Psalm 123:1 "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens."
Psalm 124:1 "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
now may Israel say..."
Since we finished Psalm 119, we have been looking at "Psalms of
degrees". It seems we are building on what we learned about the
importance of God's Word. In looking at these Psalms, we have been taking the
words that were written and building a relationship with God based upon
them. Aren't you thankful that God's wisdom moved men of old to pen
Heavenly Words that can be read, understood, and received as being the absolute
truth of God? They are words from God's heart sent directly to our
hearts. The Word of God instructs us to place our eyes on Him and take
them off situations, circumstances, struggles, pain, and suffering.
Today, He takes us from lifting up our eyes unto the hills from whence comes
our help to the place of lifting our eyes unto the Lord. It is possible
that at times our prayers are directed heavenward when they should be directed
to the very King of kings and Lord of lords. There are times when our
prayers are sort of cast in the right direction, but we need them to hit the
very target to which we are aimed. Today, David is telling us that he is
not praying in a vertical, heavenly direction; rather, he is praying to the God
of all heaven and earth.
He now acknowledges as he realizes the importance of that relationship with the
Lord, "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side..." Can
you look back on your life and see times when you know without a doubt that if
the Lord had not been on your side, you would not be here today? Was
there a time, something prodded you to look again back to the right before
pulling into traffic? Have you ever been stuck behind a slow moving
vehicle only to find a terrible accident a few miles down the road where you
would have probably been if not for the slow moving vehicle? Have you
ever found yourself in a tremendous blessing that you know you did not deserve
nor could have ever planned for it to be so wonderful? If any of these
things, or something else, rings a bell with you, then you and I can say, "If
it had not been for the LORD...."
When we come to that place of realization, it is important to say, "Thank
you Lord for your blessings and for your favor upon me."
Relationship! That is where God is drawing us.