Lifting Our Eyes and Giving Thanks: Psalms 123 and 124

This script presents the full text of Psalm 123 and Psalm 124, both identified as Songs of degrees, with Psalm 124 attributed to David. Psalm 123 is a prayer that lifts its eyes to the Lord who dwells in the heavens, comparing the faithful to servants watching the hand of their master and a maiden watching her mistress, waiting for mercy. It pleads repeatedly for God’s mercy and describes a soul overwhelmed with contempt, scorn, and the disdain of the proud. Psalm 124 reflects on Israel’s deliverance, declaring that if the Lord had not been on their side, enemies would have swallowed them and the waters would have overwhelmed them. It blesses the Lord for not giving them as prey, pictures escape like a bird freed from a broken snare, and concludes that help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

00:00 Psalm 123 — Lifting Our Eyes to Heaven for Mercy
00:43 Psalm 124 — If the Lord Had Not Been on Our Side
01:15 Psalm 124 — Delivered from the Snare: Our Help in the Lord’s Name

Psalm 122: Glad to Go to the House of the Lord

This script presents Psalm 122, a Song of Degrees of David, expressing joy at being invited to go into the house of the Lord and to stand within the gates of Jerusalem. It describes Jerusalem as a city compact together, where the tribes of the Lord go up to give thanks to the name of the Lord, and where thrones of judgment are set, the thrones of the house of David. The psalm calls listeners to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, promising prosperity to those who love her, and asks for peace within her walls and prosperity within her palaces. It closes with a personal commitment to seek Jerusalem’s good for the sake of brethren and companions, and because of the house of the Lord our God.

00:00 Psalm 122 Introduction — A Song of Ascents (David)
00:08 Joyful Invitation: Going to the House of the Lord
00:13 Standing in Jerusalem: The City Built Compact Together
00:22 Why the Tribes Go Up: Worship and Thanksgiving
00:31 Thrones of Judgment: The House of David
00:37 Pray for Jerusalem’s Peace and Prosperity
00:48 Personal Blessing & Closing: Seeking Jerusalem’s Good

Psalm 121: The Lord Our Keeper

This episode presents Psalm 121, a Song of degrees that begins with the speaker lifting their eyes to the hills and asking where help comes from, then answering that help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. The Psalm emphasizes God’s vigilant care: He will not allow the foot to be moved, and the One who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. The Lord is described as a personal keeper and as shade at the right hand, guarding day and night so that neither sun nor moon will strike. It concludes with a promise of preservation from all evil, the keeping of the soul, and God’s protection over going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

00:00 Psalm 121 Intro — A Song of Degrees
00:07 Looking to the Hills: Where Help Comes From
00:17 The Lord Watches Over You (Never Sleeps)
00:31 God as Your Keeper and Shade
00:38 Protected Day and Night
00:44 Preserved From Evil — Now and Forever