This
psalm was penned at a time then the church of God was brought low and
trampled upon; some think it was when the Jews were captives in Babylon,
though that was not the only time that they were insulted over by the proud.
The psalmist begins as if he spoke for himself only (ver. 1), but presently
speaks in the name of the church. Here is, I. Their expectation of mercy
from God, ver. 1, 2. II. Their plea for mercy with God,, ver. 3, 4. In
singing it we must have our eye up to God's favour with a holy concern, and
then an eye down to men's reproach with a holy contempt.
All Nations Admonished to Praise God.
A
song of degrees.
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.
We have here,
I. The solemn profession which God's people make of faith and hope in God, v.
1, 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, Ps. xxv. 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, v.
2. We find mercy coming towards a people when the eyes of man, as of all
the tribes of Israel, are towards the Lord, Zech. ix. 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
(v. 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, Prov. xxxi. 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. ix. 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. xvi. 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 (Matt. vi. 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 (v. 3, 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 (Ps. xxxv. 20), the
excellent ones of the earth and yet undervalued, Lam. iv. 1, 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 xii. 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, Ps. xlii. 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. iv. 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.
