| 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. |
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Verses 1 and 2 set the tone of this Psalm of trust in God; while verses 3 and 4 point to a congregational dirge or lament. Submitting oneself to our LORD while patiently waiting upon Him are coupled in this prayer for the LORD's help. Note the Psalmist switches from singular in verse 1 to plural in verses 2-4; this may indicate that the Psalm either may have been a liturgy, the first verse being said by the priest and the remaining three a congregational reply. It is also possible that the Psalmist is using his personal experience to express a community response. The opening phrase of the Psalm is similar to what we read in Psalm 121:
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber." (Psalm 121:1-3).
Likewise the thought of lifting ones soul up in trust also relates to trust:
"Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD." (Psalm 25:1-7).
God knows what His children need. He has promised not to forget us.
"Servant" in verse 2 is from the Hebrew "db". Strong's number 05650; meaning: slave, servant, man-servant, subjects, servants, worshippers (of God), servant (in special sense as prophets, Levites etc), servant (of Israel), servant (as form of address between equals).
Note the similar language to verse 2a expressed in the book of Proverbs:
"Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured." " (Proverbs 27:18).
It also seems "have mercy" would better transled from the original Hebrew as "be gracious" as it is in some other versions.
In vv. 3,4, superlatives are used to indicate the great amount of contempt and scorn they have received. The cry here is a plea to God on behalf of the oppressed. God is full of compassion for His children and when they suffer unjustly, He in His righteousness will not allow it to go unpunished.
"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." (Psalm 86:15).
"But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. " (Lamentations 3:32).
"And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. " (Mark 6:34).
The word "contempt" here is from the Hebrew HWB and means "springing from evil springing from prosperity springing from judgment". The nature of mankind is that those who are at ease very often hold the unfortunate in contempt.
"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed." (Amos 6:1-7).
"He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease." (Job 12:5).
According to God's Word, such contempt can hasten God's compassion toward the victim.
"And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem." (Zechariah 1:13-17).
Surely our LORD will deliver His servants from the contempt of the wicked. Praise ye the LORD!
"But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous." (Psalm 31:14-18).
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