, wait patiently for God to help. Stick at it in the face of opposition: ‘We have endured much contempt. We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant’ (vv.3b–4).

His response to this opposition is to turn his focus on to God. He writes, ‘I lift my eyes to you… our eyes look to the Lord our God’ (vv.1–2). This focus is built upon a recognition of who God is – the one ‘whose throne is in heaven’ (v.1) – and also on his relationship with God.

God is ‘the Lord our God’. Look to him to help you: ‘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’ (v.2–3, MSG).

Prayer

Lord, whatever happens, help me to endure, persevere and keep my eyes fixed on you.