The Way Up Is Down

Two of my favorite portions of Scripture are the Psalms and the Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Himself preaches, unfolding the true meaning of the Law and correcting false interpretations. The Psalms, on the other hand, give voice to the full range of human experience. As John Calvin once observed, they are “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul; for there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.”

This past Sunday, we touched briefly on the connection between Psalm 123 and the Beatitudes. In this blog, I’d like to explore further some of the rich and beautiful connections between these two mountaintops of Scripture. When Psalm 123 and the Beatitudes are read together, they reveal that the way of blessing is the way of humility, dependence, and steadfast hope in God.

Psalm 123 begins with the psalmist lifting his eyes to the One enthroned in the heavens. It is the posture of a servant who knows he has nothing in himself but must look continually to the hand of his master. This same posture of dependence stands at the heart of the Beatitudes. Jesus declares, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). To be poor in spirit is to confess our spiritual bankruptcy. It is to recognize our desperate need for God’s grace and to rest wholly on His mercy and provision.

The psalm also captures the urgency of this dependence. Twice the psalmist cries out, “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.” Surrounded by scorn, the worshipers ascending the hill do not demand justice; they plead for mercy. Their cry resonates with the next Beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). This mourning is not only grief over sin but also sorrow under the weight of a broken world. In both the psalmist’s lament and the mourner’s tears, God meets His people with compassion, granting the comfort that only He can give.

Psalm 123 also expresses hunger. There is a longing for God Himself to act in mercy and righteousness. The psalmist looks to the Lord’s hand for mercy, not his own strength for vindication. This longing echoes Jesus’ words: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). The soul that hungers for righteousness is not content with nominal religion or worldly success. It longs to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven. The psalmist’s hunger for mercy and the disciple’s hunger for righteousness are one and the same: a deep yearning for the presence and rule of God.

\When we compare Psalm 123 with the Beatitudes, we begin to see a shared thread—both call us to look away from ourselves and upward toward God. The lifting of our eyes is more than a metaphor. It is really a movement of the heart that looks away from ourselves and to God with dependence. Both passages invite us into a posture of humility. And this is the posture that God promises to exalt.

Why does God exalt the humble? Because humility honors God’s rightful place. To humble ourselves before God is to confess that He is Creator, Lord, and King, while we are dependent creatures. In humbling ourselves, we make space for God to be God in our lives. The proud seek to elevate themselves; the humble wait for God to lift them up. And Scripture assures us that He will. As James writes, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). Likewise, Peter reminds us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). When we bow low before God, we are not forgotten or cast aside—we are met with grace.

God’s exaltation of the humble is not worldly promotion, but divine vindication. It is the lifting of the lowly, the comforting of the mourners, the satisfaction of the hungry. In God’s kingdom, interestingly enough, the way up is down. The way of blessing is the way of humility, dependence, and patient hope in the Lord.