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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms CXXIII].</TITLE>
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"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC19122.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM CXXIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This psalm was penned at a time then the church of God was brought low
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and trampled upon; some think it was when the Jews were captives in
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Babylon, though that was not the only time that they were insulted over
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by the proud. The psalmist begins as if he spoke for himself only
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:1">ver. 1</A>),
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but presently speaks in the name of the church. Here is,
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I. Their expectation of mercy from God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. Their plea for mercy with God,,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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In singing it we must have our eye up to God's favour with a holy
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concern, and then an eye down to men's reproach with a holy
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contempt.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps123_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps123_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps123_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps123_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Grateful Acknowledgments.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>A song of degrees.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou
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that dwellest in the heavens.
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2 Behold, as the eyes of servants <I>look</I> unto the hand of their
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masters, <I>and</I> as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her
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mistress; so our eyes <I>wait</I> upon the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God, until that he
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have mercy upon us.
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3 Have mercy upon us, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, have mercy upon us: for we are
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exceedingly filled with contempt.
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4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those
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that are at ease, <I>and</I> with the contempt of the proud.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The solemn profession which God's people make of faith and hope in
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God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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Observe,
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1. The title here given to God: <I>O thou that dwellest in the
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heavens.</I> Our Lord Jesus has taught us, in prayer, to have an eye to
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God as <I>our Father in heaven;</I> not that he is confined there, but
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there especially he manifests his glory, as the King in his court.
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Heaven is a place of prospect and a place of power; he that dwells
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there beholds thence all the calamities of his people and thence can
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send to save them. Sometimes God seems to have forsaken the earth, and
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the enemies of God's people ask, <I>Where is now your God?</I> But then
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they can say with comfort, <I>Our God is in the heavens. O thou that
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sittest in the heavens</I> (so some), sittest as Judge there; for
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<I>the Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens,</I> and to that
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throne injured innocency may appeal.
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2. The regard here had to God. The psalmist himself <I>lifted up his
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eyes</I> to him. The eyes of a good man are <I>ever towards the
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Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+25:15">Ps. xxv. 15</A>.
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In every prayer we lift up our soul, the eye of our soul, to God,
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especially in trouble, which was the case here. The <I>eyes</I> of the
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people <I>waited on the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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We find mercy coming towards a people <I>when the eyes of man, as of
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all the tribes of Israel, are towards the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+9:1">Zech. ix. 1</A>.
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The eyes of the body are heaven-ward. <I>Os homini sublime dedit--To
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man he gave an erect mien,</I> to teach us which way to direct the eyes
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of the mind. <I>Our eyes wait on the Lord,</I> the eye of desire and
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prayer, the begging eye, and the eye of dependence, hope, and
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expectation, the longing eye. Our eyes must wait upon God as <I>the
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Lord,</I> and <I>our God, until that he have mercy upon us.</I> We
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desire mercy from him, we hope he will show us mercy, and we will
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continue our attendance on him till the mercy come. This is illustrated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
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by a similitude: Our eyes are to God <I>as the eyes of a servant,</I>
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and <I>handmaid, to the hand of their master and mistress.</I> The eyes
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of a servant are,
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(1.) To his master's directing hand, expecting that he will appoint him
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his work, and cut it out for him, and show him how he must do it.
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<I>Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?</I>
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(2.) To his supplying hand. Servants look to their master, or their
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mistress, for their portion of meat in due season,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+31:15">Prov. xxxi. 15</A>.
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And to God must we look for daily bread, for grace sufficient; from him
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we must receive it thankfully.
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(3.) To his assisting hand. If the servant cannot do his work himself,
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where must he look for help but to his master? And in the strength of
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the Lord God we must go forth and go on.
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(4.) To his protecting hand. If the servant meet with opposition in
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his work, if he be questioned for what he does, if he be wronged and
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injured, who should bear him out and right him, but his master that set
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him on work? The people of God, when they are persecuted, may appeal to
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their Master, <I>We are thine; save us.</I>
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(5.) To his correcting hand. If the servant has provoked his master to
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beat him, he does not call for help against his master, but looks at
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the hand that strikes him, till it shall say, "It is enough; I will not
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contend for ever." The people of God were now under his rebukes; and
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whither should they turn but to him that <I>smote them?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+9:13">Isa. ix. 13</A>.
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To whom should they make supplication but to their Judge? They will not
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do as Hagar did, who ran away from her mistress when she put some
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hardships upon her
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+16:6">Gen. xvi. 6</A>),
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but they submit themselves to and humble themselves under God's mighty
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hand.
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(6.) To his rewarding hand. The servant expects his wages, his
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<I>well-done,</I> from his master. Hypocrites have their eye to the
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world's hand; thence <I>they have their reward</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:2">Matt. vi. 2</A>);
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but true Christians have their eye to God as their rewarder.</P>
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<P>
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II. The humble address which God's people present to him in their
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calamitous condition
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>),
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wherein,
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1. They sue for mercy, not prescribing to God what he shall do for
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them, nor pleading any merit of their own why he should do it for them,
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but, <I>Have mercy upon us, O Lord! have mercy upon us.</I> We find
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little mercy with men; their <I>tender mercies are cruel;</I> there are
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<I>cruel mockings.</I> But this is our comfort, that <I>with the Lord
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there is mercy</I> and we need desire no more to relieve us, and make
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us easy, than the mercy of God. Whatever the troubles of the church
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are, God's mercy is a sovereign remedy.
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2. They set forth their grievances: <I>We are exceedingly filled with
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contempt.</I> Reproach is the wound, the burden, they complain of.
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Observe,
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(1.) Who were reproached: "We, who have our eyes up to thee." Those who
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are owned of God are often despised and trampled on by the world. Some
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translate the words which we render, <I>those that are at ease,</I> and
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<I>the proud,</I> so as to signify the persons that are scorned and
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contemned. "Our soul is troubled to see how those that are at peace,
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and the excellent ones, are scorned and despised." The saints are a
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peaceable people and yet are abused
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+35:20">Ps. xxxv. 20</A>),
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the excellent ones of the earth and yet undervalued,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:1,2">Lam. iv. 1, 2</A>.
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(2.) Who did reproach them. Taking the words as we read them, they were
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the epicures who lived at ease, carnal sensual people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+12:5">Job xii. 5</A>.
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The scoffers are such as walk after their own lusts and serve their own
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bellies, and the proud such as set God himself at defiance and had a
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high opinion of themselves; they trampled on God's people, thinking
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they magnified themselves by vilifying them.
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(3.) To what degree they were reproached: "<I>We are filled,</I> we are
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surfeited with it. <I>Our soul is exceedingly filled with it.</I>" The
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enemies thought they could never jeer them enough, nor say enough to
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make them despicable; and they could not but lay it to heart; it was a
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sword in their bones,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+42:10">Ps. xlii. 10</A>.
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Note,
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[1.] Scorning and contempt have been, and are, and are likely to be,
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the lot of God's people in this world. Ishmael mocked Isaac, which is
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called <I>persecuting</I> him; and so it is now,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:29">Gal. iv. 29</A>.
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[2.] In reference to the scorn and contempt of men it is matter of
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comfort that there is mercy with God, mercy to our good names when they
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are barbarously used. <I>Hear, O our God! for we are despised.</I></P>
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<!-- (End Body) -->
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC19122.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC19124.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!--Matthew_Henry's_Commentary_on_the_Whole_Bible:_Psalms_CXXIII.--><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank"><b>Back to Bibles Net . Com - Online Christian Library </b></a><br>
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<b>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Free Download</b></a><br>
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