April 20 — Lifting Our Eyes to the Lord
Scripture Reading (KJV)
Psalms 121, 123-125, 128-130
SCRIPTURE:
¹ A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
² My help [cometh] from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD [is] thy keeper: the LORD [is] thy shade upon thy right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
⁸ The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
¹ A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
² Behold, as the eyes of servants [look] unto the hand of their masters, [and] as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes [wait] upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
³ Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
⁴ Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, [and] with the contempt of the proud.
¹ A Song of degrees of David. If [it had] not [been] the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
² If [it had] not [been] the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
³ Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
⁴ Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
⁵ Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
⁶ Blessed [be] the LORD, who hath not given us [as] a prey to their teeth.
⁷ Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
⁸ Our help [is] in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
¹ A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD [shall be] as mount Zion, [which] cannot be removed, [but] abideth for ever.
² [As] the mountains [are] round about Jerusalem, so the LORD [is] round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
³ For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
⁴ Do good, O LORD, unto [those that be] good, and to [them that are] upright in their hearts.
⁵ As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: [but] peace [shall be] upon Israel.
¹ A Song of degrees. Blessed [is] every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
² For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy [shalt] thou [be], and [it shall be] well with thee.
³ Thy wife [shall be] as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
⁴ Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
⁵ The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
⁶ Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, [and] peace upon Israel.
¹ A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
² Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.
³ The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
⁴ The LORD [is] righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
⁵ Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
⁶ Let them be as the grass [upon] the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
⁷ Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
⁸ Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD [be] upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.
¹ A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
² Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
³ If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
⁴ But [there is] forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
⁶ My soul [waiteth] for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: [I say, more than] they that watch for the morning.
⁷ Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD [there is] mercy, and with him [is] plenteous redemption.
⁸ And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
DEVOTIONAL:
These songs of ascent teach pilgrims to lift their eyes to the Lord for help, mercy, household blessing, peace, and joyful dependence on His preserving care.
As Israel journeyed up to worship, these psalms formed a people who knew that daily life, family life, labor, and national peace all depend on the Lord's faithful hand.
The pilgrim hope of these psalms reaches fulfillment in Jesus, who leads His people on the journey of faith and secures the peace and blessing of God's household.
In daily life, In daily life, believers should look upward before looking outward, commit our homes and work to God, receive children as gifts, practice patient waiting, and build peace from the fear of the Lord.
In U.S. civic life, the Scripture sets forward the virtue of responsibility, guides our prayers toward homes, marriages, churches, and communities that need peace, fruitfulness, and humble dependence on God, and calls Christians to show up with prayerful households, diligent work, and a settled peace rooted in reverence for the Lord.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What repeated habits of trust do these songs of ascent teach God's people?
How do these psalms connect worship with household life and daily labor?
How does Christ lead us on the pilgrim way and establish true peace?
PRAYER:
ADORATION:
Keeper of Israel, You neither slumber nor fail, and all our help comes from You.
CONFESSION:
Forgive me for looking first to my own strength instead of lifting my eyes to You.
THANKSGIVING:
Thank You for guarding our going out and our coming in and for blessing ordinary life with Your care.
SUPPLICATION – GENERAL:
Shape my home, my work, and my worship by holy dependence on You.
SUPPLICATION – U.S. / CIVIC:
Form Christians in our nation to practice responsibility, and remember in mercy homes, marriages, churches, and communities that need peace, fruitfulness, and humble dependence on God.
SCRIPTURE:
¹ A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. ² My help [cometh] from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.