Looking Up

 Psalm 123:1 To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he has mercy upon us.

Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,

    who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

    which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

    so the Lord surrounds his people,

    from this time forth and forevermore.

These are three more Psalms of Ascent, sung by the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. As they travel they keep looking forward. As they move to higher and higher elevations they are always looking up. But they are not just looking up to see the first glimpse of the temple; they are looking up to God as they sing. Their hope is in Him. He is higher than the mountain and mightier than their problems.  They know that God can see them where they are and that His lovingkindness surrounds them on their journey, but also after their journey, when the return to life as usual. The point is: they need to keep looking up, and so do we.