ARC · Chapter 123/150
1A ti levanto os meus olhos, ó tu que habitas nos céus.
2Assim como os olhos dos servos attentam para as mãos dos seus senhores, e os olhos da serva para as mãos de sua senhora, assim os nossos olhos attentam para o Senhor nosso Deus, até que tenha piedade de nós.
3Tem piedade de nós, ó Senhor, tem piedade de nós, pois estamos assaz fartos de desprezo.
4A nossa alma está extremamente cheia da zombaria d'aquelles que estão á sua vontade e com o desprezo dos soberbos.
A short and humble 'Song of Degrees' comparing the people's dependence on God to a servant's attentiveness to their master's hand, pleading for mercy amid the contempt and mockery of the proud.
This small psalm uses an image drawn straight from ancient household life: male and female servants watched their masters' hands closely so they could respond instantly to any signal or command — and with this, the psalmist describes the ideal posture of total, attentive dependence on God. The repeated plea for 'mercy' (v.3) reflects the intensity of the suffering caused by the social contempt the community was experiencing. The application for today is to cultivate a constant, humble attentiveness to God's leading, especially in moments of humiliation or others' scorn.