Psalm 123: Lifting Eyes to God in Contempt
2026-11-01 · 3.975 MHz · 0600 PST
The Bible reading
Psalm 123
Today's Reading (KJV): Psalm 123
1Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2Behold, 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; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
The study examined Psalm 123, a prayer for the Lord's help, noting its historical context in the post-exile period when Israel returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and city walls. The psalmist describes the overwhelming contempt and scorn faced by God's people from neighbors like Sanballat and Tobiah, who mocked and attacked them for their faithfulness. The text highlights the Israelites' weakness and their sole reliance on God for protection and deliverance, as they had no military power to defend themselves against these persecutors.
The discussion emphasized the vertical nature of the psalmist's gaze, looking up to God enthroned in the heavens rather than to earthly powers or human solutions. The analogy of servants looking to their masters was used to illustrate the relationship of dependence and expectation; just as servants rely on their masters for provision and protection, believers rely on God for mercy and deliverance. The study noted that while God is omniscient and already knows the needs of His people, prayer is essential for expressing humility, trust, and dependence, and for acknowledging God's sovereignty in answering those needs.
Participants discussed the modern application of this psalm, drawing parallels between the ancient persecution of Israel and the current cultural and spiritual challenges faced by Christians. The study warned against looking to lesser authorities, such as political or military institutions, for ultimate hope, as these are inadequate to address spiritual redemption and eternal life. The session concluded with a prayer for families experiencing division and scorn, asking God to stop the ridicule and bring peace to households where faith causes conflict.
Insights
- The 'vertical movement' of lifting eyes to God signifies a deliberate shift away from earthly solutions toward divine sovereignty.
- The analogy of servants and masters highlights that loyalty to God guarantees His loyalty and protection in return.
- Articulating needs in prayer, even though God already knows them, fosters a sense of answered prayer and glory to God.
- Social contempt and bullying can dehumanize the target, making physical or spiritual attack a likely next step.
- Human institutions, such as the military or government, are impotent to solve the ultimate problems of sin and death.
- Patience is required when waiting for God's deliverance, as rushing to human shortcuts often worsens the situation.
- Family members can be a source of significant scorn and persecution for believers, requiring specific prayer for peace and salvation.
Transcript
0:00Glad for that contact.
0:01All right, WB7MX, looking for check-ins.
0:04Please come down.
0:05N7 G&D.
0:08Good morning, Mike.
0:09N7 G&D, are you getting your gear piled up for the elk hunting trip?
0:13Over.
0:14Roger that.
0:15It's piles everywhere.
0:18Tomorrow I'll start putting the piles in the trailer and the truck.
0:21But, yeah, it's quite something.
0:24My other half is being quite patient with it.
0:27So, yeah, it's all good.
0:30She's used to the chaos, she says.
0:32Anyway, good morning, everyone, and looking forward to the study today.
0:37N7 G&D.
0:40All right, real good.
0:41Glad to hear the things are coming around.
0:44So my only advice there, Mike, is buy good ammunition.
0:48My son, my grandson, shot a buck the other day, and his first shot was a misfire.
0:53And I was up there, and I looked at the cartridge and had a good solid dent into the primer.
1:01But I think it was some older ammunition.
1:03But you know all this stuff already.
1:04You don't need me telling you this.
1:06But I've seen that happen twice in my hunting careers, where guys lined up, squeezed the trigger and click, and had to rack another one in.
1:15And they both got the animal, but that's a little disconcerting.
1:18Anyway, you've probably been down that road, so no worries there.
1:22All right, Mike.
1:23N7 G&D, glad your wife is supportive.
1:26Mine is, too.
1:27She puts up with all sorts of shenanigans from me and my sports pursuits.
1:31So praise the Lord for a good, understanding wife.
1:35All right, that's Mike, N7 G&D.
1:37Any other check-ins?
1:38Please come now.
1:41Kilo, India 6, Whiskey, Extra, and Papa.
1:44Good morning, all you fine ladies and gentlemen.
1:46I'm back with my hair not on fire.
1:51All right.
1:51Well, Guru, good, Joe.
1:53Glad to hear you here.
1:54It sounds like you blew up an engine down there, did you?
1:57Oh, yeah.
1:58We grenade it.
1:59Yeah, right around before half track.
2:03I don't know, somewhere around 500 feet.
2:05Yeah, it's a gun.
2:07Doggone it anyway.
2:12Yeah, well, that's what happens when you soup them up.
2:14Something generally eventually gives.
2:16So, anyway, we got you checked in here, Joe.
2:19All right, any other check-ins today?
2:20Please come now.
2:21Hey, G6J.
2:24All right, there's Jerry, KG6J.
2:26Good morning, Jerry.
2:27How are you doing?
2:28Good morning, Pastor Max and everyone on the net.
2:31Just waiting for an opening.
2:33I've been here since early this morning also, listening to Roger and Ed, and that was quite
2:37a blessing as well.
2:39Things went well yesterday.
2:41Not quite completed.
2:42We'll finish it later this morning.
2:45The Lord was good.
2:46When I ran into problems, he gave me ideas.
2:50And I hurt this morning to be expected.
2:54So, I had to take something.
2:55I'm a little fuzzy.
2:56But no prayer requests.
2:58Back to you.
2:59Looking forward to this morning, steady KG6J.
3:03Well, I'll copy that.
3:04Hopefully, you didn't have any floods.
3:06Yeah, plumbing is always a challenge.
3:08It always takes three times as long as you thought it was going to take.
3:11All right, Jerry.
3:11Real good.
3:12We got you checked in.
3:13Okay.
3:13Any other check-ins?
3:14Please come down.
3:16Okay.
3:16I'm going to run AK-6J.
3:20All right.
3:21Once again, we had a double.
3:22I picked up Jeff AK-6J.
3:24Good morning, Jeff.
3:24How are you doing?
3:26Doing good.
3:27I'm from Peter.
3:29I'm recording.
3:30Yes, sir.
3:31Yes, sir.
3:32And I wish you had expected damage.
3:36Yes, sir.
3:37Thank you.
3:41All right.
3:42I don't know what you're...
3:43Chris, I don't know what you're transmitting on there, but, boy, you sound like you're in
3:47the bottom of a bucket there, Jeff.
3:49So, anyway, we do have you checked in.
3:52Appreciate you being there.
3:53All right.
3:53Other station was on top of Jeff.
3:55Please come down.
3:57KE7WKI.
3:59All right.
4:00There's Dave.
4:00Dave, good signal.
4:02Good, clear voice.
4:03Thank you for that.
4:03I really appreciate the way you've taken the bass out, and we get your highs, and your voice
4:08just punches right through.
4:10Dave, how are you doing today?
4:12Doing well.
4:14Just waking up.
4:16No prayer requests.
4:19All right, Dave.
4:20Real good.
4:20That's KE7WKI.
4:21I got you checked in.
4:23All right.
4:23Any other check-ins?
4:24Please come now.
4:26Jeff, your mic is real hot.
4:28That's all.
4:28Joe, KI6WXP says your mic is real hot, so whatever that means.
4:44Apparently, your mic gain has turned up too high somehow.
4:47Very distorted.
4:48Oh, man.
4:51He was bad.
4:52I'm just listening to my computer.
4:57All right.
4:58Okay.
4:58You need to check out the West Coast.
5:00I need to read her.
5:01Please come now.
5:01See the day I'm born.
5:07KD70, yes.
5:07Good morning.
5:09Hey, good morning, Garrett.
5:11KD70, yes.
5:11Good to hear your voice.
5:12How are you feeling today?
5:13Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good today.
5:19That extra hour seemed to, I don't know, I felt pretty energetic this morning.
5:26So, yeah, that extra hour changed.
5:29It doesn't usually affect me that way.
5:31But, yeah, I'm up early this morning even.
5:37Yeah, I copy that.
5:38Okay.
5:39The net would like to check in George, K1KOY.
5:42Good morning, George.
5:43See you there on the Utah SDR.
5:45Appreciate you being there.
5:47The net also would like to acknowledge Lee, AL7KG.
5:50Good morning, Lee.
5:51Good to see you there on the Utah SDR.
5:53Lee, glad to have you with us.
5:55The net would also like to acknowledge Phillip, K6HSV.
5:59See Phillip there on the Utah SDR.
6:02Good for you, Phil.
6:03Thanks for being there.
6:04And then we've got Dan, N6P&I.
6:07Dan, thank you so much for the email yesterday and keeping me up to speed on what's going on
6:12there with the race cars.
6:14All right.
6:15And then we've got, let's see, we already got Keith checked in, K7NEB and Brian.
6:21Yeah, we got George.
6:23Okay.
6:24All right.
6:24I think I've got everybody checked in off the SDRs.
6:28All right.
6:29Let's go back to voice.
6:29Any more voice check-ins, please come down.
6:33Let's try it again.
6:34AK-60.
6:35How about that, Matt?
6:35Yeah, that's a lot better, Jeff.
6:39A lot better.
6:40Go ahead.
6:43Turn for Peter.
6:45KT-60T up in Coeur d'Alene.
6:48He had a flood yesterday just like you did and lots of damage over.
6:57Boy, I'm sorry to hear that.
6:59Yeah, that is terrible.
7:00So my house is just torn to shreds right now, and it's just navigating around fans and dehumidifiers
7:09and rolled-up carpet and living was packed with stuff we've taken out of the rooms that got flooded.
7:14So I tell Peter he has my sympathies and my understanding, and hopefully the insurance will come in and treat him right.
7:22So far, they're doing me really good, and I'm glad for the workmen I have here.
7:26But, yeah, I'm also working, you know, 10 hours a day along with him trying to help things out.
7:33So, anyway, tell Peter, yeah, I'm so sorry.
7:38Go back to you there, Jeff.
7:41Yeah, he's got a whole crew on it right now, so everything's going to be good.
7:45But isn't that interesting?
7:47It happened right after yours.
7:48He had an 80-gallon water tank burst.
7:51So, what a mess.
7:53Anyway, okay, you guys, I'll be listening for a bit.
7:57All right, real good, Jeff.
7:59Yeah, water heater's right.
8:01I need to replace both of mine.
8:03They're plenty old.
8:04All right, WB7M, actually, look for check-ins.
8:07Please come now.
8:16Max, one last thing.
8:17We're done an upgrade tomorrow.
8:19We're only minutes beyond our start time of 6 a.m.
8:24So, anyway, we're going to go ahead and get started, and I will try to pick up any late check-ins.
8:29It's been a little chaotic this morning with the time change, but we have gotten it done.
8:34And we've got about 27 people checked in or so.
8:37So, anyway, we are in Psalm 123.
8:40You know, I haven't asked anybody to open in prayer or to read.
8:44Will, can you open in prayer for us this morning, please?
8:48Sure.
8:49You want that now?
8:50Yeah, right now.
8:51Go ahead.
8:51We praise you, Heavenly Father.
8:53We thank you for this day and for each and every person that's here.
8:58We just ask for your blessings upon those that have health issues, Lord, and for those that are health caregivers.
9:06We ask for your blessings as we read your word, and that you would bless us with your word.
9:13And we just pray for a good propagation this morning.
9:17In Jesus' name we pray.
9:18God, amen.
9:19Amen.
9:22Thank you for that.
9:23I appreciate that a lot, Will.
9:24KM5F.
9:25Okay, Roger, WB7ACL.
9:27We're in Psalm 123.
9:29I'm sure you've got that open.
9:31Roger, if you could read those four verses for us, I'd appreciate that.
9:35Go ahead there, Roger.
9:37All right.
9:39I'll be happy to do that.
9:42This is 123.
9:44And I'm struggling with a piece of paper in the Bible that doesn't want to open.
9:54Okay.
9:57123.
9:58The prayer for the Lord's help.
10:00From the NASB.
10:04This is WB7VZL.
10:06To thee I lift up my eyes.
10:10O thou who art enthroned in the heavens, behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of
10:23their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he shall be gracious to us.
10:37Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us, for we are greatly filled with contempt.
10:46Our soul is greatly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
10:59Well, that is quite a psalm, Max.
11:03I'm looking forward to hearing how you unpack that for us.
11:08WB7VZL.
11:09Back to WB7MAX.
11:11All right.
11:12Real good, Roger.
11:13Thank you for that reading.
11:14Excellent job.
11:15Appreciate that.
11:15The net would like to acknowledge Gene K7GWR.
11:18Good morning, Gene.
11:19Good to have you with us.
11:20Got your text message.
11:23And we'll read that in a minute.
11:25All right.
11:25We are in Psalm 123.
11:27Well, four verses, but there's a lot there.
11:31You know, there are times in life when we are treated with contempt and mockery and scorn by those around us,
11:39simply because of our faithfulness to the Lord.
11:44Such scorn and mockery can quickly turn into hatred and open persecution,
11:49and oftentimes there's not much we can do about it.
11:53We're just going about our business of serving the Lord and building his kingdom.
11:58We're trying to live at peace with those who are around us,
12:01but they do not want to live in peace with us.
12:05They are offended at our efforts to serve the Lord because it's a rebuke to their failure to do so.
12:12And so they hate God, and they have contempt for God,
12:16and that hatred and contempt gets transferred to anyone who's loyal to God or who is seeking to serve God.
12:25And by striking at God's servants, they are really trying to strike at God himself.
12:30Well, Israel experienced such treatment after the exile,
12:35when they returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city walls.
12:42Now, all Israel wanted to do is come back out of captivity to Babylon,
12:46go back to Jerusalem, rebuild the temple and rebuild the city walls,
12:52and all they wanted to do was serve God and be faithful to God and be left alone.
12:57Well, people wouldn't leave them alone.
13:00They were mocked and attacked for doing so.
13:02And you can read all about this in the book of Ezra in chapter 4,
13:08and you can read about it in Nehemiah chapter 2 and chapter 4.
13:12And basically, the people who were in the land, in particular Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem,
13:21all did their best to heap scorn and derision on the children of Israel
13:28who came back to try to rebuild the temple and the wall.
13:32And then, when the mocking and the derision didn't discourage them
13:37and stop them from doing the work of the Lord,
13:40they began to overtly attack them.
13:43And so this scorn and contempt was really hard for Israel to bear.
13:49It was very discouraging, and it was the prelude to open persecution.
13:54And the problem is, at that point in history, Israel was too weak to do much about it.
13:59And so, therefore, they turned to the Lord, they looked to the Lord for protection and deliverance and mercy
14:05in our psalm, Psalm 123.
14:09So three times in four verses, the psalmist pleads for mercy from God.
14:16And he asked that God would relieve the children of Israel from the distress
14:20of those who scorned her for her efforts to rebuild the temple and the wall.
14:27So Israel had no hope but the Lord.
14:29They didn't have an army.
14:31But the Lord was all the hope that she needed.
14:35And so she fixed her eyes on God.
14:37She waited on God to remove the stigma that others had placed upon her
14:42and to protect her from the verbal and physical and political abuse
14:46which these mockers were heaping upon them.
14:50So the point of the whole psalm is simply this.
14:53God is a God of mercy.
14:54And he loves to show mercy to his people.
14:58And he is ready, and he's able, and he's willing
15:02to relieve their distresses when they call upon him.
15:05And, you know, it says in Psalm 116 in verse 5,
15:10which we looked at just a few days ago,
15:12it says,
15:13Gracious is the Lord and righteous, yea, our God is merciful.
15:18And so it was to the mercy of God that the people of Israel looked
15:22when they were persecuted by those who were more powerful than they were.
15:27And that's where we need to look as well
15:29when we're mocked and scorned and persecuted by the world.
15:32We turn to God, and we ask him for mercy and for deliverance
15:36from those who would despise us and do us harm for serving him.
15:42All right, that's a little introduction to our psalm,
15:45and hopefully that will help us to understand better what it is about.
15:51All right, Roger's read it to us.
15:52Are there any comments on our psalm?
15:55Please come down to your call sign.
15:58WB 7, A's and L.
16:00Roger, please go ahead.
16:03I really appreciated you bringing and helping come alive
16:09with the experience of Ezra and Nehemiah
16:15and the building of the wall.
16:17That was perfect, Max.
16:19That's what I needed to hear.
16:21Yeah, Roger, real good.
16:27Yeah, these psalms all have a background to them.
16:30Sometimes we know what it is.
16:31Sometimes we don't.
16:33And oftentimes we can tell just by reading the psalm
16:36and reading the historical references
16:38that have been made with reference to it.
16:42So, yeah, you know, here you are.
16:44I mean, you know, this rebuilding of the temple and the wall
16:49is a wonderful metaphor for the work we have to do
16:54in restoring the ruins of our fallen culture and society.
16:59I mean, when you look at America
17:01or you look at about any nation around the world,
17:04you know, they're corrupt, they're fallen,
17:07they are in ruins as far as any kind of Christian faith
17:12or any kind of proper moral standards.
17:16And, you know, we try to do the hard work of evangelizing, right?
17:20We tell people the gospel.
17:22We try to build up the church in numbers
17:25and in strength and in maturity and Christ-likeness.
17:30You know, here we are as fathers and mothers
17:34trying to raise godly children and godly grandchildren.
17:38And, you know, the devil is just ripping and tearing
17:41on everything we're trying to do
17:43and his people are constantly trying to undermine
17:47what we're trying to do in terms of building up the kingdom of God
17:52and seeing people saved and seeing people conform
17:55to the image of Christ.
17:57And it's a battle and it can be discouraging.
18:01And, you know, we can think that, you know,
18:04our enemies are way stronger than we are.
18:06They're way more numerous than we are.
18:08And here we're trying to get this pitiful little ministry
18:12we've got going here established
18:14and the devil is just on us.
18:18So what do we do?
18:19Well, we cry out to the Lord
18:20and we ask him for help and for mercy
18:23and for deliverance and for protection and blessing
18:26and that he would rebuke our enemies
18:29and roll them back
18:30so that we could carry on with the work.
18:33And I'm sure there's a ton of people on this net
18:37that have had those kind of experiences
18:39where you've tried to serve the Lord
18:41and you're not hurting anybody
18:43but people sure come along trying to hurt you
18:45for doing that
18:46and probably, you know, family members
18:50maybe co-workers
18:52all sorts of directions
18:55from which this persecution comes.
18:59All right.
18:59Any other comments on our psalm?
19:01Please come now.
19:01Steve, W6YSI, please go ahead.
19:11Yeah, the importance of that very first verse.
19:16V, I lift up my eyes
19:18for thou who art enthroned in the heavens.
19:21I just real quickly looked at Isaiah 40.26
19:25and another one in the 65.1
19:30or 66.1
19:32I appreciate a comment on that, Max.
19:35W6YSI.
19:41Yeah, you know, when it says
19:43unto thee, lift I up my eyes
19:48O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
19:52The idea there is a vertical movement, right?
19:56I mean, here he is down on the earth
19:58and he's lifting up
20:00and he's looking up to the heavens.
20:03And so he looks to God for mercy.
20:07And, you know, when we're in distress, Steve,
20:10we look around for a way to find relief from it.
20:13And so when we're in spiritual distress,
20:18where are we going to look for relief?
20:20Well, we're going to look to God.
20:23And as it says in Jeremiah 32 and verse 17,
20:27O Lord God, thou hast made the heaven and the earth
20:30by thy great power and stretched out arm,
20:33and there's nothing too hard for thee.
20:36So, you know, our confidence is not horizontally,
20:40it's vertically.
20:41And so he says,
20:43Unto thee lift I up my eyes.
20:46So the psalmist isn't looking to anyone
20:49or anything else except God for his help.
20:54And so it says in Isaiah,
20:57pardon me, in Psalm 62, verses 5 to 6,
20:59the passage we looked at previously,
21:02it says,
21:03My soul, wait thou only upon God,
21:06for my expectation is from him.
21:09He only is my rock and my salvation.
21:13He is my defense.
21:15I shall not be moved.
21:17And while God may use human instruments here and there
21:20to bring about his purposes,
21:23to deliver us from difficulty,
21:26he's the one that's behind it all,
21:28and he's the one to whom we're looking.
21:30And so it's really important that we not trust in anything
21:33or anyone else other than God.
21:35Now, it's interesting that he says here in particular
21:39that you dwell in the heavens.
21:43And so the idea here is that he is over and above everything and everyone.
21:51And so when we pray the Lord's Prayer, right?
21:55Our Father who art in heaven.
21:57And so we look up to the one who's sitting on a throne,
22:01who is sovereign,
22:03who is ruling over all,
22:05and who supervises all and made all,
22:09and that's where our confidence lies.
22:11So, Steve, without reference to those two verses that you mentioned
22:14because I didn't have a chance to write down those references,
22:18that's my understanding here is that we have an exclusive look.
22:23He's looking to God alone.
22:25He has a confident look.
22:27He sees him as the one who's sitting on the throne.
22:31And then he has the expectant look.
22:34Our eyes are fixed on you,
22:37and we're just waiting for you to bring about your deliverance.
22:41So that's where we're looking.
22:43That's who we're looking at.
22:44That's the direction that we're looking.
22:46And that's the object of our hope.
22:49Back to you there, Steve.
22:50Go ahead.
22:51Yeah, I apologize for speaking so quickly.
22:55Isaiah 66, 1 and 2, I think, really amplifies this greatly.
23:02Verse 1 and 2,
23:03Thus says the Lord,
23:05Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
23:10Where, then, is a house you could build for me?
23:14And where is a place that I may rest?
23:16For my hand made all these things.
23:19Thus all these things came into being.
23:22For the Lord.
23:23But to this one I will look.
23:25To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
23:30and who trembles at my word.
23:33W6YSI.
23:34Yeah, Steve, what a great passage and how well that goes along with, you know, our psalm.
23:44And so, yeah, God is declaring himself to be on the throne, in control, exalted.
23:53And the fact that he doesn't need our ministry, he doesn't need the houses that we build him,
24:00but he is pleased to direct us to do so, to indwell them, and to meet us there at them.
24:06We see that in particular with the Old Testament temple, don't we?
24:10And so, God is more concerned with our hearts, and that we tremble before his word,
24:17than he is about structures that we might erect in his honor.
24:21And it's not an either-or situation.
24:24It's a both-and.
24:25We need to have that humble and contrite spirit.
24:28We need to tremble at God's word.
24:30That is, show it reverence and respect and accord at the highest place of authority in our lives.
24:36But then if he says, hey, build a temple, or if he says, hey, build a church, we do that too.
24:43But we don't do that thinking we're doing something for God.
24:46Rather, we're doing something with God, and we're following his footsteps and carrying out his will
24:53and bringing glory and honor to his name.
24:56Steve, thank you for Isaiah 66, verses 1 and 2.
25:00Those are great passages.
25:02All right, any other comments on our passage?
25:04Please come now.
25:07ZXM.
25:09Kevin, KB7, ZXM.
25:11Please go ahead.
25:11I'm sorry, I missed some of the comments, so I hope I'm not too redundant.
25:18But, yeah, I mean, these series of psalms are so wonderful.
25:24As we talked about before, from 20 to 34, it would sing as they ascended up to Jerusalem.
25:30Well, of course, now they're there.
25:32But here, the picture that I think is so wonderful in beginning with looking up our eyes to the Lord,
25:43where our focus is, and it uses the language of a slave and a master.
25:50And, you know, in this time of the world, and many times of the world, and still today in places of the world,
25:58you know, there is slavery.
26:01But oftentimes they had a good relationship.
26:07Well, the slave oftentimes would look for the, you know, the cues or the instructions of the master.
26:14But oftentimes, after a period of time, began to know and had certain expectations and would just, nothing would need to be said
26:25because the slave knew exactly what the master was looking for and expecting there in certain areas.
26:35And this kind of gives us that picture, though, of our surrender to God and that turning to him and looking to him for, you know, as all authority
26:44and not listening to those around us that would scorn and ridicule, attack, and despise, I think, as you pointed out in your introduction there.
26:55But instead, our focus is on the Lord, and he is the all authority.
27:05He is, you know, in one sense, our master.
27:10That's why we call him Lord.
27:12You know, we identify him frequently as Savior and Lord or Lord and Savior.
27:19Well, a Lord is someone that you've given complete authority or you have recognized of having full sovereign authority.
27:30Well, that is certainly the case with God.
27:33We see that in Matthew 28.
27:34All authority in heaven and earth has been given unto him.
27:39Well, of course it has.
27:41But anyway, these are an interesting series of songs, but I think in some ways it's some of encouragement and just a great perspective for us to have that recognition and reference of who is our Lord.
27:57KB7, does that make sense?
28:00Yeah, Kevin, great comment and no redundancy there at all.
28:03Really appreciate you bringing out verse 2.
28:05Verse 2 of our psalm, Kevin was referring to.
28:09Behold, as the eyes of servants looked unto the hand of their masters, and the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he has mercy on us.
28:26So what Kevin was doing is bringing out the analogy there, that of male and female household slaves or servants.
28:35And servants faithfully did the will of their masters, they served the interest and the cause of their masters, and in return, they expected to be provided for and they expected to be protected by the hands of their masters.
28:51And so those who serve their masters expected to be fed and protected, and in the same way, those who serve God expect to be provided for and protected by the hand of God.
29:03And so if we're doing the will of God, and we're serving in the kingdom of God, and we're standing up for the name of God and the truth of God, in short, if we're loyal to God, then we can fully expect he's going to be loyal to us.
29:17And so, Kevin, I was thinking about Paul constantly saying in the New Testament, as he opens his letters, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, you know, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, over and over again, right?
29:42And as you said, he is the Lord, Jesus Christ, and we are his servants.
29:51And so that's the role we're standing in, that's the activity we engage in, and also that defines the expectations we may have of the one who we are serving.
30:05And so, yes, God has all authority, has authority over us.
30:08We came not to do our own will, but the will of the Father, just like Jesus.
30:13And so, just as God looked out for his Son, God will look out for us as we take that role of maidservants and menservants to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
30:26So, Kevin, great comment.
30:28Thank you so much for bringing that out.
30:30All right, any other comments?
30:31Please come now.
30:32All right, we had a double there.
30:42First of all, we're going to go with Mike, N7GND, and then we'll switch over to Jeff, AK-6OK.
30:49Go ahead there, Mike.
30:50Thank you, Max, for pointing out the background that this psalm is written out, the exile, and Israel endured so many years of exile.
31:01They came back to Jerusalem, and they endured all this contempt and scorn and hatred and attacks from the people living there.
31:14What I find interesting is that they're asking for the mercy of God, and then they point out that we're enduring contempt from the people living around them,
31:25enduring contempt and ridicule and contempt from the Aryan.
31:29And I've thought about that.
31:30Well, you know, they're not reminding God like he's forgotten.
31:34God only knows that.
31:35But it's as their eyes are focused on God, then they're looking at the trueness of it, and they recognize it.
31:45So God, it just, I don't know, I'm recognizing that when we point out to God our situation, it's not like he doesn't know already.
31:59He knows, but now he knows that we know, and then we're turning to him for help.
32:04We're not trying to solve it on our own power and our own way.
32:11Anyway, any comments on that?
32:13N7 G&D.
32:18Let's see, let me get the echo going away there.
32:20Okay, Mike, N7 G&D, great comment.
32:22Thank you for that.
32:24Yeah, you know, when it comes to prayer, it's not like we're informing God of stuff that he doesn't already know all about.
32:31And, you know, you see Jesus speaking to that in Matthew chapter 6.
32:35And he says in Matthew chapter 6, verse 7,
32:43And so you're exactly right.
32:58It's not like God didn't know about Samballot and Tobiah and Gisham and these other folks that were attacking the people of God.
33:07But God still wants us to articulate our needs, even though he already knows what those needs are, because he wants to know that we know.
33:18And when we articulate our needs that God already knows about, and we cast our care upon him, then when those needs are met, we know that, number one, it was an answer to prayer.
33:33Number two, the glory for that goes to God.
33:36And number three, we are encouraged that he hears us when we cry out to him.
33:42And, you know, a lot of people say, well, if God already knows our needs, then why bother to pray?
33:47Well, what's interesting, Mike, is in Matthew 6, when he says,
33:52Your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask him, then the very next verse says,
33:58After this manner, therefore pray ye, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, etc.
34:04And the Lord's prayer is given there.
34:06So it's not like, well, God already knows, so you don't need to pray.
34:09God already knows, and therefore, you do need to pray.
34:13And so there's no contradiction between his omniscience and our spreading out our needs before him and asking him for help with reference to them so that prayer does something for us.
34:28It expresses an awareness of our inadequacy.
34:34It expresses a confidence in God's sufficiency.
34:38And it expresses humility and trust and dependence.
34:43And all of those things are important components in prayer and important for us to express.
34:49And that's what's happening here in this psalm, in our psalm today, 123, is that God is ready to hear and answer when his people pray.
35:00And he requires that it's through prayer that he carries out his work.
35:05So, Mike, great comment there.
35:06Jeff, AK6OK, over to you now.
35:09Go ahead, brother.
35:09Good morning, Max, and everybody else.
35:13And I noticed in a little commentary I was reading here, this really hits the nail on the head.
35:18On the first part of the verse, a psalmist opens his prayer by deliberately lifting his eyes above the earthly sheen, above the quagmire of history, above those other thrones that have shown such contempt for God and his people.
35:33And it preaches today as well.
35:36And it goes on further to talk about what do we look to right now in this world?
35:42Do we look to our military?
35:43Do we look to the president or Congress or our courts or the United Nations?
35:48And the answer is none of that.
35:50That's going down the tank.
35:52Where else are you going to look, Max?
35:54Yeah, amen.
35:58And ultimately, all of those lesser powers are impotent to solve the most difficult and the most important problems.
36:05And that is the forgiveness of our sins, our reconciliation with God, our redemption from hell, and our adoption as children of God and eternal life.
36:17And, you know, a military may be able to go over a bomb a city, but they can't conquer the grave, you know.
36:24Only Jesus conquers the grave.
36:27And so you're exactly right.
36:29The problem is we tend to look to all these lesser agencies and these lesser authorities and these lesser powers and these lesser resources to meet our needs.
36:39And, you know, that's really a fool's errand because, in the end, all of those things are inadequate to meet the most important needs we have, not only for physical protection and provision, but also for spiritual protection and preservation and, most of all, spiritual redemption.
37:01And so only God can supply those things and we wait on him.
37:04You know, what I see here, too, Jeff, is this note of patience in verse 2.
37:11He says, Behold, as the eyes of thy servants look to the hands of their masters and the eyes of the maiden to the hand of her mistresses, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until he has mercy upon us.
37:26And so when we look to God for mercy and deliverance from troubles and from those who would inflict those troubles on us, you know, we can't place demands on God as to when he's going to show us those mercies.
37:40We just simply have to patiently wait on his time and his way in dealing with them.
37:46And until he does, we endure our misery with a good attitude towards God.
37:51You think of Joseph, right?
37:53Seventeen years a slave in Egypt before God finally brought deliverance to him from those prayers that he cried out to God with.
38:04So, yeah, the trouble is, Jeff, we get impatient on God answering and God delivering.
38:09So we start looking to those human resources, and that's always a source of disappointment and oftentimes an act of sin because we try to shortcut God's method and God's ways and God's morality in trying to fix our problems, and we wind up just making them worse.
38:29Jeff, great comment.
38:30Thank you for that.
38:31All right.
38:32Any other comments?
38:33Please come down.
38:33WB-7-V-Z-L.
38:43Roger, WB-7-V-Z-L.
38:44Please go ahead.
38:46I'd like to know if there's other translations for the word that the NASB says in verse 3.
38:54For we are greatly filled with contempt.
38:59That word contempt.
39:02Are there any other better or other translations for that?
39:08Over.
39:10Yeah, Roger.
39:11The King James also has contempt.
39:13So if the New American Standard is using it and the King James is using it, it's probably exactly what that word is.
39:19Anybody else out there with a different translation for that last word in verse 3?
39:24Please come down with your call sign.
39:27AK6OK.
39:30AK6OK, Jeff.
39:31Go ahead.
39:31The message, which is not a literal translation, but we're watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your order of mercy.
39:42Okay, yeah, so that's not really even translating that word in the section that you read to us.
39:54Okay, so the idea of contempt there, Roger, is the idea that people are heaping contempt on us.
40:02It's not like this is something we're covered with contempt.
40:03It's not like this is something we are doing.
40:05When it says we are filled with contempt, it means that's because other people have heaped that on us.
40:13And the idea is that we're covered with contempt.
40:16We're saturated with contempt.
40:19Contempt is the environment in which we live.
40:21I mean, it's just kind of like if you're in the ocean, right?
40:25You're surrounded with water, and water's all over you.
40:31In the same way, they're swimming in this ocean of social contempt that's coming at them from every side,
40:39and it seems to be the environment in which they are dwelling.
40:43So that's my best understanding of the passage there.
40:46Roger, WB7BCO, you go ahead.
40:49Yeah, thank you.
40:51Yeah, I sense that too.
40:53And yet, my, that's a strong word for us, and yet I think the best fulfillment of that,
41:03taking it at its full strength, is my side reference, indicated that Nehemiah had that when he says in chapter 4, verse 4,
41:16that was the reference given on my side reference.
41:18I was just pondering these things, where he says,
41:22Verse 5,
41:41Do not forgive their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out before thee, for they have demoralized the builders.
41:55So that's about the best text for the side reference to pull out for that word contempt.
42:05Back to you, Max.
42:07Yeah, Roger, that's a great passage.
42:09I think it illustrates it really well.
42:12You know, it says in verse 3,
42:15We are exceedingly filled with contempt.
42:17Verse 4,
42:18Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease,
42:23and with the contempt of the proud.
42:25So twice, well, actually three times,
42:28he talks about the fact that they are exceedingly filled with contempt and scorn.
42:34And the idea there is that it was overwhelming in its frequency and its viciousness.
42:40They were just bombarded with it constantly.
42:43And they lived in this atmosphere of oppression and insult and disrespect.
42:48It's kind of like a kid that's getting bullied at school.
42:50You know, everybody gangs up on him, right?
42:53Well, when such verbal degradation and denigration is so repeatedly expressed,
42:59what it tends to do is dehumanize its object and stigmatizes its object so that it becomes easy then to attack and destroy that object.
43:09And so it's a very short step from insult to attack.
43:13And evil speech is very soon followed by evil conduct towards the object of contempt.
43:19And the psalmist understood that.
43:21He understood that as the respect for God's people was destroyed,
43:25and hatred of God's people is constantly expressed,
43:28open slaughter would soon break out.
43:30And that's exactly what happened to Charlie Kirk.
43:32You know, there was enough vicious scorn and contempt heaped on him by so many for so long
43:39that somebody finally decided to act on it and take him out.
43:42And, you know, Charlie Kirk used to say,
43:45if we don't talk to each other, then the next step is violence.
43:49And he was trying to deal with and resolve this scorn and this contempt by rational dialogue,
43:57but they weren't having it.
44:00And so that's what was going on here with Israel.
44:02The next step after scorn and contempt is attack.
44:07And so that's what's going on here.
44:10All right.
44:10We are about out of time.
44:12We have the Vintage Military Radio Network today, so we don't want to walk on their time.
44:18Any final comment?
44:20If you have a brief comment, please come ahead.
44:22I need some prayer for some families that sound just like you described.
44:29Over.
44:33Yeah, Roger.
44:34You know, I think we all do.
44:36Very few of us, everyone in our family is saved and everyone loves each other.
44:41You know, Jesus said, I came not to send peace, but a sword.
44:45You know, I came to set division between, you know, parents and children and children and parents and husbands and wives.
44:52And it says a man's enemies shall be they of his own household.
44:55So, Jerry, let's pray for the families of all of those on the net, the families of all of those on the net, that the scorning that comes from the unsaved section of our family would come to a halt and that God would rebuke that and deliver us from that.
45:18So, you know, our family members, and I experienced that a lot from my parents when I became a Christian, just heaped persecution on me.
45:30And so, I know that the pain of that and all of you have experienced that in one way or another.
45:37So, Jerry, let's just pray that our family members will stop heaping scorn on those who are trying to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
45:47Copy there, Jerry?
45:47All right, we're going to pray for our families of all on the net that scorn should be stopped by the Lord.
45:58Do you know what I'm saying?
46:01Yeah, amen.
46:02Good.
46:02Thank you.
46:03All right.
46:03Any other final prayer requests?
46:05Please come now.
46:06Comment, clarification.
46:08Comment, clarification.
46:09Go ahead, Roger.
46:09Yeah.
46:10My neighbor, my neighbor is a grandfather.
46:14There's a marriage contested child custody case, November 5.
46:24Let's pray specifically for that.
46:27It just made my stomach churn as to what they're involved with.
46:32So, November 5 case for my neighbor, his grandfather.
46:37He's a grandfather and what his son is going through.
46:40This is WB7 Vizadel.
46:42All right, real good.
46:45In particular, Jerry, there's a child custody case involved there, and let's pray for deliverance for that child from evil influences.
46:54All right, it's time for us to go to prayer.
46:56We've got to get done here by 6.50.
46:59Jerry, 8070R, go ahead and lead us in prayer.
47:03All right, let us pray.
47:04Our Father in Heaven, Lord God, that we come to you this morning with a grateful heart, thankful that we can study your word together.
47:14We begin today with Rob, KB7CL, unspoken prayer request.
47:20Mike, N7JND, safety and success in his elk hunting.
47:25Mark, KB7PBT, unspoken prayer request.
47:29Al, M6, M-O-G, prayers for health issues and his, for he and his wife, prayers for Michael, who recently passed.
47:40Peace and comfort for Michael's wife, Angela, and family.
47:44George, K1K-O-Y, he lost his wife, family, to cancer in July.
47:53Lord, we pray for comfort for George and his family and all those who are dealing with cancer.
48:01Charles, N7BN, is then forever passed from cancer on October 11th.
48:06Peace and comfort for this family, please, Lord.
48:10Dave, AI7QQ, prays for Noah.
48:13A young man in Dave's prison, Minnesota, now saved and attending church.
48:19Prayers for Noah, continuing in your word and faith.
48:25Jerry, KG6J.
48:27His boss, Michelle, and she goes through chemo and radiation treatment on her neck cancer.
48:33Praying for the treatments will be effective.
48:36Prayers for Jerry's physical therapy for relieves of his back pain and balance issues.
48:41For Jerry to have success in his plumbing work today.
48:46Lord, we bring you back, 885Y.
48:49Pray for continued healing of his vision from his head injury.
48:54Their neighbor, Nassie, needs healing from cancer.
48:57She also needs salvation.
48:59Lord, that's Nassie's heart.
49:00Open her eyes and bring her to you, please.
49:05Praise Nancy is showing great improvement.
49:08John Brancroft, diabetic.
49:10Had some of her foot removed and is home now.
49:13She's improving.
49:14And her husband, Ken, is having heart arrhythmia issues.
49:18Mike, PI7RFB.
49:21Wife, Liz, fighting cancer.
49:23Praying for effective chemo treatment.
49:27Lord, for, uh, Liz, uh, help her out, Lord, please.
49:32We'll see in slide, Beth.
49:34Prayers for continuing hormone treatment for the next year.
49:38Pray treatments will be effective in restraining and removing distrusting cancer.
49:44Keisha, liver transplant has been postponed since she is now stable.
49:49And we give you thanks for that, Lord.
49:52Prayers for the strength that she has in her life.
49:55Pray for her salvation.
49:58Touch her heart, please, Lord.
50:01Yeah, taking sex okay.
50:02We pray for the thousands of Bibles being shipped to our troops.
50:07Please use the Bibles to save and sanctify soldiers.
50:10We pray the need for three chapels to be built by Camp Pendleton.
50:17And for God to raise up those, uh, too many soon.
50:21Uh, let that be mailed.
50:23Tom, WW7T.
50:25Tom is recovering from major spine surgery in a dental wheelchair.
50:31Pray that his physical therapy will provide relief from pain and increased mobility.
50:37Pray he will be approved for an electric wheelchair that will need a, uh, needs met.
50:45Boom, now.
50:46Recovering from reaction to a medication they've sent into the hospital.
50:50Lord, Pastor Jeff Flack.
50:53He has severe ulcer colitis.
50:54Uh, we give thanks, Lord, that he's been back and able to, uh, uh, lead his church.
51:03Uh, but, Lord, this is a good and decent man of faith.
51:11And we ask that you get him released.
51:14Cody, TI7-TRF.
51:16Healing for his Uncle Doug.
51:18A believer from a severe head injury.
51:21Pray for his ongoing treatment and recovery.
51:23Pray that he's showing good improvement.
51:27Scott, TI7-YQT.
51:30Pray for his wife, Pam, with severe lupus.
51:32Said I'd go into remission.
51:34Pray for his daughter, Kendra's ongoing multiple chronic health needs.
51:39Pray for Mike, AK7N with stage 4 cancer.
51:43We pray the chemo treatment that started September 26th will be effective.
51:50George, TI1-KOY.
51:51His granddaughter, Caitlin, is due to deliver.
51:55Her first grandson, great-grandson, mid-November, pray for a safe delivery and healthy baby.
52:04The Midwest Bible study at 4 a.m. standard time.
52:09Uh, 3962.5 and for Daryl.
52:15WB7-AOJ.
52:16Disnet control.
52:19Roger.
52:20WB7-DZL.
52:21Caitlin and Levi.
52:23Both need salvation.
52:25Lord, open their eyes.
52:27Bring them to you.
52:29Brian.
52:30KJ7-TWM.
52:32His son, Bailey, and partner Joey have started a new construction business.
52:36We pray for success.
52:39Brian.
52:40KA7-JIT.
52:42J.
52:43Continued healing from his prostate cancer.
52:48Kevin.
52:49KB7-ZXN.
52:52Uh, he has inflammation in his lungs, Lord, and we ask that you touch him, uh, and give him healing.
52:59Harvey, W-A-3-E-I-B, and his wife Karen, as they could.
53:04And early onset of old sadness.
53:06We pray for our nation and its leaders and legislations at the local, state, and national levels.
53:15Pray for the families of all of those on the net.
53:19Uh, let scorn be stopped, uh, from other people, Lord.
53:25We, we ask you to intervene.
53:28Uh, Lord, uh, thank you for your goodness, mercy, and grace.
53:56Uh, and for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ.
54:01See with us all today, Lord.
54:03For those of us who travel to worship today, give us safe travel.
54:06We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
54:11Amen.
54:12And this is AE70R.
54:14Amen, Jerry.
54:15AE70R, thank you so much for leading us to the throne of grace.
54:18This is WB7MX, net control for the West Coast Bible study.
54:22Uh, Gene K7GWR mentioned that he really is enjoying the new, uh, website, uh, westcoastbiblestudy.com.
54:30So, y'all be sure and look at that.
54:33And the net would also like to thank Jubal, N7PTT, for checking in today.
54:38Thank you, Jubal, for being there.
54:39All right.
54:40We meet here seven days a week at 6 a.m. in order to read the scriptures, understand their meaning message and application, and then to pray for grace and mercy to be able to live out what we learn and for God to meet the needs of those that are in our circle of fellowship.
54:53I'll be returning this frequency now to regular amateur use.
54:56Immediately following our net is the Vintage Military Radio Network.
55:00So, we will all be camp clear and QRT, and we will turn the frequency over to the Vintage Military Radio Network.
55:09All right.
55:10The frequency is now yours.
55:11You guys go ahead and tune up, and we will see you all tomorrow.
55:14God bless each one.
55:15Bye.
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56:00Thank you.
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