Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of (A)Ascents.

123 To you I (B)lift up my eyes,
    O you who are (C)enthroned in the heavens!
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.

(D)Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of (E)contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
    of (F)the scorn of (G)those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of (H)the proud.

Psalm 123[a]

Reliance on the Lord

A song of ascents.

To you I raise my eyes,
    to you enthroned in heaven.(A)
Yes, like the eyes of servants
    on the hand of their masters,
Like the eyes of a maid
    on the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes are on the Lord our God,
    till we are shown favor.
Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
    for we have our fill of contempt.(B)
Our souls are more than sated
    with mockery from the insolent,
    with contempt from the arrogant.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 123 A lament that begins as a prayer of an individual (Ps 123:1), who expresses by a touching comparison exemplary confidence in God (Ps 123:2). The Psalm ends in prayer that God relieve the people’s humiliation at the hands of the arrogant (Ps 123:3–4).