Psalm 123 is described as “A Song of Ascents.” It is one of 15 Psalms (120-134) that are thought to have been brought together as a collection by the Jews upon their return to Jerusalem after being exiled in Babylon. Ascents refers to the physical climb to Jerusalem, a high-altitude city. The songs of ascent have both a physical and spiritual significance in that the journey to Jerusalem is representative of the life of a believer who wants to live life in a way that is pleasing to God. Psalm 123 begins with a statement of commitment to serve the Lord through humble submission. The psalmist states:

To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
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 123:1-2)

Servant was “a humble way of referring to one’s self when speaking with another of equal or superior rank (Genesis 33:5). The term is also applied to those who worship God (Nehemiah 1:10), and to those who minister to serve Him (Isaiah 49:5, 6). The phrase, the servant of the Lord, is the most outstanding reference to the Messiah in the Old Testament, and its teachings are concentrated at the end of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1, 19; 43:10; 49:3, 5-7; 52:13; 53:11), which contains four servant songs that are prophecies of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12). In that sense, a servant of God is one who wants to do God’s will above all else and seeks to please God regardless of the personal sacrifice.

The goal of the psalmist in Psalm 123 fits with that of a Jew returning from exile in Babylon. The psalmist pleads for mercy, referring to the harsh treatment he has received from “those who are at ease” (Psalm 123:4). The psalmist prays, “Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud” (Psalm 123:3-4). Contempt means that you are showing disrespect to someone (H937). The psalmist says that he has had more than enough of contempt, suggesting that disrespect has been a regular part of his daily life.

God’s mercy is characteristic of someone who feels compassion and wants to help those who are less fortunate. In the wisdom literature, including Psalms, mercy “is used primarily with human relations to denote gracious acts toward someone in need (Job 19:21; Proverbs 19:17)” (H2603). Those who were seeking Jesus’ help often asked him to have mercy on them (Matthew 15:22; 17:15; 20:30, 31). The Greek word that is translated mercy, eleeo (el-eh-ehˊ-o) means “to have compassion” and is “spoken of the mercy of God through Christ or salvation in Christ; to bestow salvation on, in the passive: to obtain salvation (Romans 11:30-32; 1 Corinthians 7:25; 2 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Peter 2:10)” (G1653).

God sent the Jews into captivity because they were unwilling to obey him. The people of Israel worshipped the gods of the nations around them and spurned the warnings of God’s prophets. God told Isaiah, “For they are a rebellious people, lying children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD, who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophecy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel…For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’ But you were unwilling, and you said ‘No! We will flee upon horses’; therefore you shall flee away; and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds’; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill” (Isaiah, 30:9-11, 15-17).

In spite of their rebellion against him, God promised to be gracious to the Jews. After they had forsaken the idols they once worshipped and returned to the land that God had given them, the Jews would weep no more. Isaiah prophesied:

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
    and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
    blessed are all those who wait for him.

For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!”

God’s mercy is available to those who cry out to him because he is just and is a compassionate person by nature. Jesus told the crowds who were following him, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-29).