I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES

Psalm 123:1–2 (ESV) — 1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 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 Lordour God, till he has mercy upon us.

Psalm 123:1–2 ESV

1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 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.

I. THE LORD IS OUR FOCUS

Psalm 123:1 (ESV) — 1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Psalm 123:1 ESV

1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Hebrews 12:2a (ESV) —2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith….

Psalm 123:2 (ESV) —2 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.

Psalm 123:2 ESV

2 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.

It can be an attitude of waiting for a command, or waiting for reward or for punishment; it seems better, however, to take the language as a figure of trust and dependence (Kirkpatrick, Taylor, Anderson).[1]

The comparisons establish both the authority and power of the Lord and the dependence and need of his people.[2]

Psalm 121:1–2 (ESV) — 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1–2 ESV

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

II. THE FOCUS OF THE LORD’S EYES

2 Chronicles 16:8–9 (ESV) — 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lordrun to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

2 Chronicles 16:8–9 ESV

8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

“Now, in 2 Chronicles 16:9 (‘the eyes of the Lord’) it’s referring to God’s intense attentiveness and eagerness to act in a certain way toward a certain kind of person.” John Piper

[1] Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator’s handbook on the book of Psalms (p. 1060). United Bible Societies. [2] Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2021). Psalms (T. D. Alexander, T. R. Schreiner, & A. J. Köstenberger, Eds.; Vol. 2, p. 390). Lexham Academic.