Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 123
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 123
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 123
"Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes, O thou that sittest in the heavens." — Psalms 123:1 (ASV)
O thou that dwellest. — O you enthroned one.
"Behold, as the eyes of servants [look] unto the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress; So our eyes [look] unto Jehovah our God, Until he have mercy upon us." — Psalms 123:2 (ASV)
Eyes. — As the eyes of the slave are fixed on the hand of the master or mistress, waiting for a sign or direction, so Israel waits, expectant of the hint of Divine intervention to deliver them from the tyrant.
This picture will be so familiar to readers of Eastern stories that it hardly needs actual illustration. Savary’s description (Letters on Egypt, p. 135, quoted by Perowne) exactly reproduces the poet's intention: “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.”
Compare this with “Cave oculos a meis oculis quoquam demoveas” (Terence, Adelphoe, II. 1, 16).
"Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us; For we are exceedingly filled with contempt." — Psalms 123:3 (ASV)
Exceedingly filled. —Or, sated more than enough.
"Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scoffing of those that are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud. " — Psalms 123:4 (ASV)
The scorning. —The Hebrew offers a rare use of the article—probably it should be reproduced by our demonstrative, this scorning. The Septuagint, however, reads, "The scorn for those at ease, and the contempt for the proud," which requires only the substitution of a letter, removes an anomaly in construction, and gives a better sense: "Let our desire be satisfied to the full with the scorn for those at ease, and the same contempt for the proud."
Notice how the figure is retained. The oppressors are the masters and mistresses, living in luxury, while the slaves wait. Gesenius quotes Sallust (secundis rebus ferox) in illustration of the wantonness of secure and luxurious power. As we read the verse, we seem to feel
"The whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s insolence."
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