StandUpPsalms 123
- 123:1
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who sit enthroned in the heavens.
If God sits on a throne in the heavens, you wonder how often he has to dodge a rogue asteroid.
The text pictures God sitting on a distant heavenly throne. When we visualize God as an elevated ruler far out in the cosmos, does it make the deity feel majestic and powerful, or does it make him feel detached and removed from our actual earthly struggles?
- 123:2
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, until he shows us favor.
Based on these metaphors, God appears to be a cruel slave owner—which of course is fine. But “mistress”? When did God start identifying as a woman?
The psalmist uses both master-servant and mistress-maid dynamics to describe our dependence on God. What is the significance of the text using both male and female metaphors to represent the divine, and how does expanding our language beyond strictly masculine imagery change how we relate to God?
- 123:3
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured more than enough contempt.
Apparently, this line was in the original version of the Lord’s Prayer. But Jesus took it out because he’s a real man.
The speaker repeatedly begs for mercy, stating they have had "more than enough" contempt. In daily life, when does continually praying about our mistreatment help us process suffering, and when does it cross the line into a passive victim mentality that keeps us stuck?
- 123:4
Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, and of the contempt of the proud.
This guy’s obviously a Democrat. He’s whining about being “scorned” by all those successful entrepreneurs who have more shekels in their 401-Kosher.
The verse targets the "scorn of those who are at ease" and the "contempt of the proud." Why is there such a strong biblical tendency to equate wealth and comfort with arrogance, and how can we address unfair treatment without letting our desire for justice turn into bitter resentment of other people's success?