Life-Study of Psalms, by Witness Lee

More excerpts from this title...

IV. THE PRAISE OF THE SAINT
IN HIS GOING UP TO ZION CONCERNING
GOD’S COMPASSION ON THE RETURNED CAPTIVES

Psalm 123 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning God’s compassion on the returned captives. This psalm is short, but it is very meaningful.

A. Lifting Up His Eyes to Jehovah

The psalmist said that he lifted up his eyes to Jehovah, who sits enthroned in heaven (v. 1). Then he continued by saying that as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so do the eyes of the saints look to Jehovah until He has compassion on them (v. 2).

Verse 3a says, "Have compassion on us, O Jehovah, have compassion on us." In this psalm the most striking word is "compassion." It is not a matter of our loving God’s law but of His having compassion on us. Compassion is deeper than mercy, for mercy is outward whereas compassion is inward.

B. Because of the Contempt
and Scorn of Their Captors

Jehovah had compassion on the returned captives because of the contempt and scorn of their captors. Concerning this, verses 3b and 4 say, "For we are greatly filled with contempt. /Our soul is greatly filled/With the scorn of those who are at ease,/With the contempt of the proud." This indicates that they still remembered what happened to them in their captivity. They remembered that day by day they were scorned, despised, and treated with contempt. While they were undergoing such an experience, they could not forget Zion and Jerusalem, and when they returned, they ascended the hill of Zion.

(Life-Study of Psalms, Chapter 41, by Witness Lee)