Song Deep Dive: Psalm 123 (Have Mercy)
About Psalm 123
Psalm 123 is a prayer of lament, a cry for mercy from the LORD. The psalmist begins by lifting their eyes to the One enthroned in heaven: “I lift up my eyes to You, to You who sit enthroned in heaven.” (Psalm 123:1) This psalm follows the ancient pattern of lament: Address, Request, Protest. God is addressed by name, His mercy is requested, and then the burden is poured out, the pain of contempt, ridicule, and arrogance from the proud. Unlike many psalms, this one does not end in praise. Instead, it leaves us waiting for the mercy of God. That is the heart of Psalm 123: looking up, keeping our eyes fixed on the LORD, and trusting that His mercy will come.
Psalm 123
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
Stephen's Thoughts
I originally wrote this song of lament on the piano, but then I received a Christmas present from my wife: a banjolele. A banjolele is the love child of a banjo and a ukulele, the two happiest instruments in the world. I took great delight in writing a sad banjolele song. There is something so fitting about playing in minor on an instrument made for the major. This song originally included an extra two minutes with an extended banjolele and piano solo, but I decided to cut it, because not every song needs to be five minutes long! Psalm 123 is a lament, yet there is hope within the song because the psalmist’s eyes are always fixed on the LORD, expectantly waiting on His mercy.
Listen to Psalm 123 (Have Mercy)
Musical Credits
Stephen Vesolich (Vocals and Banjolele)
Stephanie Wilsey (Vocals and Piano)
Lisa Vesolich (Vocals)
Lyrics
I lift up my eyes to You.
To You whose throne is in heaven
As the eyes of servant look to the hand of his master,
As the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress
So our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He shows us His mercy.
Have mercy. Have mercy.
Have mercy. Have mercy, O LORD, on us
We’ve endured so much contempt from the proud and arrogant.
So our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He shows us His mercy.
Have mercy. Have mercy.
Have mercy. Have mercy, O LORD, on us
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