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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Psalms 123:1–4. His four-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
We have here,
I.The solemn profession which God's people make of faith and hope in God, Psa 123:1, Psa 123:2. Observe,
1.The title here given to God: O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Our Lord Jesus has taught us, in prayer, to have an eye to God as our Father in heaven; not that he is confined there, but there especially he manifests his glory, as the King in his court. Heaven is a place of prospect and a place of power; he that dwells there beholds thence all the calamities of his people and thence can send to save them. Sometimes God seems to have forsaken the earth, and the enemies of God's people ask, Where is now your God? But then they can say with comfort, Our God is in the heavens. O thou that sittest in the heavens (so some), sittest as Judge there; for the Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens, and to that throne injured innocency may appeal.
2.The regard here had to God. The psalmist himself lifted up his eyes to him. The eyes of a good man are ever towards the Lord, Psa 25:15. In every prayer we lift up our soul, the eye of our soul, to God, especially in trouble, which was the case here. The eyes of the people waited on the Lord, Psa 123:2. We find mercy coming towards a people when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, are towards the Lord, Zac 9:1. The eyes of the body are heaven-ward. Os homini sublime dedit - To man he gave an erect mien, to teach us which way to direct the eyes of the mind. Our eyes wait on the Lord, the eye of desire and prayer, the begging eye, and the eye of dependence, hope, and expectation, the longing eye. Our eyes must wait upon God as the Lord, and our God, until that he have mercy upon us. We desire mercy from him, we hope he will show us mercy, and we will continue our attendance on him till the mercy come. This is illustrated (Psa 123:2) by a similitude: Our eyes are to God as the eyes of a servant, and handmaid, to the hand of their master and mistress. The eyes of a servant are,
(1.)To his master's directing hand, expecting that he will appoint him his work, and cut it out for him, and show him how he must do it. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
(2.)To his supplying hand. Servants look to their master, or their mistress, for their portion of meat in due season, Pro 31:15. And to God must we look for daily bread, for grace sufficient; from him we must receive it thankfully.
(3.)To his assisting hand. If the servant cannot do his work himself, where must he look for help but to his master? And in the strength of the Lord God we must go forth and go on.
(4.)To his protecting hand. If the servant meet with opposition in his work, if he be questioned for what he does, if he be wronged and injured, who should bear him out and right him, but his master that set him on work? The people of God, when they are persecuted, may appeal to their Master, We are thine; save us.
(5.)To his correcting hand. If the servant has provoked his master to beat him, he does not call for help against his master, but looks at the hand that strikes him, till it shall say, "It is enough; I will not contend for ever." The people of God were now under his rebukes; and whither should they turn but to him that smote them? Isa 9:13. To whom should they make supplication but to their Judge? They will not do as Hagar did, who ran away from her mistress when she put some hardships upon her (Gen 16:6), but they submit themselves to and humble themselves under God's mighty hand.
(6.)To his rewarding hand. The servant expects his wages, his well-done, from his master. Hypocrites have their eye to the world's hand; thence they have their reward (Mat 6:2); but true Christians have their eye to God as their rewarder.
II.The humble address which God's people present to him in their calamitous condition (Psa 123:3, Psa 123:4), wherein,
1.They sue for mercy, not prescribing to God what he shall do for them, nor pleading any merit of their own why he should do it for them, but, Have mercy upon us, O Lord! have mercy upon us. We find little mercy with men; their tender mercies are cruel; there are cruel mockings. But this is our comfort, that with the Lord there is mercy and we need desire no more to relieve us, and make us easy, than the mercy of God. Whatever the troubles of the church are, God's mercy is a sovereign remedy.
2.They set forth their grievances: We are exceedingly filled with contempt. Reproach is the wound, the burden, they complain of. Observe,
(1.)Who were reproached: "We, who have our eyes up to thee." Those who are owned of God are often despised and trampled on by the world. Some translate the words which we render, those that are at ease, and the proud, so as to signify the persons that are scorned and contemned. "Our soul is troubled to see how those that are at peace, and the excellent ones, are scorned and despised." The saints are a peaceable people and yet are abused (Psa 35:20), the excellent ones of the earth and yet undervalued, Lam 4:1, Lam 4:2.
(2.)Who did reproach them. Taking the words as we read them, they were the epicures who lived at ease, carnal sensual people, Job 12:5. The scoffers are such as walk after their own lusts and serve their own bellies, and the proud such as set God himself at defiance and had a high opinion of themselves; they trampled on God's people, thinking they magnified themselves by vilifying them.
(3.)To what degree they were reproached: "We are filled, we are surfeited with it. Our soul is exceedingly filled with it." The enemies thought they could never jeer them enough, nor say enough to make them despicable; and they could not but lay it to heart; it was a sword in their bones, Psa 42:10. Note,
[1.]Scorning and contempt have been, and are, and are likely to be, the lot of God's people in this world. Ishmael mocked Isaac, which is called persecuting him; and so it is now, Gal 4:29.
[2.]In reference to the scorn and contempt of men it is matter of comfort that there is mercy with God, mercy to our good names when they are barbarously used. Hear, O our God! for we are despised.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
2 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
We must find out whence true patience, worthy of the name, is to be had. There are those who attribute it to the powers of human will, not those that people have from divine assistance but from their own free will. But that is an arrogant error. It is the error of the rich about which the psalm speaks, “a reproach to the rich and contempt to the proud.” It is not the patience of the poor, which “shall not perish forever.” For the poor receive it from the wealthy One to whom it is said, “You are my God, for you have no need of my goods,” from whom “is every best gift and every perfect gift,” on whom the poor and needy person calls, who praises his name and by seeking, by asking, by knocking, says, “Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner and out of the hand of the transgressor of the law and of the unjust. For you are my patience, O Lord: my hope, from my youth.” The rich and those who disdain being needy before the Lord should not receive true patience from him. Glorying in their own false patience, they wish “to confound the counsel of the poor person, but the Lord is his hope.” Since they are human and attribute so much to themselves, that is, to their human will, they do not tend to apply to themselves the words of Scripture: “Cursed is everyone that trusts in man.” For, even if sometimes in order not to displease people or to suffer worse ills, they bear up under things that are hard and rugged, or else in pleasing themselves and loving their own presumption they suffer these same evils with an arrogant will, that which the blessed James the apostle said about wisdom must be said to them about their patience: “This is not the wisdom that descends from above. It is earthly, sensual, devilish.” For, why is there not a false patience of the proud just as there is a false wisdom of the proud? He who is the source of true wisdom is also the source of true patience. And to him the one who is poor in spirit sings, “My soul is subject to God, for from him is my patience.”
"Our soul is filled exceedingly; a reproach to the wealthy, and a contempt to the proud" [Psalm 123:4]. We were asking who were "the wealthy:" he has expounded to you, in that he has said, "the proud." "Reproach" and "contempt" are the same: and "wealthy" is the same with "proud." It is a repetition of the sentence, "a reproach to the wealthy, and a contempt to the proud." Why are the proud wealthy? Because they wish to be happy here. Why? Since they themselves too are miserable, are they wealthy? But perhaps when they are miserable, they do not mock us. Listen, my beloved. Then perchance they mock when they are happy, when they boast themselves in the pomp of their riches! When they boast themselves in the inflated state of false honours: then they mock us, and seem to say, Behold, it is well with me: I enjoy the good things before me: let those who promise what they cannot show depart from me: what I see, I hold; what I see, I enjoy; may I fare well in this life. Be thou more secure; for Christ has risen again, and has taught you what He will give in another life: be assured that He gives it. But that man mocks you, because he holds what he has. Bear with his mockeries, and you will laugh at his groans: for afterwards there will come a season when these very persons will say, "This was he whom we had sometimes in derision." [Wisdom 5:3] ...
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Summary
Psalms 123:4 profoundly articulates the deep, pervasive emotional and spiritual distress experienced by the righteous who are subjected to the relentless scorn and contempt of the arrogant and complacent. It gives voice to a soul overwhelmed by the persistent mockery of those who appear to prosper without regard for God, justice, or the suffering of others, highlighting the profound burden felt by those who humbly await divine mercy amidst such opposition.
Context
Literary Context
Psalm 123 is one of the fifteen "Songs of Ascent" (Psalms 120-134), a collection likely sung by pilgrims as they journeyed to Jerusalem for the annual festivals. These psalms often share themes of longing for God, trust in His deliverance, and cries for help amidst adversity, typically reflecting a communal or individual journey of faith. Within this specific psalm, verse 4 serves as the climax of the worshiper's plea. The preceding verses establish a posture of humble, expectant waiting: "To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!" the psalmist declares. The analogy of servants looking to their master's hand in Psalms 123:2 underscores this complete dependence, setting the stage for the raw, intense expression of suffering found in verse 4, which details the specific nature of the affliction that necessitates such desperate appeal for mercy as seen in Psalms 123:3.
Historical & Cultural Context
The "Songs of Ascent" reflect the experiences of ancient Israelite pilgrims and, by extension, the nation as a whole. The "scorning of those that are at ease" and "contempt of the proud" likely refers to the social and political realities faced by the faithful. This could include oppression from foreign powers, internal social injustices, or the general disdain from the wealthy, powerful, or irreligious within their own society who felt secure in their earthly prosperity and thus saw no need for God or compassion for the vulnerable. Such "ease" often led to arrogance and a lack of empathy, a common critique in prophetic literature. The public nature of scorn and contempt in ancient cultures, often expressed through verbal abuse, public shaming, or social exclusion, would have added significantly to the psychological and spiritual burden on the afflicted.
Key Themes
This verse powerfully contributes to several key themes prevalent throughout the Psalms and broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it highlights The Burden of Scorn and Oppression, articulating the deep emotional and spiritual pain caused by persistent derision from the arrogant. This is not merely a passing insult, but a profound, soul-saturating burden. Secondly, it underscores the Contrast Between the Righteous and the Wicked/Proud. The psalmist, humble and dependent on God, stands in stark opposition to "those that are at ease" and "the proud," who are characterized by their self-sufficiency, arrogance, and disdain for the faithful. This dichotomy is a recurring motif, for instance, throughout the book of Proverbs. Finally, the verse implicitly reinforces the theme of Divine Justice and Vindication. By expressing the depth of their suffering to God, the psalmist appeals to God's character as the righteous judge who will ultimately defend the humble and bring low the proud, as seen in the prophetic declaration that the Lord resists the proud.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
Meaning "abundant" or "greatly." This adverb intensifies the verb "filled," conveying the overwhelming degree to which the soul is saturated with scorn and contempt. It indicates not just a momentary experience but a deep, pervasive, and almost unbearable burden, signifying that the psalmist's soul is completely inundated.
Meaning "derision" or "scoffing." This term refers to mockery, ridicule, or disdain, often accompanied by a sense of superiority. It implies a deliberate act of belittling and demeaning, designed to inflict emotional pain and undermine the dignity of the target, representing an active and aggressive form of contempt.
Meaning "lofty" or "arrogant." This adjective describes individuals characterized by haughtiness, self-importance, and an inflated sense of their own worth. Their pride often manifests as a disdainful attitude towards others, particularly those they perceive as beneath them or dependent on God, fueling their contempt and mockery.
Verse Breakdown
"Our soul is exceedingly filled"
This opening clause powerfully conveys the depth and intensity of the suffering. The "soul" (Hebrew nephesh) refers to the whole person—their inner being, emotions, and very life-force. The phrase "exceedingly filled" uses hyperbole to emphasize that the emotional and spiritual pain is not superficial but has permeated and overwhelmed the psalmist's entire being, leaving no room for peace or comfort.
"with the scorning of those that are at ease"
This identifies the first source of the overwhelming burden. "Those that are at ease" (Hebrew shaʼănân) are individuals who are comfortable, prosperous, and secure, often to the point of complacency and arrogance. Their "scorning" implies that their derision stems from a position of perceived superiority and an indifference to the suffering of others, perhaps even mocking the faithful for their reliance on God or their perceived weakness.
"[and] with the contempt of the proud"
This second phrase reinforces and expands upon the source of the affliction. "The proud" (Hebrew gêʼeh) are characterized by haughtiness, arrogance, and self-importance. Their "contempt" (Hebrew bûwz) is a strong feeling of disdain, viewing the psalmist as worthless or inferior. This parallelism emphasizes the dual nature of the opposition: both the comfortable indifference of the complacent and the overt arrogance of the proud contribute to the profound distress.
Literary Devices
The verse employs several potent literary devices to convey its message. Hyperbole is evident in the phrase "exceedingly filled," which exaggerates the extent of the soul's burden to emphasize the overwhelming nature of the suffering. The psalmist's internal state is not merely affected, but completely saturated by the external scorn. Parallelism is used effectively in the latter half of the verse, linking "the scorning of those that are at ease" with "the contempt of the proud." This synonymous parallelism reinforces the idea that both complacency and arrogance are sources of the believer's affliction, highlighting the consistent nature of the opposition. Furthermore, there is a strong sense of Contrast established between the humble, dependent posture of the psalmist (implied by the preceding verses and the plea for mercy) and the self-sufficient, disdainful attitude of "those that are at ease" and "the proud." This contrast underscores the spiritual and moral chasm between the two groups.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Psalms 123:4 offers a profound theological insight into the nature of suffering experienced by the faithful in a fallen world. It affirms that the pain caused by the scorn and contempt of the arrogant and complacent is a legitimate and deeply felt burden on the soul. Theologically, it resonates with the biblical understanding that pride and self-sufficiency are antithetical to God's ways, and those who embody these traits often become instruments of affliction for the humble. The psalmist's cry, though filled with anguish, implicitly trusts in a God who sees, hears, and will ultimately respond to the cries of the oppressed, demonstrating that even in the face of overwhelming human disdain, the believer's ultimate hope and recourse remain in divine mercy and justice.
Reflection and Application
Psalms 123:4 provides a vital voice for believers who find themselves targets of ridicule, dismissal, or outright contempt from a world that often values self-sufficiency, power, and material comfort over humility, faith, and righteousness. It validates the deep emotional and spiritual pain that such experiences inflict, acknowledging that it is natural for one's "soul" to be "exceedingly filled" with hurt. This verse encourages us to recognize the source of such disdain—often rooted in pride, complacency, and a lack of spiritual understanding—rather than internalizing the scorn as a judgment of our own worth. Like the psalmist, our response is not to retaliate or despair, but to lift our eyes to the Lord, trusting in His mercy and His ultimate vindication of the humble. It calls us to persevere in faith, knowing that God sees our suffering and will ultimately bring justice, reminding us that true worth is found in God's eyes, not in the fleeting opinions of the proud.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "those that are at ease" mean in a biblical context?
In a biblical context, "those that are at ease" (Hebrew shaʼănân) often refers to individuals who are secure, prosperous, and undisturbed, but in a way that leads to spiritual complacency, arrogance, and indifference to God or the suffering of others. This "ease" can lead to a false sense of security, causing them to feel no need for divine intervention or to show compassion. Prophets frequently warned against such a state, as it often precedes judgment, for example, when the prophet Amos decries those who are at ease in Zion. It implies a comfortable detachment from spiritual reality and moral responsibility, leading them to scorn those who humble themselves before God.
How does this verse relate to the broader theme of suffering in the Psalms?
Psalms 123:4 is a poignant example of the pervasive theme of suffering in the Psalms, particularly suffering caused by human opposition. Many psalms, such as Psalm 22 or Psalm 69, express the deep anguish, physical pain, and emotional distress experienced by the righteous at the hands of their enemies, the wicked, or the proud. This verse specifically highlights the psychological and spiritual burden of scorn and contempt, which can be as debilitating as physical persecution. It underscores the psalmist's reliance on God as the sole source of deliverance and vindication, a common thread throughout the Psalms that portrays God as the defender of the oppressed and the humble.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Psalms 123:4 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and experience of Jesus Christ. He, the humble Son of God, perfectly embodied the posture of looking to the Father, even as His soul was "exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud." Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus endured relentless mockery from the religious elite—the Pharisees and Sadducees—who were "at ease" in their positions of power and "proud" in their self-righteousness. They scorned His claims of divinity, His association with sinners, and His humble origins, often dismissing Him with utter contempt, as when they mocked Him on the cross. The very act of His crucifixion was the epitome of human scorn and contempt poured out upon the innocent Lamb of God. Yet, in His suffering, Jesus did not retaliate but committed Himself to the Father, fulfilling the psalmist's posture of humble dependence. His endurance of such profound scorn ultimately paved the way for salvation, demonstrating that through His suffering, He conquered the very pride and ease that lead to such contempt, offering grace to all who humble themselves and believe in His name. Thus, the cry of the psalmist for mercy finds its answer in the compassionate heart of Christ, who understands our suffering because He Himself suffered and was despised, yet now offers eternal vindication and comfort to all who are scorned for His sake, promising that blessed are you when others revile you.