Read & explore together
I Lift Up My Eyes to You
Psalm 123 is a short prayer-song that looks upward to God. It speaks humbly, asking for mercy while describing the hurt of being treated with contempt by proud and comfortable people.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
Across these four verses, the speaker addresses God directly, then uses a picture of servants watching a master’s hand. The psalm moves from looking to God in hope to asking twice for mercy, because the people praying say they have had more than enough of scoffing and contempt.
Psalms 123:1–4Main takeaway
This psalm teaches that people may look to God for mercy when they are worn down by contempt.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Eyes lifted to the one in heavenThe psalm opens with direct address: “I lift up my eyes to you”. This turns attention toward God, not toward the people causing pain.
Explanation
The psalm opens with direct address: “I lift up my eyes to you”. This turns attention toward God, not toward the people causing pain. God is called the one “who sit[s] in the heavens”, showing his higher place and authority. The poetry expresses dependence through this image of looking upward.
02A picture of steady dependenceVerse 2 gives a comparison. Servants watch the hand of a master, and a maid watches the hand of her mistress.
Explanation
Verse 2 gives a comparison. Servants watch the hand of a master, and a maid watches the hand of her mistress. In the same way, “our eyes look to Yahweh, our God”. They keep looking “until he has mercy on us”. The verse explains where hope is directed, even before mercy is described.
03A repeated plea for mercyThe prayer grows urgent in verse 3. “Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us” repeats the request, showing deep need.
Explanation
The prayer grows urgent in verse 3. “Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us” repeats the request, showing deep need. The reason is stated clearly: “we have endured much contempt”. The psalm does not hide suffering. It brings the experience of being dishonoured straight to God in prayer.
04Trouble named without a resolutionThe last verse explains the burden more fully. Their “soul is exceedingly filled” with scoffing and contempt.
Explanation
The last verse explains the burden more fully. Their “soul is exceedingly filled” with scoffing and contempt. The mockers are called “those who are at ease” and “the proud”. The contrast is sharp: proud people show scorn, while the prayerful people ask God for mercy. The psalm ends with the trouble still present.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What does the speaker do first before asking for mercy?
Notice that the psalm begins by lifting the eyes to God before the repeated request appears.
02How does verse 2 explain what it means to look to Yahweh?
Focus on the image of servants watching and the words “until he has mercy on us”.
03How are the painful people in this psalm described?
Look for the words “scoffing”, “contempt”, “at ease”, and “proud”.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Psalms 123:1–4
1I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.
2Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.
3Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.
4Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.