Easy Bible Crafts

Single lesson

Psalm 123: I Lift Up My Eyes to You

Psalms 123:1–4

Psalm 123 is a short prayer that looks up to God and asks for mercy. Children can notice who is speaking, what pictures the psalm uses, and how the words move from looking to pleading.

6–10 years30 minutes

Before you teach

These four verses are a prayer addressed to Yahweh. The speaker says, “I lift up my eyes to you,” then uses the picture of servants watching a master’s hand. The prayer asks twice for mercy and explains that the people have endured contempt, scoffing and pride.

Learning aim

Students will identify the speaker’s upward focus, the servant image, and the repeated request for mercy in Psalms 123:1–4.

1

Welcome: Looking up to God

5 min

Begin by asking children to listen for who the prayer speaks to and what direction the speaker looks. Read Psalms 123:1 aloud slowly. Point out that the speaker says, “I lift up my eyes to you,” and speaks to the one “who sit in the heavens”. This shows the prayer is directed to God.

Psalms 123:1

2

Read and explain: The picture in the middle

8 min

Read Psalms 123:1–2. Explain that the psalm uses 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”. The prayer says they keep looking “until he has mercy on us”.

Psalms 123:1, Psalms 123:2

3

Discuss: What is the prayer asking for?

6 min

Read Psalms 123:3 together. Help children hear the repetition: “Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us”. Ask why they think words are repeated in prayers. Stay with the verse itself: the reason given is that “we have endured much contempt”. The prayer is honest about pain and need.

Psalms 123:3

4

Make and respond: Illustrated prayer card

7 min

Children make a small card with two sides. On one side, they draw lifted eyes or the word “mercy”. On the other side, they write a short line from the psalm such as “I lift up my eyes to you” or “Have mercy on us”. Encourage them to match their picture to the psalm’s wording.

Psalms 123:1, Psalms 123:3

5

Closing: From trouble to trust

4 min

Finish by reading all four verses. Show the movement of the psalm: it begins by looking to God, continues with waiting for mercy, and ends by naming the problem of scoffing and contempt from the proud. Invite children to say one thing they learned about prayer from these verses.

Psalms 123:1, Psalms 123:2, Psalms 123:3, Psalms 123:4

Questions to explore

In verse 1, who is the speaker talking to, and where does the speaker say this one sits?

Look for the words “to you” and the phrase “sit in the heavens” to identify the one being addressed.

Psalms 123:1

What comparison does verse 2 use to show how God’s people are watching and waiting?

Notice both parts of the picture: servants watching a master’s hand and a maid watching her mistress’s hand.

Psalms 123:2

Why does the prayer ask for mercy in verses 3 and 4?

The verses explain the request by mentioning contempt, scoffing, and the proud.

Psalms 123:3, Psalms 123:4

Make, think or respond

Illustrated Mercy Prayer Card

What you’ll need

  • paper or card
  • pencils or crayons
  • marker

Try it together

  1. Fold or divide a small piece of paper into two sides.
  2. On the front, draw an image from the psalm, such as lifted eyes or watching hands.
  3. On the back, write one short line from Psalms 123:1 or Psalms 123:3.
  4. Share the card with the group and explain how the drawing matches the words of the psalm.

This activity helps children connect the psalm’s images of looking to God and asking for mercy with its exact words.

Adapt for your group

  • For younger children, offer two verse choices to copy and let them explain their picture in spoken words rather than writing much.
  • For older children, ask them to trace the movement of the psalm in three labels: looking, waiting, asking.

An optional closing prayer

You may pray: “Yahweh, we lift up our eyes to you. Please teach us to look to you and ask for mercy honestly. Amen.”

Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic

Psalms 123

1 I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.

2 Behold, 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.

3 Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.

World English Bible Classic. Public domain.

Source passages

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