Our text for today is Psalm 123. In keeping with our pattern over the recent weeks, we are making our way through some of the Songs of Ascent – psalms traditionally composed for, and sung by, the pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem. As we have seen, the vast majority of these psalms consist of cries for help and mercy, and Psalm 123 is no different.
This is a psalm in which the psalmist is crying out to the Lord for mercy. In the first two verses, the psalmist lays out his hope in God and his position in relation to God. In the final two verses, the psalmist lays out the situation in which the people of God find themselves, and – in light of that situation – he pleads for the Lord to give mercy to His people.
As we will see, this psalm is instructive to us on a number of levels. Since it was penned when the psalmist, as well as the rest of God’s people, were enduring great scorn from those around them, it helps us understand the way we should respond in the midst of such a circumstance. Moreover, even if we do not find ourselves in such a circumstance, this psalm – by its very nature as a communal psalm – helps us understand how we can pray for those who are enduring such circumstances. So let us examine once again the way the psalmist reacts to an extremely difficult time in the life of the people of God, so that we might learn for ourselves how to react.
Just like in Psalm 121, the psalmist begins this psalm by expressing his intent to look to the Lord in the midst of this distress as he writes, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens” (123:1). First of all, it is instructive to recognize that the psalmist turns to the Lord! He does not turn to his own ingenuity or ability or to another human being or program. He looks to the Lord. In the midst of having scorn and contempt (as we will see in a moment) heaped on him, he turns to the Lord.
And we should notice that the psalmist validates this reaction by describing this Lord as “you who are enthroned in the heavens.” This is the reason behind the response; this is the reason the psalmist would lift his eyes to the Lord. He looks to the Lord because this Lord is enthroned in heaven as the King of the universe. He looks to the Lord because this Lord rules over all things in absolute sovereignty. This is an implicit reminder to the psalmist that there is no power greater than the One to whom he is turning his eyes. It is a reminder that nothing in this world takes place outside of the mighty hand of God. In the midst of great distress and persecution, the psalmist reacts by turning his heart to the One who rules over all. David expressed much the same sentiment in Psalm 11:4 when he wrote, “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test, the children of man.” This thought was an encouragement to David that the Lord was aware of what was going on and possessed the power to put an end to it. The psalmist’s reference to God being enthroned in the heavens functions in much the same way – as a reminder that God is in control.
After stating his intention to look to the Lord, the psalmist lays out his own heart in coming before the Lord. He writes, “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” (123:2). In many ways, this verse actually serves to describe the manner in which the action of verse 1 is carried out. The psalmist is lifting his eyes up to the Lord, not in a haughty or demanding or accusing way but in a humble and beseeching way. The imagery of servanthood is striking because it highlights the utter dependency of the servant on the master. The servant does not demand things from the master. Rather, the servant depends upon the goodwill and mercy of the master. Rather than haughtily demanding provision and protection, the servant pleads with the master for provision and protection – recognizing that there is no inherent right to those things. The servant is entirely dependent on the mercy of the master.
In this way, like a servant, the psalmist is looking to the Lord for mercy. No doubt, the image carries the assumption that the psalmist is looking expectantly and hopefully – all the while trusting the character of the Lord to whom he is looking. No doubt the psalmist remembered that God had revealed Himself to Moses as “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6-7). Because of this understanding of God’s compassionate love and care for His people, the psalmist is looking to the Lord like a servant to his master.
It is also instructive that the psalmist declares his intention to do this “till he has mercy upon us.” This is no mere fleeting petition offered to the Lord. Rather, the psalmist is going to look to the Lord until the Lord answers. There is a determination and perseverance and fixedness to the psalmist’s petition that we must not overlook. Like the persistent widow described in Luke 18, the psalmist is determined to make a pest of himself if necessary in order to get the Lord to grant mercy.
Having laid the groundwork in the first two verses, the psalmist then proceeds to lay out his petition in the close of the psalm. He writes, “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud” (123:3-4). Here the psalmist finally lays out the predicament. It is interesting to note that, beginning with the end of verse 2, the psalm shifts to a community focus. The psalmist is lifting his eyes to heaven, and he is pleading for mercy not only for himself but for the rest of the people of God as well. This is important to take note of at this point, and we will come back to it later.
In these verses, we finally understand the suffering that has moved the psalmist to look to God for mercy. It seems that “those who are at ease” are heaping scorn and contempt on the people of God. It could be that these arrogant people are the nations surrounding Israel or it could even be that some of these arrogant people are found within the nation of Israel itself. Regardless, the psalmist is making clear that he and the rest of the people are tired of having such people scorn them and heap contempt on them. The psalmist wants it to end.
From this desire springs the cry for God to have mercy. The psalmist does not specify what this mercy might look like but he pleads for it nonetheless. It could be that he desires for God to punish these arrogant people. It could be that he desires for the Lord to sustain the people while they have to endure such arrogant scorn. It could be that he desires all of these things. Whatever the details, the psalmist is leaving the solution in the hands of God and pleading for the Lord to do something to take care of the situation.
So the central elements of this psalm are not difficult to understand. The psalmist turns his eyes to the sovereign Lord of the universe. He does this with a humble and expectant attitude, recognizing his need for the Lord to show mercy. And in this attitude, he makes his request known to the Lord, pleading for mercy to sustain the people of God in the midst of this suffering. There are various ways that this message could apply to us today.
If you are an enemy of God and His people, turn to the Lord and plead for mercy.
First of all, it is very likely that there are some in this room who are not part of the people of God. If that is the case, you cannot trust God’s sovereign goodness to be exercised in your favor because you are His enemy. For those who steadfastly persevere as His enemies, God will not grant mercy but punishment. To the proud and arrogant heart, there will not be forgiveness but wrath. However, the message of this psalm is still relevant to you. Just like the psalmist, you should turn to the Lord and plead for mercy. The psalmist was pleading for mercy to endure suffering, but you should plead for mercy in order to receive forgiveness for your sins. You are a sinner and that sin separates you from God. But God sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to die on the cross and be raised from the dead so that all who trust in Him and submit to Him would be saved. If you turn in repentance and plead for mercy, you will find an abundant stream that will overwhelm you and fill you. Plead for mercy and you will have it. Persevere in arrogance and you will have judgment.
If you are in a situation in which you are receiving scorn from the arrogant, imitate the psalmist.
Perhaps there are some of you here who understand the psalmist’s sentiments all too well. You, too, “have had more than enough of contempt” and “more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease.” If this is the case and you feel the ridicule and the persecution of those who hate God, turn your eyes to the sovereign Lord who is enthroned in the heavens. He sees all things and knows all things, and there is no greater person to whom you can look. Turn to this Lord not with an arrogant and demanding attitude but with the humble attitude of a servant who has already received unmerited, boundless grace. Turn to the Lord with a humble recognition that you need His mercy, and then do not stop seeking that mercy until he grants it because He will grant it. Come before His throne with boldness because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished and make your request known to Him. Make your request openly and boldly, recognizing that often “you do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2c). Come before the Lord trusting that He will hear and that He will answer – just like the psalmist.
If you are not in such a situation, examine your heart and prepare now for when such a day arrives.
More than likely, the vast majority of us do not find ourselves in such a situation. This psalm is still vitally important for us. First of all, we should understand the clear biblical declaration that times of scorn and contempt and suffering are sure to come. Jesus told His disciples, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). He also made clear to them, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). In Acts, Luke tells us that Paul traveled to various cities “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). We must understand that difficult times will come if we are sincerely following Christ. Paul was very clear with Timothy when he said, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:2). These are exactly the kind of people described in our Psalm. We must understand that we will suffer at the words (and by the lips) of these sorts of people. For that reason, we need to make sure the truths of Psalm 123 (as well as Psalm 54 and 120 and 121) saturate our hearts so that when these times come, we will turn to the sovereign Lord of the universe with a humble heart and plead with Him for mercy instead of abandoning the faith or returning evil for evil. We must be ready.
We should realize that parts of the Christian church are in this very situation, and we should let this psalm teach us how to help them.
One of the key parts of this psalm, as I mentioned earlier, is its communal nature. The psalmist is voicing the prayer of verses 3-4 on behalf of the whole community – pleading for the Lord to have mercy on the whole community. This is instructive for us because it helps us understand the interconnected nature of the people of God. In the Old Testament this was easy to understand because the people of God were a physical nation. But the New Testament makes clear that this reality continues even if the nature of the people of God has changed to include people from every nation. Paul told the Corinthians, “But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that he members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:24b-26). Paul’s point is that the church is one body, and the suffering of one part should affect every other part. God has fitted the body together in such a way that we are intimately connected to every other part. We need them, and they need us.
And us we understand this reality, we must understand that large parts of our body are enduring the very scorn and contempt and suffering described by David in Psalm 123. Throughout the world – in places like Eritrea, India, Pakistan and China – our brothers and sisters are suffering scorn and contempt and persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ. What we can do for these brothers and sisters? We can pray for them. Like the author of Psalm 123, we can plead with our God to grant them mercy. We can lift them before the throne of grace and trust that God will keep them and sustain them. We can pray that Christ would be so satisfying and worthy in their hearts and minds that they will endure to the end. We can pray, and we should pray.
But how can we know that we can have such confidence in our God? How can we know that he hears? One central answer to this question is by looking at the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we come to the table, we should be strengthened in our hope as we remember that God sent His Son to die for our sins and be raised for our justification so that we could believe and repent and be saved. We can cry out for mercy and trust that God hears us because Jesus Christ has granted us access into His presence. We can look to Him like a servant to his master because we know that He cares for us. As we take communion, let us rejoice in the love and grace of God to us and for us. Amen.