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.
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
servants
עֲבָדִ֡ים'a.va.Dim
H5650
a servant · noun, common masculine plural absolute
hand
יַ֤דyad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct
masters
אֲֽדוֹנֵיהֶ֗ם'ado.nei.Hem
H113
sovereign · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
eyes
כְּעֵינֵ֣יke.'ei.Nei
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
maiden
שִׁפְחָה֮shif.Chah
H8198
a female slave (as a member of the household) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
hand
יַ֪דyad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct
mistress
גְּבִ֫רְתָּ֥הּge.Vir.Tah
H1404
mistress · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
eyes
עֵ֭ינֵינוּ'Ei.nei.nu
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix
LORD
יְהוָ֣הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ'e.lo.Hei.nu
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
mercy
שֶׁיְּחָנֵּֽנוּshei.ye.cha.Ne.nu
H2603
properly · relative particle + verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 130:5-6 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Psalms 25:15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Psalms 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Genesis 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
Psalms 119:123-125 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.
Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Genesis 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 123:1–end
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 heav…
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,.... To direct them in their work and business, to point out unto them what they shall do; which is often done by a motion of the hand of the master or mistress, or rap of their fingers without speaking (e), which the servant observes: or to help and assist them against their enemies, and protect them from them; servants unarmed, and molested in their masters' service, have no other to flee to for protection but them; so Aben Ezra: or to receive food and sustenance from them, as servants and maidens do, from their masters and mistresses, in whose service they are; se…
Psalm 123:1-4
1. I lift up my eyes to thee, who dwellest in the heavens. 2. Behold! as the eyes of servants look [75] to the hand of their roadsters; as the eyes of a handmaid look to the hand of her mistress, so do our eyes to Jehovah our God, until he have mercy upon us. 3. Have mercy upon us O Jehovah have mercy upon us; for we are greatly cloyed with reproach. 4. Our soul is in itself greatly cloyed with the mockery of men who are rich, and with the contempt of the proud.
1. I lift my eyes to thee, who dwellest in the heavens. It is uncertain at what time, or even by what Prophet, this Psalm was composed. I do not think it probable that David was its author; because, when he bewails th…
The Church Fathers
What then followeth, since he hath said, "Unto Thee do I lift up mine eyes"? (ver. 2). How hast thou lifted up thine eyes? "Behold, even 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: even so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until He have mercy upon us." We are both servants, and a handmaiden: He is both our Master and our Mistress. What do these words mean? What do these similitudes mean? It is not wonderful if we are servants, and He our Master; but it is wonderful if we are a maiden, and He our Mistress. But not even our being a maiden is wonderful; for we are the Church: nor is it wonderful that He is our Mistress; for He is the Power and the Wisdom of God...When therefore thou hearest Christ, lift up thine eyes to the hands of thy Master; when thou hearest the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, lift up thine eyes to the hands of thy Mistress; for thou art both servant and handmaiden; servant, for thou art a people; handmaiden, for thou art the Church. But this maiden hath found great dignity with God; she hath been made a wife. But until she come unto those spiritual embraces, where she may without apprehension enjoy Him whom she hath loved, and for whom she hath sighed in this tedious pilgrimage, she is betrothed: and hath received a mighty pledge, the blood of the Spouse for whom she sigheth without fear. Nor is it said unto her, Do not love; as it is sometimes said to any betrothed virgin, not as yet married: and is justly said, Do not love; when thou hast become a wife, then love: it is rightly said, because it is a precipitate and preposterous thing, and not a chaste desire, to love one whom she knoweth not whether she shall marry. For it may happen that one man may be betrothed to her, and another man marry her. But as there is no one else who can be preferred to Christ, let her love without apprehension: and before she is joined unto Him, let her love, and sigh from a distance and from her far pilgrimage...
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Desire · SPIRITUAL — SPIRITUAL
Hands, The · Servants directed by movements of — Servants directed by movements of
Servants · Duties of, to masters: To attend to their call — Duties of, to masters: To attend to their call
Waiting · For mercy — For mercy
Waiting Upon God · For: Mercy — For: Mercy
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Psalms 123:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
The destinies of all men, and in particular of the church, are in the hand of the King who sits enthroned in the unapproachable glory of the heavens and rules over all things, and of the Judge who decides all things. Up to Him the poet raises his eyes, and to Him the church, together with which he may call Him "Jahve our God," just as the eyes of servants are directed towards the hand of their lord, the eyes of a maid towards the hand of her mistress; for this hand regulates the whole house, and they wait upon their winks and signs with most eager attention. Those of Israel are Jahve's servants, Israel the church is Jahve's maid. In His hand lies its future. At length He will take compassion…
Ps 123 This lament on the psalmist’s lowly position expresses vivid trust in the Lord (123:1-2). The psalmist prays for God’s favor on the community, as the reality of evil surrounds them (123:3-4). The poet looks beyond Jerusalem (Ps 122) to God’s throne in heaven.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 123:2
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.
Behold —for it is worthy of regard among men, and O that the Majesty of heaven would also note it, and speedily send the mercy which our waiting spirits seek. See, O Lord, how we look to thee, and in thy mercy look on us. This Behold has, however, a call to us to observe and consider. Whenever saints of God have waited upon the Lord their example has been worthy of earnest consideration. Sanctification is a miracle of grace; therefore let us behold it. For God to have wrought in men the spiri…
