Our Kind Master; Psalm 123, Proverbs 21

May the mumbling commence!

What a great Master is our Lord!  God is the worthy One to look up to.  Let us lift up our eyes to the Lord and give thanks for the marvelous mercy that He bestows upon us.  Read Psalm one-hundred twenty-three:

Unto You I lift up my eyes,

O You who dwell in the heavens. 

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our eyes look to the Lord our God,

Until He has mercy on us. 

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!

For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 

Our soul is exceedingly filled

With the scorn of those who are at ease,

With the contempt of the proud. 

Why do we look up?  We look up to avert our eyes for the people we see proudly living at ease.  These people live at ease at the expense of other people.  We spit out in contempt at them.  We scorn them. 

But, why do we have such contempt or scorn for those who abuse others?  Is it because we abhor the practices of the wicked?  Or is it because we are jealous that other people can benefit better from the practices than we seem to be able to?

The answer is often somewhere in between the two.  That is why we need the mercy of God so badly.

Help us, O Lord, to remember our position before You.  We are servants.  You are our Master.  We give thanks for such a kind and merciful Master.  Our gaze up at You is not servile but one filled with awe and love.

May we look upon You in such a way of awe and love – eager to do Your pleasing and perfect will.  May we do Your will even when it makes little sense to us.  Help us to let go of the contempt and scorn that we have for our brothers and sisters.  Help us to let go of any bitterness or jealousy that we may harbor for the ease and comforts of those who follow their own strong self-will.

Help us to remember that when we pursue righteousness and mercy, we will be rewarded with the abundant life of eternity with our Lord.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-one:

He who follows righteousness and mercy

Finds life, righteousness and honor. (Verse 21)

When we find life and righteousness and honor through the Lord’s mercy, may we reflect that honor and righteousness and mercy upon the Lord.  We are nothing without God.  We are hopelessly lost without God.  We give thanks and praise for the works of mercy and grace that the Lord showers upon us.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out