Bible Commentaries

Psalms 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.

Psalms 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.”

Psalms 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.

Psalms 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.

Psalms 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.