The world is filled with “influencers”. Being a social media influencer is a very big thing today, especially among the younger generation. However, there are all sorts of different influencers. Anyone in advertising. People we look up to and admire, like a sports hero, a favorite singer or band, or an actor are types of influencers. We hang on every word they say, and watch how they live their lives. Certain famous people are always being called on to do advertisements for products because of how much influence they have. These folks are either a good or a bad influence for people, and people have our eyes on them. So who are we keeping our eyes on? Our very short psalm for this week gives us the answer of who our influencer should be.
Today’s very brief psalm is one of the Psalms or Songs of Ascent, which are fifteen psalms, Psalms 120 - 134. They are all very short psalms (except Psalm 132, which is basically the average psalm length). These psalms or songs were frequently sung by pilgrims coming to Jerusalem on the Holy Days, as they climbed the hills that surround the city.
Our psalmist knew who he needed to keep his eyes on. It wasn’t the local influencer of his day, or the famous sports or military leader. It wasn’t even the king, like David or Solomon, or one of the prominent prophets. The psalmist knew to keep his eyes on the Lord God. He knew who to pattern his life after, who to follow. He knew that he needed to listen to and to obey the Lord, not someone else who may lead him down the wrong path. How many people started smoking or using drugs because their favorite rock musician used this or that drug? How many were lured into gangs or other criminal activity because they listened to some friends or acquaintances in the neighborhood? Movie and TV stars are always giving their opinions about politics and who everyone should be voting for. If we keep our eyes on the Lord, and are following and obeying what He says in His Word, the Bible, then we won’t be led down the wrong path, and His guidance and principles from the Bible would also instruct us in voting.
In the ancient Middle East, masters would often direct their servants with their hands, rather than their voices (vs. 2). Servants would thus watch the hand of their master. God’s hand directs, supplies, protects, comforts, corrects, and rewards us, His servants. This psalm reminds us of our proper standing before God. We do not look down on God, or view Him as an equal. We lift our eyes to Him. Yahweh is enthroned over the universe. We are dependent upon Him for all things.
In some of the New Testament epistles our Christian life is compared to that of running a race. With the Olympics starting in just a few weeks, the athletes are training. They know the importance of keeping focused. Those in games, like volleyball, know to keep their eyes on the ball. A runner keeps his eye at the finish line. They aren’t to be distracted by looking in the stands to see if someone they know is watching them. We are told to be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). We are to keep our eyes on the Lord.
The author in Psalm 123 lifted his eyes to God, waiting and watching for Him to send His mercy. The more he waited, the more he cried out to the Lord, because he knew that the evil and proud offered no help. They only had contempt for God (vs. 3-4). All too often, the influencers in the world today are not believers, and their message is anything but godly. If one listens to the news media today in any form, whether online, on the TV or radio, or in publications, you will quickly see that they all have nothing but contempt for Christians, the Lord Jesus, and the Bible. Believers receive nothing but scorn from them.
In closing, let’s follow the lead of our psalmist. In every area of his life, he kept his eyes on the Lord. Our eyes, too, should be on Jesus to mercifully meet our needs, and lead us through each and every day.
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