In Acts 26 Paul is continuing the defense of his ministry before the throne of King Agrippa. After explaining how he ended up in chains in court, Paul says: “But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike…” (Acts 26:22, NIV).
It’s the same idea we’ll look at this Sunday in Psalm 123: “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven…so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.” I think I’ve told you before, the Hebrew language is very pictorial in nature. The word “to show mercy” in this verse comes from the root word “to bend” or “to stoop.”
Can’t you just see the image in your mind’s eye? The psalmist is in trouble, so he turns to God. Paul is seized in the temple courts. He turns to God. And what is God’s response? He stops what he is doing, stoops from his position of authority in the universe, and helps his children.
I don’t know about you today, but I needed to hear that. I needed the reminder that God was bending from heaven to give me grace for the day…
