¹To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

Lies, mocking, disrespect—who of us has not had others verbally taunt us, looking down their noses at us, treating us as inferior and making our lives difficult? People in the ancient world had similar experiences, facing verbal taunts from others who wanted to exert dominance over them. This psalm gives us insight into trusting God when faced with situations beyond our control.

A short psalm, it is remarkable for its use of repetition, a literary device that amplifies the message. The first instance of this is the repeated use of the word “eyes” as a metaphor for seeking help and relying on another. For the believer, our reliance is on the Lord. The psalmist draws a parallel between our dependence on God and that of a servant on his master or a maid on her mistress (a female master). It is important to note that the master/servant relationship, as described in this psalm, was a broadly understood social construct involving a general dependence by one person on another person who was in a superior social or economic status.

We might paraphrase verse one in this way: “I lock my eyes on the Lord.” This calls to mind the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who, because of his arrogance, was consigned by God to seven years of insanity, living like an animal and eating grass like the cattle. His punishment was to continue like this until he came to “recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind” (Dan. 4:32). The time finally came when, in Nebuchadnezzer’s own words, “I … raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever…” (Dan. 4:34). His upturned eyes signified his submission to and dependance on the Lord.

As believers, we need to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith …” (Heb. 12:1b-2a). We need to pray that “the eyes of [our] heart may be enlightened …” (Eph. 1:18). When the apostle John recounted Jesus’ upper room prayer, he used this imagery of “eyes”:

“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You…” (John 17:1).

As in the Lord’s prayer, the psalmist begins by expressing his dependence on God, who is “in the heavens”—recognizing His sovereign rule over all the earth. He moves from personal prayer (“I lift up my eyes,” vs. 1) to a communal request (“Be gracious to us,” vs. 3). Repeating the phrase “be gracious” three times for emphasis (vss. 2-3), he asks for the Lord to lean into them (God’s people) and their need, to act favorably towards them. The implication is that the way their detractors thought about them was being translated into how they treated them. Emotional taunts are often a precursor to physical abuse or warfare.

The people of God were being treated with absolute contempt by those who looked down their noses at them. This was made worse because the scoffers lived a life of ease, mocking those struggling with hardships (vs. 3-4). Who of us has not experienced this at times in our lives? Indeed, even our Lord Jesus Christ experienced this when people mocked Him while He was dying on the cross (e.g., Matt. 27:41).

The psalm closes with a terse judgment, calling the detractors “proud” in the sense of being arrogant. This contrasts with the psalmist’s humility in the beginning of the psalm: “To You [Lord] I lift up my eyes.” His trust was in the Lord, not his own devices, unlike those who had proud hearts.

Lord, I look up to You when others look down their noses at me. When I feel dejected, neglected, and looked down upon, I remember that You are the source of my protection and strength.