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Pentecost Season · Proper 28 · Year A

Psalm 123

To You I Lift Up My Eyes

November 15, 2026

Psalm 123 (Harley Psalter), Canterbury scriptorium
Psalm 123 (Harley Psalter), Canterbury scriptorium, c. 1000–1050British Library, Harley MS 603
From an Anglo-Saxon psalter drawn in nervous brown ink at Canterbury, copying an older Carolingian book. Every psalm gets its own literal drawing.To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens. The scribe drew exactly that, a thousand years ago, and hands are lifted all over the page.Canterbury scriptoriumThe monastic writing room at Christ Church, Canterbury, where English draughtsmen copied Carolingian books in a nervous line of their own.British Library, Harley MS 603The national library of the United Kingdom, whose Harley collection came from an eighteenth-century earl's library.British Library, Harley MS 603
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 25:14-30Mt 25:14-30
Epistle1 Thess. 5:1-111 Thes 5:1-11
Old TestamentJudg. 4:1-7Jgs 4:1-7Alt. OTZeph. 1:7, 12-18Zep 1:7, 12-18
PsalterPs. 123Ps 123Alt. PsalmPs. 90:1-8, (9-11), 12Ps 90:1-8, (9-11), 12

Overview & Insights

“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven.” (Psalm 123:1)

This psalm is a patient prayer for mercy. The voice of a liturgist is evident in the “I” who begins the psalm and speaks on behalf of the “we/our” throughout the remainder. The psalm is performed not only by singing but also by the “lifting of the eyes” heavenward, an action emphasized in the first two verses. It contains no explicit connection to the temple. Yahweh is sought above: “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.” (When viewed in sequence, this claim regarding Yahweh’s throne qualifies the relative authority of David’s throne mentioned in 122:5.)

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Commentary

Commentary on Psalm 123Commentary on Ps 123 Working Preacher

The Lutheran home commentary on the appointed psalm by a named seminary scholar.

Psalm 123 - Looking to the LORD for MercyPs 123 - Looking to the LORD for Mercy Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the upward look for mercy in a time of contempt.

Psalm 123:1 CommentariesPs 123:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the eyes lifted to the enthroned LORD.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 123 (Hebrew and English)Ps 123 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

The Hebrew of the pilgrim psalm alongside English with linked Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 123 (Catena)Ps 123 (Catena) Catena

Early church readings of the psalm of ascent that waits on God's mercy.

Questions preachers ask

What is Psalm 123?

A short Song of Ascents in which the worshiper looks to God like a servant to a master’s hand, waiting for mercy amid contempt, a prayer of humble, expectant trust.

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