Psalms

10/14/19

Commentary on the Book of Psalms

1670

10/14/19

Tom Lowe

Psalm 123

Psalm 123: The Godly Profess Their Confidence In God (KJV)

(A Song of degrees. See Psalm 122 for meaning.)

Psalms 123:1-4 (KJV)

1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

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.

3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

Introduction:

This is another of the songs of degrees that have no named authorship, but I believe that King Hezekiah wrote it. As has been noted before, the setting was probably that of the Assyrian invasion of Judah and the encirclement of Jerusalem by the armies of Sennacherib. The immediate occasion was perhaps the blasphemous, contemptuous speech of Rabshakeh in which he tried to subvert the loyalty of the besieged defenders of the city.

When this psalm was sung, it is possible that Hezekiah sang the first verse, leading the congregation in worship. Then the choir picked up the psalm and sang out the remaining verses.

Scripture: Psalms 123:1-4 (KJV)

1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

The poet's prayer is appropriately addressed by himself to Yahweh. He is offering the prayer, though on behalf of an entire group, and so he says, "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens." It is Yahweh "that dwellest in the heavens."

With the beginning of the body of the prayer, the poet shifts logically to the plural pronoun, bringing the group of his fellow worshipers into the petition, which is also opened with a confession. Thus, the plea and its basis are directed to Him (Yahweh). He is asked to have mercy (v.2) because the petitioners are glutted with contempt. They have all they can take of the scorn of the indolent proud and the hatred of the high and mighty. They have had all they can stand. The next move must be Yahweh's.

The speaker has already lifted his eyes and is still doing so, and will continue to do so. The upward look is sometimes the only one left. Our Lord looked upward when He prayed (John 17:1), and He has taught us to look up to our Father in heaven. It is His throne (Matt. 5:34). Sometimes we cannot articulate words and sentences, but we can put a prayer into a look.

If Hezekiah looked within himself, he saw the natural fear and terror that dwelt in his own heart; he was a man of like passions as we are. If he looked without, he saw the Assyrian army, so strong, so victorious, with its poor reputation for military thoroughness and savage revenge. Humanly speaking, it seemed ridiculous for the Jews to think they could be victorious in a contest with Assyria. So Hezekiah might well have feared.

If Hezekiah looked at the people, he saw horror and hopelessness on their faces. They did not have the faith he had (many had only recently been weaned from paganism, and many were reluctant converts.). If he looked again, beyond the walls, he saw the endless ranks of Assyrian soldiers, the siege engines, the sappers and engineers, the pavilions and banners of the officers, the disciplined march of infantry, the arrogant ranks of cavalry, waiting to pursue any who sought refuge in flight. There was no place to look but up.

He lifted his eyes higher now than the hills, and he looked to the heavens. He stood on the roof of his palace to pray, raised his eyes, saw the countless stars. That would give the worried king something on which to meditate. Like Job, he was ignorant of things having to do with the heavens. It must have been a comforting thought to Hezekiah to think of the power of the Assyrian army and then of the power of God.

As Hezekiah surveyed the continually changing scene before him, he looked up beyond the towering ramparts of the city, beyond the highest stars, to the dwelling place of God; "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens." Or, as some render that, "Oh thou that settest enthroned in the heavens." All those mighty stars are the splendid carpet that surrounds the throne of God.

So the far look, all the way to the heavens and the throne of God paid off. It encouraged Hezekiah to go into the temple to lay matters before a God who, having created stars, was not likely to be intimidated by Assyrian soldiers. When Hezekiah set Sennacherib and God side-by-side with the One God, the Creator of the stars, he regained his sense of proportion.

The choir now picks up the theme: "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 picture here is that of an oriental slave. In an Eastern home, the master was supreme, and even the mistress ruled her slaves with an iron hand. A well-trained slave did not have to be told what to do. It was not necessary to issue loud commands. All that was needed was a gesture: a beckoning finger, a palm held outward in a cautioning gesture, a thumb significantly cocked. That was all. A slave would know that he must approach or that he must stay where he was or that he must watch his step or that he must attend to the needs of a guest. He would keep his eye on the master's hand.

The defenders of Jerusalem knew that their destiny was in the hands of God. Their duty was to obey His wishes. The master would not fail to supply the needs of his obedient servants. There was mutual responsibility; the responsibility of the slave to heed the slightest wish of the Lord and the duty of the Lord to help when the servant needed Divine resources to fulfill the master's requests.

The singers take their places as dutiful servants. They expect that God's hand, the hand that created the stars, will work on their behalf. These besieged servants of God had their eyes glued on heaven, waiting for God to move his hand.

This was the simple concern of the few. They were convinced that God should make the needed move. They would then know what He intended to do, and they would know, too, what they were intended to do. Looking at the heavens reminded them what a mighty hand it was, which, as they eagerly expected, would soon move on their behalf.

3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

The defenders of Jerusalem were enduring not only the privation, hardship, and uncertainty of a siege but also the jeering mockery of the foe. When the psalmist says, "We are exceedingly filled with contempt," he does not mean that he has contempt for others. The particular trial from which deliverance is sought is the contempt of the proud (v. 4). Hatred is hard to bear, but we are taught to expect it,

Hezekiah had received a letter putting in mind the contempt the Assyrians felt for the God of the Hebrews: "Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in the lesser? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?" (2 Kings 19:10-13).

This letter equated the Lord with the pagan nations that were all around them. The Assyrian argued that their gods had not saved them, so Jehovah could not save the Jews. They considered the Lord to be as useless as the gods of the pagans, and they did not hesitate to say so. The Assyrians were waging a propaganda war against God, pointing to their successes to prove they were right.

In such cases, it is difficult to ignore the verbal jeers, yet the psalmist has been able to divert his attention and place his eyes on the Lord (v. 1). With no thought of personal revenge or frontier justice, he leaves the matter in God's hands. He compares his status to that of a slave or handmaiden, looking to the master (or mistress) of the house for mercy.

Here in verse 3, the people need mercy from God because their enemies have treated them with great contempt. In this case, no request is made for the persecution to be silenced, but the people need strength from God during this difficult time.

Assyria believed that the tide of history was on its side. It could point to numerous successful conquests in the world. It could afford to be belligerent. Its policies were backed by armed forces that had no equal. All this confrontational, blasphemous contempt of God was centered on the land of Israel. The God of the Bible was the ultimate target. Behind this Assyrian menace was Satan, seeking as always to further his goal of bringing the whole world into open contempt of God. Hezekiah had had enough. He had a full measure of the contempt of the foe, and he told God so.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

"Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud." Behind the Assyrian's boastful attitude was his evident success. Lesser nations trembled before him. The tide of history seemed to be running his way, and that tide had been running for nearly two centuries.

It is not uncommon for those who are devoted to God to suffer ridicule and contempt from those who are not believers. This is the case described in Psalm 123. As the psalm closes in verse 4, the writer finally identifies the problem. The source of the ridicule is not known, but the description is of one entire group of people being harassed by another large group.

In such cases, it is difficult to ignore the verbal taunting, yet the psalmist has been able to divert his attention and place his eyes on the Lord (v. 1). With no thought of personal revenge or frontier justice, he leaves the matter in God's hands. He compares his status to that of a slave or handmaid, looking to the master (or mistress) of the house for mercy.

First had come Ashurnasirpal II (883-859), who had lifted Syria out of its long decline and who had converted his country into a military state. Cruelty was his key to staying in power and terror the instrument of his policy.

Next in line was Shalmaneser III (858-824). He took the war machine built up by his father and began to export terror abroad.

In due time came Tiglath-pileser III (745-726), a warrior and statesman. He dedicated himself to making Assyria a world power. He conquered Babylon, overran Israel, and deported whole conquered populations to distant parts of his empire.

Then came Shalmaneser V (726-722), who began the fateful siege of Samaria, which lasted three long, dreadful years.

He was followed by Sargon II (721-705), best known of the Assyrian emperors. During his reign, Samaria fell, and the ten tribes vanished into captivity.

And nowSennacherib had come (704-681). Then the Assyrian army descended on Judah, and, according to Assyrian records, some forty-six Judean towns were overrun, and 200,150 captives deported. Now it was Jerusalem's turn.

Finally, the psalmist speaks of the swelling pride and the seeming prosperity of the conqueror. He has no place to go, but to God, so he lays it all out before Him. He tells the Lord that he is heart-sick of hearing of Assyrian victories and of listening to Assyrian insolence.