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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
We shall read, this evening, three short Psalms, the 123rd, 124th, and 125th. May the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of them, strengthen our faith while we read these songs of joyous confidence!
Psa_123:1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes,
Instead of looking downward in despair, or looking to the right hand or to the left to human confidence, or looking within in pride, “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes,” —
Psa_123:1. O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
It is always delightful to the Christian to remember what the title of his God is: “Our Father, which art in heaven.” It is the place of prospect from which God looketh down, and seeth all men, and understandeth all their ways; and it is also the place of his power and his glory. Lord, I look up to thee, thou dwellest in glory, therefore all power is in thy hands, and thou knowest how to use that power on the behalf of thy people!
Psa_123:2. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
The servant looks to his master’s hand for direction and for support. If he has a work to do that is too heavy for him, he looks to his master to send him help, and he also looks to his master’s hand for his reward when his work is done. So, dear friends, are we day by day walking as in our Master’s light?
Psa_123:3. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
The best thing that the best of men can ask for, is God’s mercy; and that mercy is so great even to the heavens, that, under the weariness of trials and troubles, it is a sufficient help for them. When we are not only in contempt, but even filled with contempt, and, as the text puts it, “exceedingly filled with contempt,” so that we have lost our good name amongst men, still may we turn to our God, and seek his mercy.
Psa_123:4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
This was the lot of God’s people in David’s day; it is the same with believers now, and I suppose that, so long as the earth standeth, the saints of the Lord will have to cry unto him concerning their adversaries. Let them remember always to use the same remedy that the godly ones of old used; and not plead in earthly courts of law, but take the case to the great Court of King’s Bench in heaven, let not any of the Lord’s children ever be concerned about defending their own characters, but let them always go at once to him whose bare arm is quite sufficient to right all wrongs, and to deliver the oppressed.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 123, 124, 125.
Psa_123:1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
Our eyes are far too apt to look below, or to look within, or to look around, but it is wisdom on our part to look up. There is always something blessed to see upward, especially when we look up to him who dwells in the highest heavens, — our Father, our Saviour, our Comforter. There is little down here that is worth looking at, but there is everything for our comfort when we look up.
Psa_123:2. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
This is what we are looking for, — the mercy of the Lord our God. It comes from his great heart, through his almighty hand. A wave of his hand is sufficient to drive away all our troubles. When he opens his hand he supplies the needs of every living thing, so mighty and so bountiful is he. Let us, therefore, keep our eyes upon our Lord’s hands “until that he have mercy upon us.”
Psa_123:3. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us:
The longing soul does not wait in utter silence without expressing its desires. I have heard of some who have said that their will was so fully conformed to God’s will that they had left off praying to him, but surely that was a satanic delusion, for the will of Christ was perfectly conformed to that of his Father, yet for that very reason he abounded in prayer. We must be in an evil case if we leave off praying. The psalmist says that he and those who were like-minded with him waited until the Lord had mercy upon them, and then he began a sort of litany, “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.” He uses the same words twice as if to express the greatness of his need, the clearness of his perception of what he needed, the earnestness of his desire, and his expectation that his need would be supplied. In this verse and the previous one, we have the petition, “Have mercy upon us,” presented no less than three times, for mercy is the greatest need of the best man who ever lived.
Psa_123:3. For we are exceedingly filed with contempt.
That is a sharp cutting thing, most trying to the soul that has to endure it; and many have been greatly depressed in spirit by the contempt that has been poured upon them. But, Lord, thy mercy is a cure for man’s want of mercy; thy thoughtfulness of us will take off the edge from man’s contempt of us.
Psa_123:4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
It does not seem to be a desirable thing to be at ease, for it was such people who were the scorners of the psalmist and his godly companions. Job also said, “He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.” In the stagnant air of a life of ease, all kinds of mischiefs breed, and especially that fever of pride which leads ungodly men to have contempt for God’s people.
This exposition consisted of readings from PSALMS 123, 124, and 125.