TITLE. A Song of degrees. We are
climbing. The first step (Ps. 120) saw us lamenting our
troublesome surroundings, and the next saw us lifting or eyes to
the hills and resting in assured security; from this we rose to
delight in the house of the Lord; but here we look to the Lord
himself, and this is the highest ascent of all by many degrees.
The eyes are now looking above the hills, and above Jehovah's
footstool on earth, to his throne in the heavens. Let us know it
as "the Psalm of the eyes". Old authors call it Oculus
"Sperans", or the eye of hope. It is a short Psalm,
written with singular art, containing one thought, and
expressing if in a most engaging manner. Doubtless it would be a
favourite song among the people of God. It has been conjectured
that this brief song, or rather sigh, may have first been heard
in the days of Nehemiah, or under the persecutions of Antiochus.
It may be so, but there is no evidence of it; it seems to us
quite as probable that afflicted ones in all periods after
David's time found this psalm ready to their hand If it appears
to describe days remote from David, it is all the more evident
that the Psalmist was also a prophet, and sang what he saw in
vision.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes. It is
good to have some one to look up to. The Psalmist looked so high
that he could look no higher. Not to the hills, but to the God
of the hills he looked. He believed in a personal God, and knew
nothing of that modern pantheism which is nothing more than
atheism wearing a fig leaf. The uplifted eyes naturally and
instinctively represent the state of heart which fixes desire,
hope, confidence, and expectation upon the Lord. God is
everywhere, and yet it is most natural to think of him as being
above us, in that glory land which lies beyond the skies.
"O thou that dwellest in the heavens", just sets
forth,the unsophisticated idea of a child of God in distress:
God is, God is in heaven, God resides in one place, and God is
evermore the same, therefore will I look to him. When we cannot
look to any helper on a level with us, it is greatly wise to
look above us; in fact, if we have a thousand helpers, our eyes
should still be toward the Lord. The higher the Lord is the
better for our faith, since that height represents power, glory,
and excellence, and these will be all engaged on our behalf. We
ought to be very thankful for spiritual eyes; the blind men of
this world, however much of human learning they may possess,
cannot behold our God, for in heavenly matters they are devoid
of sight. Yet we must use our eyes with resolution, for they
will not go upward to the Lord of themselves, but they incline
to look downward, or inward, or anywhere but to the Lord: let it
be our firm resolve that the heavenward glance shall not be
lacking. If we cannot see God, at least we will look towards
him. God is in heaven as a king in his palace; he is here
revealed, adored, and glorified: thence he looks down on the
world and sends succours to his saints as their needs demand;
hence we look up, even when our sorrow is so great that we can
do no more. It is a blessed condescension on God's part that he
permits us to lift up our eyes to his glorious high throne; yea,
more, that he invites and even commands us so to do. When we are
looking to the Lord in hope, it is well to tell him so in
prayer: the Psalmist uses his voice as well as his eye. We need
not speak in prayer; a glance of the eye will do it all; for—
"Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near."
Still, it is helpful to the heart to use the tongue, and we
do well to address ourselves in words and sentences to the God
who heareth his people. It is no small joy that our God is
always at home: he is not on a journey, like Baal, but he dwells
in the heavens. Let us think no hour of the day inopportune for
waiting upon the Lord; no watch of the night too dark for us to
look to him.
Verse 2. Behold—for it is worthy of regard
among men, and O that the Majesty of heaven would also note it,
and speedily send the mercy which our waiting spirits seek. See,
O Lord, how we look to thee, and in thy mercy look on us. This
Behold has, however, a call to us to observe and consider.
Whenever saints of God have waited upon the Lord their example
has been worthy of earnest consideration. Sanctification is a
miracle of grace; therefore let us behold it. For God to have
wrought in men the spirit of service is a great marvel, and as
such let all men turn aside and see this great sight. "As
the eyes of servants (or slaves) look unto the hand of their
masters." They stand at the end of the room with their
hands folded watching their lord's movements. Orientals speak
less than we do, and prefer to direct their slaves by movements
of their hands: hence, the domestic must fix his eyes on his
master, or he might miss a sign, and so fail to obey it: even
so, the sanctified man lifts his eyes unto God, and endeavours
to learn the divine will from every one of the signs which the
Lord is pleased to use. Creation, providence, grace; these are
all motions of Jehovah's hand, and from each of them a portion
of our duty is to be learned; therefore should we carefully
study them, to discover the divine will. "And as the eyes
of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, "this second
comparison may be used because Eastern women are even more
thorough than the men in the training of their servants. It is
usually thought that women issue more commands, and are more
sensitive of disobedience, than the sterner sex. Among the Roman
matrons female slaves had a sorry time of it, and no doubt it
was the same among the generality of Eastern ladies. "Even
so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God." Believers desire
to be attentive to each and all of the directions of the Lord;
even those which concern apparently little things are not little
to us, for we know that even for idle words we shall be called
to account, and we are anxious to give in that account with joy,
and not with grief. True saints, like obedient servants, look to
the Lord their God reverentially: they have a holy awe and
inward fear of the great and glorious One. They watch,
obediently, doing his commandments, guided by his eye. Their
constant gaze is fixed attentively on all that comes from the
Most High; they give earnest heed, and fear lest they should let
anything slip through inadvertence or drowsiness. They look
continuously, for there never is a time when they are off duty;
at all times they delight to serve in all things: Upon the Lord
they fix their eyes expectantly, looking for supply, succour,
and safety from his hands, waiting that he may have mercy upon
them. To him they look singly, they have no other confidence,
and they learn to look submissively, waiting patiently for the
Lord, seeking both in activity and suffering to glorify his
name. When they are smitten with the rod they turn their eyes
imploringly to the hand which chastens, hoping that mercy will
soon abate the rigour of the affliction. There is much more in
the figure than we can display in this brief comment; perhaps it
will be most profitable to suggest the question.—Are we thus
trained to service? Though we are sons, have we learned the full
obedience of servants? Have we surrendered self, and bowed our
will before the heavenly Majesty? Do we desire in all things to
be at the Lord's disposal? If so, happy are we. Though we are
made joint heirs with Christ, yet for the present we differ
little from servants, and may be well content to take them for
our model.
Verse 3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy
upon us. He hangs upon the word "mercy, "and
embodies it in a vehement prayer: the very word seems to hold
him, and he harps upon it. It is well for us to pray about
everything, and turn everything into prayer; and especially when
we are reminded of a great necessity we should catch at it as a
keynote, and pitch our tune to it. The reduplication of the
prayer before us is meant to express the eagerness of the
Psalmist's spirit and his urgent need: what he needed speedily
he begs for importunately. Note that he has left the first
person singular for the plural. All the saints need mercy; they
all seek it; they shall all have it, therefore we
pray—"have mercy upon us". A slave when corrected
looks to his master's hand that the punishment may cease, and
even so we look to the Lord for mercy, and entreat for it with
all our hearts. Our contemptuous opponents will have no mercy
upon us; let us not ask it at their hands, but turn to the God
of mercy, and seek his aid alone. "For we are exceedingly
filled with contempt, "and this is an acid which eats into
the soul. Observe the emphatic words. Contempt is bitterness,
wormwood mingled with gall; he that feels it may well cry for
mercy to his God. Filled with contempt, as if the bitter wine
had been poured in till it was up to the brim. This had become
the chief thought of their minds, the peculiar sorrow of their
hearts. Excluding all other feelings, a sense of scorn
monopolized the soul and made it unutterably wretched. Another
word is added adverbially—exceedingly filled. Filled even to
running over, as if pressed down and then heaped up. A little
contempt they could bear, but now they were satiated with it,
and weary of it. Do we wonder at the threefold mention of mercy
when this master evil was in the ascendant? Nothing is more
wounding, embittering, festering than disdain. When our
companions make little of us we are far too apt to make little
of ourselves and of the consolations prepared for us. Oh to be
filled with communion, and then contempt will run off from us,
and never be able to fill us with its biting vinegar.
Verse 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the
scorning of those that are at ease. Knowing no troubles of
their own, the easy ones grow cruel and deride the people of the
Lord. Having the godly already in secret contempt, they show it
by openly scorning them. Note those who do this: they are not
the poor, the humble, the troubled, but those who have a merry
life of it, and are self content. They are in easy
circumstances; they are easy in heart through a deadened
conscience, and so they easily come to mock at holiness; they
are easy from needing nothing, and from having no severe toil
exacted from them; they are easy as to any anxiety to improve,
for their conceit of themselves is boundless. Such men take
things easily, and therefore they scorn the holy carefulness of
those who watch the hand of the Lord. They say, Who is the Lord
that we should obey his voice? and then they turn round with a
contemptuous look and sneer at those who fear the Lord. Woe unto
them that are at case in Zion; their contempt of the godly shall
hasten and increase their misery. The injurious effect of
freedom from affliction is singularly evident here. Place a man
perfectly at case and he derides the suffering godly, and
becomes himself proud in heart and conduct. "And with the
contempt of the proud". The proud think so much of
themselves that they must needs think all the less of those who
are better than themselves. Pride is both contemptible and
contemptuous. The contempt of the great ones of the earth is
often peculiarly acrid: some of them, like a well known
statesman, are "masters of gibes and flouts and
sneers", and never do they seem so much at home in their
acrimony as when a servant of the Lord is the victim of their
venom. It is easy enough to write upon this subject, but to be
selected as the target of contempt is quite another matter.
Great hearts have been broken and brave spirits have been
withered beneath the accursed power of falsehood, and the
horrible blight of contempt. For our comfort we may remember
that our divine Lord was despised and rejected of men, yet he
ceased not from his perfect service till he was exalted to dwell
in the heavens. Let us bear our share of this evil which still
rages under the sun, and let us firmly believe that the contempt
of the ungodly shall turn to our honour in the world to come:
even now it serves as a certificate that we are not of the
world, for if we were of the world the world would love us as
its own.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. This psalm (as ye see) is but short, and
therefore a very fit example to show the force of prayer not to
consist in many words, but in fervency of spirit. For great and
weighty matters may be comprised in a few words, if they proceed
from the spirit and the unspeakable groanings of the heart,
especially when our necessity is such as will not suffer any
long prayer. Every prayer is long enough if it be fervent and
proceed from a heart that understandeth the necessity of the
saints.—Martin Luther.
Whole Psalm. The change of performers in this psalm is
very evident; the pronoun in the first distich is in the first
person singular, in the rest of psalm the first plural is
used.—Stephen Street.
Whole Psalm. This psalm has one distinction which is
to be found in "scarcely any other piece in the Old
Testament." In the Hebrew it has many rhymes. But these
rhymes are purely accidental. They result simply from the fact
that many words are used in it with the same inflections, and
therefore with the same or similar terminations. Regularly
recurring and intentional rhymes are not a characteristic of
Hebrew poetry, any more than they were of Greek or Latin
poetry.—Samuel Cox.
Verse 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes. He who
previously lifted his eyes unto the hills, now hath raised his
heart's eyes to the Lord himself.—The Venerable Bede
(672-735), in Neale and Littledale.
Verse 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, etc.
This is the sigh of the pilgrim who ascendeth and loveth, and
ascendeth because he loveth. He is ascending from earth to
heaven, and while he is ascending, unto whom shall he lift his
eyes, but unto him that dwelleth in heaven? We ascend to heaven
each time we think of God. In that ascent lies all goodness: if
we would repent, we must look not on ourselves, but on him; if
we would be humble, we must look not on ourselves, but on him;
if we would truly love, we must look not on ourselves, but on
him who dwelleth in the heavens. If we would have him turn his
eyes from our sins, we must turn our eyes unto his mercy and
truth.—Plain Commentary.
Verse 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes. Praying
by the glances of the eye rather than by words; mine afflictions
having swollen my heart too big for my mouth.—John Trapp.
Verse 1. Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes. You
feel the greatness of the contrast these words imply. Earth and
heaven, dust and deity; the poor, weeping, sinful children of
mortality, the holy, ever blessed, eternal God: how wide is the
interval of separation between them! But over the awful chasm,
broader than ocean though it be, love and wisdom in the person
of Jesus Christ, have thrown a passage, by which the most sinful
may repair unafraid to his presence, and find the shame and the
fears of guilt exchanged for the peace of forgiveness and the
hope that is full of immortality.—Robert Nisbet.
Verse 1. There are many testimonies in the lifting up
of the eyes to heaven. 1. It is the testimony of a believing,
humble heart. Infidelity will never carry a man above the earth.
Pride can carry a man no higher than the earth either. 2. It is
the testimony of an obedient heart. A man that lifts up his eye
to God, he acknowledgeth thus much,—Lord, I am thy servant. 3.
It is the testimony of a thankful heart; acknowledging that
every good blessing, every perfect gift, is from the hand of
God. 4. It is the testimony of a heavenly heart. He that lifts
up his eyes to heaven acknowledgeth that he is weary of the
earth; his heart is not there; his hope and desire is above. 5.
It is the testimony of a devout heart: there is no part of the
body besides the tongue that is so great an agent in prayer as
the eye.—Condensed from Richard Holdsworth.
Verse 1. O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
"That sittest." The Lord is here contemplated as
enthroned in heaven, where he administers the affairs of the
Universe, executes judgment, and hears prayer.—James G.
Murphy.
Verses 1, 2. The lifting up the eyes, implies faith
and confident persuasion that God is ready and willing to help
us. The very lifting up of the bodily eyes towards heaven is an
expression of this inward trust: so David in effect saith, From
thee, Lord, I expect relief, and the fulfilling of thy promises.
So that there is faith in it, that faith which is the evidence
of things not seen. How great soever the darkness of our
calamities be, though the clouds of present troubles thicken
about us, and hide the Lord's care and loving kindness from us,
yet faith must look through all to his power and constancy of
truth and love. The eye of faith is a clear, piercing, eagle
eye: Moses "endured, as seeing him who is invisible:"
Heb 11:27. Faith seeth things afar off in the promises (Heb
11:13), at a greater distance than the eye of nature can reach
to. Take it either for the eye of the body, or the mind, faith
will draw comfort not only from that which is invisible, but
also from that which is future as well as invisible; its
supports lie in the other world, and in things which are yet to
come.—Thomas Manton.
Verses 1, 2. In the first strophe the poet places
himself before us as standing in the presence of the Majesty of
Heaven, with his eyes fixed on the hand of God, absorbed in
watchful expectation of some sign or gesture, however slight,
which may indicate the divine will. He is like a slave standing
silent but alert, in the presence of the Oriental
"lord", with banns folded on his breast, and eyes
fixed on his master, seeking to read, and to anticipate, if
possible, his every wish. He is like a maiden in attendance on
her mistress, anxiously striving to see her mind in her looks,
to discover and administer to her moods and wants. The grave,
reserved Orientals, as we know, seldom speak to their
attendants, at least on public occasions. They intimate their
wishes and commands by a wave of the hand, by a glance of the
eye, by slight movements and gestures which might escape notice,
were they not watched for with eager attention. Their slaves
"hang upon their faces; "they" fasten their
eyes" on the eyes of their master; they watch and obey
every turn of his hand, every movement of his finger. Thus the
Psalmist conceives of himself as waiting on God, looking to him
alone, watching for the faintest signal, bent on catching and
obeying it.—Samuel Cox.
Verse 2. Behold. An ordinary word, but here it
hath an extraordinary position. Ordinarily it is a term of
attention, used for the awakening of men, to stir up their
admiration and audience; but here it is a word not only prefixed
for the exciting of men, but of God himself. David is speaking
to God in his meditations. "Behold, " saith he. As we
take it with respect to God, so it is a precatory particle: he
beseeches God to look down upon him, while he looks up unto God:
Look on us, as we look to thee; "Behold, Lord, as the eyes
of servants, "etc. If we take it as it hath respect to man,
so it is an exemplary particle, to stir them up to do the like.
"Behold" what we do, and do likewise; let your eyes be
like ours. "Behold, as the eyes of servants are to the hand
of their masters, so are our eyes to the Lord our God." Let
yours have the same fixing. So it is a word that draws all eyes
after it to imitation.—Richard Holdsworth.
Verse 2. Behold as the eyes of servants look,
etc. For direction, defence, maintenance, mercy in time of
correction, help when the service is over hard, etc., "so
do our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, "viz., for
direction and benediction.—John Trapp.
Verse 2. Eyes of servants unto the hand, etc.
Our eyes ought to be to the hand of the Lord our God:—First,
that we may admire his works. Secondly, that we may show that
our service is pleasant to us; and to show our dependence on
such a benign, mighty, and bountiful hand. Thirdly, that we may
evince to him our love, and devoted willingness to do all things
which he shall command by the slightest movement of a finger.
Fourthly, that from him we may receive food, and all things
necessary for sustenance. Fifthly, that he may be a defence for
us against the enemies that molest us, either by smiting them
with the sword, or by shooting of arrows; or by repelling others
by the movement of a finger; or, at least, by covering us with
the shield of his goodwill. Sixthly and lastly, that, moved by
mercy, he would cease from chastisement.—Condensed from Le
Blanc.
Verse 2. As the eyes of servants look unto the hand
of their masters, etc. A traveller says, "I have seen a
fine illustration of this passage in a gentleman's house at
Damascus. The people of the East do not speak so much or so
quick as those in the West, and a sign of the hand is frequently
the only instructions given to the servants in waiting. As soon
as we were introduced and seated on the divan, a wave of the
master's hand indicated that sherbet was to be served. Another
wave brought coffee and pipes; another brought sweetmeats. At
another signal dinner was made ready. The attendants watched
their master's eye and hand, to know his will and do it
instantly." Such is the attention with which we ought to
wait upon the Lord, anxious to fulfil his holy pleasure,—our
great desire being, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to
do?" An equally pointed and more homely illustration may be
seen any day, on our own river Thames, or in any of our large
seaport towns, where the call boy watches attentively the hand
of the captain of the boat, and conveys his will to the engine
men.—The Sunday at Home.
Verse 2. As the eyes of slaves, watching
anxiously the least movement, the Smallest sign of their
master's will. The image expresses complete and absolute
dependence. Savary (in his Zetters on Egypt, p. 135), says,
"The slaves stand silent at the bottom of the rooms with
their hands crossed over their breasts. With their eyes fixed
upon their master they seek to anticipate every one of his
wishes." ...In the Psalm the eye directed to the hand of
God is the "oculus sperans", the eye which waits, and
hopes, and is patient, looking only to him and none other for
help.—J.J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse 2. As the eyes of servants, etc. The true
explanation, I should apprehend, is this: As a slave, ordered by
a master or mistress to be chastised for a fault, turns his or
her imploring eyes to that superior, till that motion of the
hand appears that puts an end to the bitterness that is felt; so
our eyes are up to thee, our God, till thy hand shall give the
signal for putting an end to our sorrows: for our enemies, O
Lord, we are sensible, are only executing thy orders, and
chastening us according to thy pleasure.—Thomas Harmer.
Verse 2. Servants. Note how humbly the faithful
think of themselves in the sight of God. They are called and
chosen to this dignity, to be the heirs and children of God, and
are exalted above the angels, and yet, notwithstanding, they
count themselves no better in God's sight than
"servants." They say not here, Behold, like as
children look to the hand of their fathers, but "as
servants" to the hand of their masters. This is the
humility and modesty of the godly, and it is so far off that
hereby they lose the dignity of God's children, to the which
they are called, that by this means it is made to them more sure
and certain.—Martin Luther.
Verse 2. From the everyday conduct of domestic
servants we should learn our duty Godwards. Not without cause
did our Saviour take his parables from common, everyday things,
from fields, vines, trees, marriages, etc., that thus we might
have everywhere apt reminders.—Martin Geier.
Verse 2. Servants. "A Maiden".
Consider that there be two sorts of servants set down here, man
servants and maid servants; and this is to let us know that both
sexes may be confident in God. Not only may men be confident in
the power of God, but even women also, who are more frail and
feeble. Not only may women mourn to God for wrongs done to them,
and have repentance for sin, but they may be confident in God
also. And therefore see, in that rehearsal of believers and
cloud of witnesses, not only is the faith of men noted and
commended by the Spirit of God, but also the faith of women: and
among the judges, Deborah, Jael, etc., are commended as
worthies, and courageous in God. And the women also in the New
Testament are noted for their following of Christ—even when
all fled from him, then they followed him.—From a Sermon by
Alexander Henderson, 1583-1646.
Verse 2. Servants. "A Maiden". We
know how shamefully servants were treated in ancient times, and
what reproaches must be cast upon them, whilst yet they durst
not move a finger to repel the outrage. Being therefore deprived
of all means of defending themselves, the only thing which
remained for them to do was, what is here stated, to crave the
protection of their masters. The same explanation is equally
applicable to the case of handmaids. Their condition was indeed
shameful and degrading; but there is no reason why we should be
ashamed of, or offended at, being compared to slaves, provided
God is our defender, and takes our lives under his guardianship;
God, I say, who purposely disarms us and strips us of all
worldly aid, that we may learn to rely upon his grace, and to be
contented with it alone. It having been anciently a capital
crime for bondmen to carry a sword or any other weapon about
them, and as they were exposed to injuries of every description,
their masters were wont to defend them with so much the more
spirit, when anyone causelessly did them violence. Nor can it be
doubted that God, when he sees us placing an exclusive
dependence upon his protection, and renouncing all confidence ib
our resources, will, as our defender, encounter and shield us
from all the molestation nthat shall be offered to us.—John
Calvin
Observe the covenant name, "Jehovah our God": it is
sweet to wait upon a covenant God. Because of that covenant he
will show mercy to us; but we may have to wait for it.
"Until that he have mercy upon us:". God hath his time
and season, and we must wait until it cometh. For the trial of
our faith our blessed Lord may for awhile delay, but in the end
the vision will be fulfilled. Mercy is that which we need, that
which we look for, that which our Lord will manifest to us. Even
those who look to the Lord, with that holy look which is here
described, still need mercy, and as they cannot claim it by
right they wait for it till sovereign grace chooses to vouchsafe
it. Blessed are those servants whom their Master shall find so
doing. Waiting upon the Lord is a posture suitable both for
earth and heaven: it is, indeed, in every place the right and
fitting condition for a servant of the Lord. Nor may we leave
the posture so long as we are by grace dwellers in the realm of
mercy. It is a great mercy to be enabled to wait for mercy, so
much the more spirit, when anyone causelessly did them violence.
Nor can it be doubted that God, when he sees us placing an
exclusive dependence upon his protection, and renouncing all
confidence in our own resources, will, as our defender,
encounter and shield us from all the molestation that shall be
offered to us.—John Calvin.
Verse 2. Hand. With the hand we demand, we
promise, we call, dismiss, threaten, entreat, supplicate, deny,
refuse, interrogate, admire, reckon, confess, repent; express
fear, express shame, express doubt; we instruct, command, unite,
encourage, swear, testify, accuse, condemn, acquit, insult,
despise, defy, disdain, flatter, applaud, bless, abase,
ridicule, reconcile, recommend, exalt, regale, gladden,
complain, afflict, discomfort, discourage, astonish; exclaim,
indicate silence, and what not? with a variety and a
multiplication that keep pace with the tongue.—Michael de
Montaigne, 1533-1592.
Verse 2. Masters. It is said of Mr. George
Herbert, that divine poet, that, to satisfy his independency
upon all others, and to quicken his diligence in God's service,
he used in his ordinary speech, when he made mention of the
blessed name of Jesus, to add, "my Master." And,
without any doubt, if men were unfeignedly of his mind, their
respects would be more to Christ's command, to Christ's will, to
Christ's pleasure.—From Spencer's "Things New and
Old."
Verse 2. Our eyes wait. Here the Psalmist uses
another word: it is the eye waiting. What is the reason of the
second word? Now he leaves the similitude in the first line; for
in the first line it is thus,—"As the eyes of servants
look, and the eyes of a maiden look"; here it is the eye
waits. There is good reason: to wait is more than to look: to
wait is to look constantly, with patience and submission, by
subjecting our affections and wills and desires to God's will;
that is to wait, David in the second part, in the second line,
gives a better word, he betters his copy. There is the duty of a
Christian, to better his example; the eyes of servants look,
David's eyes shall wait: "So our eyes wait". It is
true, indeed this word is not in the original, therefore you may
observe it is in a small letter in your Bibles, to note that it
is a word of necessity, added for the supply of the sense,
because the Holy Ghost left it not imperfect, but more perfect,
that lie put not in the verb; because it is left to every man's
heart to supply a verb to his own comfort, and a better he
cannot than this. And that this word must be added appears by
the next words: "until that he have mercy upon us". To
look till he have mercy on us is to wait; so there is good
reason why this word is added. If we look to the thing
begged—"mercy"—it is so precious that we may wait
for it. It was "servants" that he mentioned, and it is
their duty to wait upon their masters; they wait upon their
trenchers at meat; they wait when they go to bed and when they
rise; they wait in every place. Therefore, because he had
mentioned the first word, he takes the proper duty; there is
nothing more proper to servants than waiting, and if we are the
servants of God we must wait. There is good reason in that
respect, because it is a word so significant, therefore the
Spirit of God varies it; he keeps not exactly to the line,
"So do our eyes look, "but he puts it, "So do our
eyes wait."—Richard Holdsworth.
Verse 3. —Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy
upon us! Note how a godly man speaks. He does not say,
"Have mercy upon me, O Lord have mercy upon me! because I
am disgraced; "but, "Have mercy upon us, O Lord, for
we are filled with contempt!" The godly man is not so
grieved for his own and individual contempt as he is for the
general contempt of the good and faithful. There is an accord of
the godly, not only in the cross, but also in groanings, and in
the invocation of divine grace.—Wolfgang Musculus.
Verse 3. For we are exceedingly filled. The
Hebrew word here used means "to be saturated"; to have
the appetite fully satisfied—as applied to one who is hungry
or thirsty. Then it comes to mean to be entirely full, and the
idea here is, that as much contempt had been thrown upon them as
could be: they could experience no more.—Albert Barnes.
Verse 3. We are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Men of the world regard the Temple Pilgrims and their religion
with the quiet smile of disdain, wondering that those who have
so much to engage them in a present life should be weak enough
to concern themselves about frames and feelings, about an unseen
God, and unknown eternity; and this is a trial they find it hard
to bear. Their soul, too, is filled exceedingly with the
scorning of those that are at ease. The prosperous of their
neighbours declare that they have found the world a generous and
happy scene to all who deserve its gifts. Poverty and sorrow
they attribute to unworthiness alone. "Let them exert
themselves" is the unfeeling cry; "let them bestir
themselves instead of praying, and with them as with us it will
soon be well"; and these words of harsh and unfeeling
ignorance aye like poison to the wounds of the bleeding heart.
They have further "the contempt of the proud" to
mourn; of those who give expression to their fierce disdain by
assailing them with words of contumely, and who seek to draw
them by reproaches both from peace and from piety. These are
still the trials of Zion's worshippers: silent contempt, open
misrepresentation, fierce opposition. Religion, their last
comfort, is despised; peace, their first desire, is denied.
Anxious to devote themselves in the spirit of humble and earnest
piety to the duties of their appointed sphere, they find enemies
in open outcry and array against them. But God is their refuge,
and to him they go.—Robert Nisbet.
Verses 3,4. The second strophe takes up the "have
mercy upon us, " as it were in echo. It begins with a
"Kyrie eleison", which is confirmed in a crescendo
manner after the form of steps.—Franz Delitszch.
Verse 4. Exceedingly filled, or perhaps,
"has long been filled." (Comp. Ps 120:6). This
expression, together with the earnestness of the repeated
prayer, "Be gracious unto us", shows that the
"scorn" and "contempt" have long pressed
upon the people, and their faith has accordingly been exposed to
a severe trial. The more remarkable is the entire absence of
anything like impatience in the language of the psalm.—J.J.
Stewart Perowne.
Verse 4. The scorning of those that are at ease.
When men go on prosperously, they are apt wrongfully to trouble
others, and then to shout at them in their misery, and to
despise the person and cause of God's people. This is the sure
effect of great arrogancy and pride. They think they may do what
they please; they have no changes, therefore they fear not God,
but put forth their hands against such as be at peace with them
(Ps 4:19,20); whilst they go on prosperously and undisturbed,
they cannot abstain from violence and oppression. This is
certainly pride, for it is a lifting up of the heart above God
and against God and without God. And they do not consider his
providence, which alternately lifts up and eases down, that
adversity may not be without a cordial, nor prosperity without a
curb and bridle. When men sit fast, and are well at ease, they
are apt to be insolent and scornful. Riches and worldly
greatness make men insolent and despisers of others, and not to
care what burdens they impose upon them; they are entrenched
within a mass of wealth and power and greatness, and so think
none can call them to an account.—Thomas Manton.
Verse 4. Those that are at ease. The word
always means such as are recklessly at their ease, the careless
ones, such as those whom Isaiah bids, "rise up, tremble, be
troubled; "for "many days and years shall ye be
troubled" (Ps 32:9-11). It is that luxury and ease which
sensualise the soul, and make it dull, stupid, hard hearted.—Edward
Bonyerie Pusey (1800—), in "The Minor
Prophets".
Verse 4. Those that are at ease, who are
regardless of the troubles of others. and expect none of their
own.—James G. Murphy.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole Psalm. We have here,
1. The prayer of dependence, Ps 123:2.
2. The prayer of apprehension: "Unto thee", etc.
3. The spirit of obedience: "As the eyes of servants:"
etc.
4. The patience of the saints: "Until he have mercy upon
us."
—R. Nisbet.
Whole Psalm. Eyes and no eyes.
1. EYES.
(a) Upward, in confidence, in prayer, in thought.
(b) "Unto, "in reverence, watchfulness, obedience.
(c) Inward, producing a cry for mercy.
2. No EYES.
(a) NO sight of the excellence of the godly.
(b) No sense of their own danger: "at ease."
(c) No humility before God: "proud."
(d) No uplifted eyes in hope, prayer, expectation.
Verse 1. The eyes of faith.
1. Need uplifting.
2. See best upward.
3. Have always something to see upward.
4. Let us look up, and so turn our eyes from too much
introspection and retrospection.
Verse 1.
1. The language of Adoration: "Thou that dwellest in the
heavens."
2. The language of Confession.
(a) Of need.
(b) Of Helplessness.
3. The language of Supplication: "Unto thee, "etc.
4. The language of Expectation; as shown in Ps 123:2.—G.R.
Verse 2. (Ps 121:4 with this verse.) Two beholds.
1. God's watchful eye over us.
2. The saint's watchful eye upon God.
Verse 2. "Our eyes wait upon the Lord our
God."
1. What it is to wait with the eye.
2. What peculiar aspect of the Lord suggests such waiting:
"Jehovah our God." The covenant God is the trusted
God.
3. What comes of such waiting—"mercy."
Verse 2. The guiding hand.
1. A beckoning hand—to go near.
2. A directing hand—to go here and there.
3. A quiescent hand—to remain where we are.—G.R.
Verse 2. Homely metaphors, or what may be learned from
maids and their mistresses.
Verse 3 (first portion). The Sinner's Litany. The
Saint's Entreaty.
Verse 3 (second portion). The world's contempt, the
abundance of it, the reason of it, the bitterness of it, the
comfort under it.
Verses 3, 4.
1. The occasion of the prayer: the contempt of men. This is
often the most difficult to bear.
(a) Because it is most unreasonable. Why ridicule men for
yielding to their own convictions of what is right?
(b) Most undeserved. True religion injures no man, but seeks
the good of all.
(c) Most profane. To reproach the people of God because they
are his people is to reproach God himself.
2. The subject of the prayer.
(a) The prayer: is not for justice, which might be desired,
but for mercy.
(b) The plea: "For we are, "etc. The reproaches of
men are an encouragement to look for special help from God. The
harp hung upon the willows sends forth its sweetest tones. The
less it is in human hands the more freely it is played upon by
the Spirit of God.—G.R.
Verse 4. Those that are at ease.
1. Explain their state: "at ease."
2. Show their ordinary state of mind: "proud."
3. Denounce their frequent sin: scorn of the godly.
4. Exhibit their terrible danger.