Week 637 · about 45 minutes
Psalms 123
Psalms 123 · Memory verse Psalms 123:2
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Psalms 123), the matching word search and answer key (Psalms 123 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a folded cloth
Hold a folded cloth. Read Psalms 123 in about four minutes, stopping at Psalms 123:2: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Psalms 123?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Psalms 123 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens.” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.” Psalms 123 opens with these words: “To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens.” The line to keep is Psalms 123:2: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God,…” Carry the word “behold” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Psalms 123:2: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Psalms 123? Then try this: Read “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Psalms 123. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Psalms 123:2. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Psalms 123 and write Psalms 123:2 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Psalms 123:2
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us.”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Psalms 123. Help us remember Psalms 123:2 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.