Psalm 123 is a communal lament. The prayer seems to spring from heartfelt and profound piety that takes to heart the affliction of the people. The psalm is one of the Songs of Ascents, the collection of Psalms 120-134. Many think that these psalms may have been pilgrimage songs sung as worshipers made their way up to Jerusalem and the temple. This psalm is also one of the shortest psalms in the psalter (only Psalms 117 [with two verses, the shortest psalm], 131, 133 and 134 are shorter).
He begins with an expression of dependence on the Lord as the introduction to a communal lament. 1 To you I lift up my eyes to the Lord, and then shifts to the plural form in the rest of the psalm, we see the way in which he takes into his heart the affliction suffered by Israel. Psalm 121 is the only other psalm in which we find this expression. The expression suggests a relationship of power between unequals. Placement of the eyes reflected the nature of a relationship. It was a patriarchal culture. Thus, for example, to look upon a woman with more than a passing glance was a serious violation of social norms. Social inferiors averted their gaze from their superiors. A direct gaze from a superior to an inferior was an indication of favor. We can see this in the surprise that David would look upon his servant favorably in II Samuel 9:8. We can see this in the concern that the Lord will not look upon their offerings favorably in Amos 5:22, or in the request for the Lord to look upon the oppression the people experienced in II Maccabees 8:2, or the request for the Lord to look favorably upon the descendants of Abraham who are strangers perishing in a strange land in III Maccabees 6:3. He addresses the Lord: O you who are enthroned in the heavens, a sphere of the divine eternal presence inaccessible to us,[1] which we also see in Psalm 2:4, where the Lord sits in the heavens, and in Isaiah 66:1, where heaven is the throne of the Lord. The point here is that only the Lord can help. The psalmist expresses humble submission and trust in the Lord, even amid distress. 2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, imagery we as modern readers might not like. Yet, the point is that genuine change begins when we look to the Lord with the eyes of a servant. When we do, we see opportunities for change in self and world. The development of spiritual sight can lead to profound change in the ways we relate to self and world. The next image we find only here in the Bible: as the eyes of a maid (shiphchah only here in the psalter) looking to the hand of her mistress. The image is mundane but expresses the relationship between Israel and the Lord. Therefore, like a servant or maid, so our, indicating communal lament, eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us. The writer identifies completely with the affliction Israel experiences. Their only hope for deliverance is in their dependence upon the Lord. It could even refer to the worship in the Temple, as the people would look upon the kapporet or mercy seat. He offers an imperative request: 3 Have mercy upon us; and he offers in invocation: O Lord, have mercy upon us, noting that while such an imperative is common in the psalter, only here and Isaiah 33:2 does it occur in the plural. He then offers a motivation for the Lord to respond positively to the imperative request: for we have had more than enough of contempt. The Bible records a long history of contempt from the neighbors of Israel. 4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn (la'ag, mockery, or derision) from those who are at ease at the expense of the community in their wealth, hoarding oppression, and social injustice. One could be “at ease” through the rest given by God, especially on the Sabbath and through prudent devotion to the ways of God (Proverbs 1:33). Psalm 73:12 refers to the wicked as at ease. Isaiah 32:9 refers to women in Jerusalem as complacent. Amos 6:1 and Zechariah 1:15 warn those at ease in Zion. The point is the gulf that separates the rich from the rest of us. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in a famous line, says, “They are different from you and me.” The psalmist seeks deliverance from such scorn. He also seeks deliverance from the contempt (Hebrew buz, a word found mostly in poetic and wisdom literature) of the proud, again referring to external social and economic circumstances. Contempt is an emotion arising from pride and wickedness, as in Job 31:34 and Psalm 31:19, or from prosperity and ease in Job 12:5.
The reference to the eyes might give us an opportunity to reflect. Think of the phrase, “Eyes wide open.” As in, “I knew Bill for a long time, and I went into this relationship with my eyes wide open.” A similar expression is, “Keep your eyes peeled,” that is, make certain your eyes are uncovered and clear of any “skin” or obstruction that might prevent an excellent view. Then, there is the Kidman-Cruise movie, Eyes Wide Shut, a phrase that has come to refer to those who believe they see, when they do not. For this psalm, in time of trouble, “keep your eyes wide up.”
Some anthropologists think our distant relatives developed an exceptional ability to see objects close to them. Those who had this ability avoided snakebites, a real danger to early humanity. Spotting snakes led to our ancestors pointing to them to communicate the danger to others. Such pointing was critical for the development of language.[2] In a spiritual sense, however, our sight gets dim. We do not recognize the danger to self and to the community. We are so spiritually clueless that we do not know truly the problem we have. We need to have the eyes of a servant of the Lord. With such eyes, we will slowly see the person the Lord wants us to be. We will see the spiritual dangers that abound.
Have we developed servant eyes? -- eyes that can follow the hand of the master, look to the Lord and discern God's ways? Future human maturation will challenge us to get our eyes off the ground and focused on God. Our visual acuity must continue to develop, in spiritual sight. Real change begins when we look to God, with servant eyes.
Good sight helps us to see opportunities for change. History teaches us that the development of spiritual sight can have a profound effect on society. In the first centuries after Christ, the Roman Empire was a class-conscious, minority-abusing, weakness-averse society. However, over the course of several hundred years, Christianity grew from being a miniscule sect of Judaism to a spiritual refuge for increasingly disaffected Greeks and Romans, from runaway slaves and housewives to well-connected aristocrats. Why was this? In his book Mysteries of the Middle Ages, Thomas Cahill writes,
"Christianity's claim that all were equal before God and all equally precious to him" ran like a charged current through Greco-Roman society. Christianity was a "harbor to women, who had always been kept in the shadows," and to slaves, who had never before been awarded "social dignity or political importance." Even aristocrats joined the Jesus movement -- they were sincere and courageous "seekers after truth who had gone quite out of their way to find it."
By the fourth century, Christianity had infiltrated so much of the Greco-Roman world that the emperor Constantine legalized it, and it quickly became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Because people lifted their eyes to Jesus -- instead of to the Greek and Roman gods -- the world became a different place. Not that society became perfect when Constantine received baptism. No, the old snake of Eden was still around, and he continues to make trouble today. But conditions improve when people discover that they are all equal before God and equally precious to God. Our world becomes a better place when people follow Jesus, the servant Lord, and when they look to God with servant eyes.
"If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.
"And this morning, the thing that I like about it: By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."[3]
Our spiritual development continues today, as we look up to the Lord with the eyes of a servant. It is no longer enough for us to avoid snakebites -- no, we must see the human needs that are all around us, and then work together as followers of Christ to alleviate both physical and spiritual poverty. Only then will we see God, eye to eye.
To conclude this little reflection, the image of the eyes also reminds me of the first verse of a well-known hymn.
Open my eyes, that I may see
glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Lastly, a praise song by Leon Lumpkins (2003), “Open Our Eyes,” asks the Father to open our eyes, that we may see the way to follow the Lord. It asks the Lord to grant peace and to increase faith. The Lord and Master has given us mountains and level places. The Lord has given food and clothing, as well as shelter from the storm. It concludes by asking the Lord to open our eyes.
nice take on eyes from this psalm. Enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It was enjoyable for me to play with the image for a bit.
Delete