Lifting Up Our Eyes (Psalm 123:1)

 


Tuesday, 21 October, 2025


Psalms 121; 122; 123

2 Kings 6:8-23

Matthew 15:21-39


Lifting Up Our Eyes (Psalm 123:1)


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


Today we get a chunk of Psalms, one after the other, all with the same superscription: “A Song Of Ascents”. They are most likely lyrics to songs that people would sing in ancient times as they went up to the temple at Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Jerusalem is up on a hill, and the temple up some more stairs after that. And so the idea of physically ascending to the Lord is closely connected to spiritual ascent.


In the second of today’s three Psalms we read the line “I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord”. If you haven’t yet heard the anthem “I Was Glad” by Parry, then you’re in for a treat! It is a such a triumphant sentence. This life we lead can get so muddy and messy; our souls suffer more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease.


But let us go to the house of the Lord; let us lift up our eyes to the Lord; let us go up and worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness. Lift up your eyes; lift up your hearts. God sits on his throne and beholds all the creatures of the earth, and those who come before him in Christ Jesus are of special importance to him.


What things not of God are weighing you down at the moment? How might lifting your spirit “up” to the Lord free you from those burdens?


High and holy God, you sit in the heavens and call all people to yourself through your Son Jesus Christ: inspire us by your Holy Spirit that we may answer your call and be raised up to the bliss of your nearer presence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32)

Image
  Monday, February 3, 2025 Psalm 78:16-38 Genesis 18:22-19:11 Luke 2:1-7 Observance: First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove, Conducted by Richard Johnson, Sydney, 1788 For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32) From this wonderfully pastoral tableau, of the old man and his wife entertaining three divine guests, comes a dark shadow. Approaching from the valley below them comes the cries of iniquity of the cities of the plain: Sodom and Gomorrah. Rising from their feast, the three men turn from blessing Abraham and Sarah to executing divine judgement. And the story just gets darker from here. But Abraham, in his boldness, has this immortal conversation with God, a conversation that uncovers for us whispers of Jesus’ words about people who are “salt” and “light”. God desires that none should perish, but that all should turn from their sins and live. And for the sake of just ten righteous people, the disaster about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah could be turned away...
Read more

Monday, July 25, 2022

  Monday, July 25, 2022 Psalm 62; 63 Hosea 1 Romans 4:1-12 He only is my rock and my salvation: my strong tower, so that I shall not be moved. The prophecies of Hosea are rich with vivid imagery. Look at these names: firstly, “Hosea” means “salvation”. So too do the names Joshua and Jesus. Then Hosea has three children: “God scatters”, “Not pitied”, and “Not my people”. This is because the children are part of the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which is an image God is showing to the nation. It is to our profit that God has used real-life events to communicate spiritual imagery and divine truths. We find it very easy to understand our relationship with God as being a faithful wife to a loving husband. We can reconcile this message with what Paul has to teach us today in Romans. He makes the very important observation that Abraham was given God's righteousness as a result of his faith before, not after, his circumcision. Again, this is God using real-life events...
Read more

We are all the work of your hand.

  Tuesday, January 2, 2024 Psalms 5; 6 Isaiah 64 Ephesians 2:1-10 Observances: Basil of Caesarea (d. 379) and Gregory of Nanzianus (d. 389), bishops and teachers; Eliza Hassall (d. 1917), pioneer of missionary training and CMS (Australia) We are all the work of your hand. If you know nothing about statues, you will at least know of Michelangelo's David . It seems strange that a piece could hold public fame for so long, but if we think about it theologically, then it’s endurance makes sense. Consider what the artist intended it to be: a display of pure Renaissance ideology. An era when men began to imagine themselves as artists and engineers, and their own being their life’s work. Anyone could be anything, and this is what Michelangelo is saying with his statue. Behold, the perfect man, formed from rough rock by the hands of a self-driven man. The irony here is the subject. While Michelangelo may have called his statue David simply to ensure prompt payment ...
Read more