Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?
One of the psalms in The Divine Hours yesterday was 123, which somehow did not show up in my search for scriptures with the word mercy. Here it is:
To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
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.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
It’s as if the psalmist is saying, “We’ve had it up to here, Lord! These people around us are awful. Help us out, Lord, help us out!” I can’t say that there’s a single somebody that I’ve got in mind to play the part of the proud in this psalm, but I can certainly relate to the emotions of the psalmist.
I love the image of expectancy and dependence presented at the start. For the original readers, servants (some translations use slave) represented total dependence: their physical needs were met (or not) by the master or mistress; they ate what was given to them, slept when and where they were allowed. I’m not sure we have a relationship that is comparable, though employer/employee has some parallels.
As an employee of UAB, there’s no point in me looking to other companies in Birmingham for my paycheck. It can only come from one source, and if the university doesn’t send it out, I have no other recourse. Even more, God alone is my source and solution, and I must keep my eyes fixed on His hand to provide. When I want to say “I’ve had enough!”, God will have to be the one to give me grace for the moment, to give me strength, or whatever form His mercy takes in that situation. No other source can satisfy, because no one else can actually meet the need. It’s a beautiful passage to pray:
To You I lift up my eyes…my eyes look to the Lord my God till He has mercy on me.
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Reflections on a Christ-centered, grace-filled life. Writer and teacher Dan Butcher's blog takes an eclectic approach to faith.
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.