📖 Psalms — Chapter 123 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Psalms 123:1 Unto thee Rlift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
Psalms 123:2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; Rso our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
Psalms 123:3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: Rfor we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Psalms 123:4 Our soul is exceedingly filled Rwith the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 123:1 — Eyes lifted toward God
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The speaker lifts his eyes to the heavenly dwelling. The direction of attention makes dependence explicit before the complaint is named.
Key Truth: Turn your attention toward God.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Unto ____ lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in …” (Psalms 123:1)
Find it in Psalms 123:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Unto thee lift I up mine ____ , O thou that dwellest in the heavens.” (Psalms 123:1)
Find it in Psalms 123:1 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the ____ .” (Psalms 123:1)
Find it in Psalms 123:1 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 123:2 — Servants waiting for mercy
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Servants watching a master’s hand picture a community waiting upon God. The image stresses attentive dependence and patient expectation of mercy.
Key Truth: Wait attentively for mercy.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Behold, as the eyes of ____ look unto the hand of their masters, and as the …” (Psalms 123:2)
Find it in Psalms 123:2 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the ____ of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden …” (Psalms 123:2)
Find it in Psalms 123:2 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have ____ upon us.” (Psalms 123:2)
Find it in Psalms 123:2 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 123:3–4 — Contempt brought into prayer
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Repeated pleas for mercy answer overwhelming scorn from the comfortable and proud. Prayer makes space to name humiliation without adopting contempt in return.
Key Truth: Bring humiliation to God’s mercy.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Have ____ upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we …” (Psalms 123:3)
Find it in Psalms 123:3 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Our soul is exceedingly filled with the ____ of those that are at ease, and with the contempt …” (Psalms 123:4)
Find it in Psalms 123:4 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… that are at ease, and with the contempt of the ____ .” (Psalms 123:4)
Find it in Psalms 123:4 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Hebrews 4:16 — God’s throne is approached for mercy and help.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What contempt or humiliation can you bring to God?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does upward attention precede the lament?
2. What shared posture links servants and the handmaid?
3. What gives the watching posture patient duration?
4. Why repeat the plea for mercy?
5. How does the source of scorn distinguish power from righteousness?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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