Psalm 123 " To Thee I lift up my eyes, O Thou who art enthroned in the heavens; 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 the Lord our God, until He be gracious to us. " 

How does a servant or a maid " look to the hand"  of their master?  Carefully, constantly, fearfully, faithfully, and perhaps longingly.   The master's slightest motion will bring to faithful servant running to meet the need or do the will of his master.  Watch a show about royalty and you will see it in action. Complete attention is demanded of the servant. It is also, by the hand of the master, that the servant receives.. anything.  A good master would supply his servants with all that is needed.  And we have the best Master of all!

The psalmist leads us towards Jerusalem, towards the Mercy seat, towards the Throne of Grace.. and bids us watch the Savior's Hand.  Watch and pray. " Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us." 
What can we do without His grace?  Nothing.  Nothing good.  Nothing worthy.  Nothing fruitful.
Our role, as faithful servants, is to watch His Hand and do His bidding.
Our greatest need, in order to do this, is His grace.
Our faithful Master has promised to supply all that is needed.. out of the riches of His kindness and His glory, and His wisdom.
Psalm 145:15-16 " The eyes of all look to Thee, and Thou dost give them their food in due time.  Thou dost open Thy hand and dost satisfy the desire of every living thing. "

This is the Master's hand to which we lift our eyes, the Master Who is our Father and our God.  This is the Master to whom we ask, " Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us. " 

Again, the book one thousand gifts comes along with more on this subject.. for its theme is eucharisteo - grace+thanksgiving= joy... "The first secret step into eucharisteo's miracle is gratitude for the seemingly insignificant - a seed- this plants the giant miracle. Like the Last Supper, eucharisteo is in the eating of crumbs, the swallowing down one mouthful. Do not distain the small. The whole of life - even the hard - is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole..... There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up."

In response to every gift, every small detail, every grace that He supplies, we in turn give thanks.  We give praise to our Mighty God, who loves us in great detail, in every detail. 

 I am convicted by Spurgeon's words in his book, The Fullness of Joy.  " How many times this week have you praised the dear Redeemer to your friends? Have you done it once?.... Undoubtedly, this week you have murmured and complained, spoken against your neighbors, spread abroad some small amount of scandal, or just talked carelessly and without integrity.... Oh, if we saved our breath to praise God, how much wiser we would be! If our mouths were filled with the Lord's praise and with His honor all the day, how much holier! If we would speak of what Jesus has done for us, what good we might accomplish!"  So let us "speak well.. of the Lord's name. " Spurgeon exhorts us, "for every man speaks of what he loves.... "  so , " do not be silent concerning the One who deserves so much from you.... " 


Father in Heaven,  I lift my eyes to You,  to Your Hand, to  You my Lord, the God of heaven and earth.   I want to pay attention to the small graces, the every day gifts of Your abundant care, so that I might give You all praise and thanksgiving.  Let my mouth speak Your praise and by heart give You thanks always, for You are great.  May Your name be magnified in all the earth and in my small life.
I ask this in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, my dear Redeemer.  Amen.