Meditation for the week of March 18, 2006
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; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
Psalms 123:2
Waiting expectantly is difficult for me to do. And yet that is just what makes a good servant. A good servant waits for orders that may come as a slight gesture of the hand or as the nod of the head or as a smile or frown. I am told that servants in Eastern counties are often guided by hand gestures. A good servant knows how to wait. But a good servant is waiting expectantly so that when an order is given, the servant is ready.
Some have supposed that the Psalmist is actually dealing with servants who are guilty of disobedience and who are waiting for the master to indicate that they are pardoned. Others think that the servants here are waiting on the master for their own provisions. It is true that the Israelites who sang this song were waiting on the Lord to show them mercy. This was may have been sung as they went up to the feasts at Jerusalem, but it is likely that it was written with regard to their time in captivity in Babylon.
Apparently, the children of Israel felt like they were being treated badly by those who had it good. It appears that they were servants to men, but, in the Psalm, they see themselves as servants of God. They knew that if God was their Master, then He would change their fortunes and treat them good. They expected that. But whatever happened, they were waiting on the Master to make the first move and they were ready to respond.
This world is a task master to us and wants to keep us in bondage to it. Before we are saved, the world looks like a source of great joy and fun. We want to make our own decisions and live life our own way. But we, like the prodigal son in Luke 15, found out that the world wants nothing to do with a person once it has robbed him of his wealth and his health and his place in the Father’s house. After we are saved, we realize that being a servant in the Father’s house is a lot better than feeding swine in the world (Luke 15:19). Why is it so easy to trust the lies of the world and so hard to trust the Truth of the Scripture? Why does the world seem so appealing to us when true blessing is found in serving the Lord Jesus? Why do we who are saved so often find ourselves making our own decisions rather than letting the Lord make them for us? That didn’t work before we were saved, and it certainly won’t bring happiness afterward.
Being a trusted servant is place of honor and respect in the Bible. Nehemiah was the king’s wine tester, but he became the governor of the remnant that returned to the promised land. Joseph was a servant in Potiphar’s house, a servant in prison, and he became a servant to Pharaoh. As his servant, he ruled the land of Egypt and became the Savior of the people of Israel during a time of famine.
Sometimes life looks hopeless; but, if we are truly saved, we need to remember whose servants we are. We who were the servants of sin are now the servants of God (Romans 6:22). He is the One that we look to for provision and guidance and that we stand ready to serve. There are times that we seem to be doing a lot of waiting, but that’s all right so long as we are not sleeping (Romans 13:11). We need to stand ready to serve, we need to stand ready for the blessing of the master, and we need to be ready when the Lord returns.
Bruce Collins