Psalm 123:
Consecration to the Lord Himself


In the Bible there are at least four different ways to experience the Lord's hand. He not only supplies us with life, but also with the proper church life, the best companions, and the best environment. All of these items are out of His hand. When a person has the reality of consecration it means that they are fully attentive to the actions of the Lord Himself.

Psalm 123 begins, "To You do I lift up my eyes, You who sit enthroned in heaven" (v. 1). This shows the psalmist has grown in his spiritual experience. In Psalm 121 the psalmist said, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From where will my help come?" Originally the writer was looking up to the hills for help from the Lord. Now in Psalm 123 he is looking up to the Lord Himself. Who is the Lord? He is the One who sits enthroned in heaven. He is the resurrected and ascended One, the One who is the government of the universe. He is in ascension and administration. Therefore the psalmist says, "To You do I lift up my eyes, You who sit enthroned in heaven."

Being Consecrated by Paying Our Attention To The Lord's Hand

The psalmist continues, "Behold, as the eyes of the servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a servant girl look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to Jehovah our God, until He is gracious to us." This verse is very touching, but it is difficult to expound. The psalmist says, "Lord, here I am. I am looking unto You. I am just like a servant who looks to the hand of his master, and a servant girl who looks to the hand of her mistress. I am the same. My eyes are on You. You are the Lord, my God." For us to "look to the hand" means to pay our full attention to a person. In some earlier cultures, especially Eastern ones, the lives of the servants were in the hands of their masters. Their masters even had the right to tell them whether they would live or die. Because of this, the servants were completely and utterly attentive to their "masters' hands." They were attentive to every need of their masters' person.

We are focused on all of His dealings and actions. This is the reality of consecration. It is not a theory or a slogan, nor is it merely a proper position. When a person has the reality of consecration it means that they are fully attentive to the actions of the Lord Himself. If we are truly consecrated, then however the Lord leads and whatever the Lord does, we are those who have the proper response to Him. As the "servants" and "maidens" of the Lord we must learn to be so attentive to "the hand of our master."

When a person has the reality of consecration it means that they are fully attentive to the actions of the Lord Himself.

The Lord's Hand of Supply and Support:For Us to Receive His Provision and Arrangement

In the Bible there are at least four different ways to experience the Lord's hand. Firstly, the Lord's hand is a hand of supply. Whenever we look unto Him we receive the life-supply. His hand is also a hand of support. Support is needed when we are not able to receive the supply. The Lord is very merciful. When we are not able to receive His life-supply, then His hand will come in to support us. When we are able to receive His supply, then His hand supplies us with everything we need. He not only supplies us with life, but also with the proper church life, the best companions, and the best environment. All of these items are out of His hand. He also supplies us with all our inward needs. He supplies us with life, light, strength, and enjoyment. The Lord's hand is a hand of supply that meets all of our needs.

The Lord is a Lord of supply, and He is also a Lord of support. The Lord does everything to supply us, but we don't always know how to take His grace and enjoy His provision. Instead we often argue with Him. We ask, "Lord, why me?" The Lord supplies the best for us, but we complain. At such times the Lord's hand becomes a hand of support. This is surely precious. When we refuse to take His supply, then His hand of support will come. The only thing we must do is continue to look at Him.

The Lord's Hand of Leading: For Us to be Purposeful

The Lord's hand is also a hand of leading. As He supplies and supports us, He also leads us. Every time we are clear about the Lord's leading our life is very purposeful. But when the Lord's leading is not clear to us then we wonder what we are living for. All kinds of questions come in. It is when the leading is not clear to us that we struggle. Everything becomes frustrating. However, even then the supply is still there. When we can't handle our situation, the supply becomes support. Even though we are not so sure what is right, we still survive.

The Lord's Hand of Comfort: For Us to Obey His Leading

Out of the Lord's leading, there is comfort. The Lord's hand becomes a comfort to us. As His leading becomes clear and we become so purposeful, the Lord comforts us. He tells us, "I am with you." The same hand that leads us also becomes a comfort to us as we obey His leading.

The Lord's Hand of Discipline: For Us to Depend on His Mercy

The Lord's hand is also a hand of discipline. This is actually most precious and more significant than His support, supply, leading and comfort. The most crucial purpose of the Lord's hand is to discipline us. This is why the psalmist says, "Our eyes look to Jehovah our God, until He is gracious to us." Other translations say, "Until He has mercy upon us." At what point do we need mercy in our experience? We understand that mercy means the Lord reaches us in our low condition, even where grace cannot reach us. When we are far off from Him, the Lord still reaches us by His mercy. But when we experience the Lord's mercy, what do we really experience? We actually experience His discipline. When we realize that we are far off from the Lord, by His mercy we repent and come back to Him. In the process we experience something of the Lord's discipline.

The Lord's Discipline Brings Us into a Situation of Contempt

The psalmist continues, "Be gracious to us, O Jehovah, be gracious to us; for we are greatly filled with contempt" (v. 3). This verse is very interesting. When we love the Lord, the Lord disciplines us. When the Lord disciplines us, we are brought into a situation of contempt. We become what seems to be an unfortunate and unlucky person. It seems that everyone else is doing fine, but we are in a contemptible situation.

When we follow the Lord, we have to prepare ourselves to be in contempt. People will look at us and ask, "What are you doing with your life?" This is the Lord's disciplinary hand. Sometimes our parents would say to us, "You have a college degree, but you are wasting your life. When are you going to do something useful?" Then all we can do is tell the Lord, "Lord, have mercy upon me. Be gracious to me. I am greatly filled with contempt." This is to know the Lord's hand. When the Lord's hand of discipline is upon us we often become contemptible in the world's eyes. However, this should lead us to cry out to the Lord for His mercy. Then His hand will come in to supply us, support us, lead us, and comfort us. The more experiences we have of this, the better. The Lord's hand of discipline keeps us dependent on His mercy.

When We Love the Lord, the World will Despise Us and Scorn Us

The psalmist continues, "Our soul is greatly filled with the scorn of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud" (v. 4). Everyone on this earth is proud. In particular, when people do not have Christ they are proud. Even when they have nothing to be proud of, as long as they don't have the Lord's hand they will still be proud. But everyone who loves the Lord will be despised, regardless of who they are or what they do. When you love the Lord, people will scorn you. No matter how well you perform your responsibilities in the world, as long as you love the Lord you should be prepared for the "contempt of the proud." When you don't care about Christ, the world receives you. When you say, "I am for Christ," contempt and scorn will come. Sometimes it almost seems unbearable. You may eventually decide that it is impossible to live in this world while being absolute for Christ. This is why we need the next psalm in our experience.

Back to top

         

Do you have a question or comment about this message?

Long version of this message

To purchase the book Journey of Life; the Psalms of Ascent and Song of Songs