“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven, as the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master …our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy. Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud.” (Psa. 123:1-4) He prayed earlier, “Where does MY HELP COME FROM? My help comes FROM THE LORD, the maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121: 1–2). We must lift up your eyes above our problems, above our situation – lift them up TO GOD who is seated on the throne of the universe, the God who reigns. There were times when the writer of this psalm, was tempted to doubt whether God was still on the throne. His circumstances seemed to point to the fact that someone else was in control of the universe – he knew contempt and ridicule.
WE MUST REMEMBER THREE VERY IMPORTANT THINGS BENITA:
- REMEMBER GOD’S THRONE: Above any earthly thrones is the throne of the Lord God Almighty. HE IS THE ONE REIGNING.
- REMEMBER GOD’S MERCY: Here is the second thing we must not forget when we approach God – He is a God of mercy. Frequently the psalms remind us of this very fact, for example: “The Lord is merciful and loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love.” (Psalm 103: 8).
- REMEMBER GOD’S TIMING: This was another lesson that Jesus kept drumming in to His hearers: persist in prayer. Don’t give up hope. He even told a parable on one occasion, Luke tells us, “…to show them that they should ALWAYS PRAY and NOT GIVE UP” (Luke 18: 1).
When the great preacher C. H. Spurgeon preached on this psalm, he drew attention to the snail. Remember Noah’s Ark, he said, and the animals going in two by two. It can only have been by GREAT PERSISTENCE that THE SNAIL ever reached the Ark’s doors! DON’T GIVE UP!
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham