ONE, TWO, THREE, EYES ON ME . . . OR EYES ON THE LORD?

February 14, 2017

ONE, TWO, THREE, EYES ON ME . . . OR EYES ON THE LORD?

Psalm 31

Elizabeth Tamlyn

Central Truth

On this Valentine's Day, the choice is yours to make. You can focus on your circumstances and cry out if things are not perfect, or focus on the God who controls those circumstances and cry out in praise.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
(Psalm 31:5)

Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
    let me never be put to shame;
    in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
    rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
    a strong fortress to save me!

3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
    and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
    for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
    you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

6 I hate^{1

31:6
Masoretic Text; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome You hate} those who pay regard to worthless idols,
    but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
    because you have seen my affliction;
    you have known the distress of my soul,
8 and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
    you have set my feet in a broad place.

9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
    my eye is wasted from grief;
    my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
    and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
    and my bones waste away.

11 Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
    especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
    those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
    I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many—
    terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
    as they plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
    I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand;
    rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
16 Make your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your steadfast love!
17 O LORD, let me not be put to shame,
    for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
    let them go silently to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute,
    which speak insolently against the righteous
    in pride and contempt.

19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
    which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
    in the sight of the children of mankind!
20 In the cover of your presence you hide them
    from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
    from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the LORD,
    for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
    when I was in a besieged city.
22 I had said in my alarm,^{2

31:22
Or in my haste}
    “I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
    when I cried to you for help.

23 Love the LORD, all you his saints!
    The LORD preserves the faithful
    but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the LORD!

Footnotes

[1] 31:6 Masoretic Text; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome You hate
[2] 31:22 Or in my haste

"One, two, three, eyes on me." I have been around kids enough to know this little saying. But it’s also true for us as adults. Where we focus our gaze really matters.

In this psalm we see David go full circle from eyes on God, knowing the amazing qualities of Almighty God, to eyes on self, with total distress and lamenting; back to eyes on God, comforting himself with who God is and even encouraging others with God’s love and goodness. He goes from eyes on the Lord, to eyes on self, back to eyes on the Lord.

You may recognize some of this psalm because it contains the same words repeated in the New Testament (see verse 5 and compare with Luke 23:46a). Jesus cried these same words when dying on the cross, “[I]nto your hands, I commit my spirit!” Shouldn’t that be our cry as well? No matter our circumstance, don’t we long to commit our spirit and have it line up with Jesus and His plan? We can focus on our plan or His plan, our circumstances or His trustworthiness, ourselves or Him.

Jesus chose to focus His gaze on His Father's will and chose to commit His spirit into the Father's hands for my salvation and yours. We have a choice, too. We can gaze at ourselves and our problems and become overwhelmed, having our total focus on our afflictions. Or we can gaze UP, and remember who He is. Eyes on self or eyes on Him?

On this Valentine's Day, we can lament if things are not as we think they should be as we look inward and at ourselves, or we can turn eyes away from self and choose to rejoice, focusing on the Rock of our salvation who loves each of us dearly and wholeheartedly. Let’s all "commit our spirit into His hands" with our eyes focused on Jesus—our fortress, righteousness, and faithful God.

1. What is your "go to" mindset when things are not in your favor?

2. How can you move from "me mindset" to "God mindset"?

3. What are you holding on to that you need to "commit into His hand"?