Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary

Psalm 123

· To get the maximum benefit from this study, please open your Bible and read Psalm 123 first.

Psalm 122 was about prayer. For many people, prayer is not an active thing. They pray, and then they do nothing. But the Bible teaches that we should do two other things after prayer. We should watch and wait, like servants. Those other things may not seem active, but really, they are. Let me explain.

A great man, for example a king, would have many servants. And he would give many instructions to them each day. But his business is very important. Perhaps he is entertaining important guests. He does not want to interrupt his conversation in order to give instructions to the servants. So his servants must learn to watch and to wait.

For example, during his conversation, the master may put two fingers together, as if he were holding a cup. His movement is slight, and it only lasts for a moment. No other man’s servants would even realise that he had given an order. But the master’s own servants know. And they are watching and waiting for such orders. So they know that their master wants them to serve drinks immediately. They act at once; they do not delay.

Afterwards, perhaps, the master makes his hand flat, like a plate. And his servants are watching and waiting. They rush to the kitchen, because the master wants them to serve the food.

And so they watch and wait for every order. The master never interrupts his conversation to speak to them. He never needs to do that, because they are good servants. They have learned to watch and to wait.

The poet felt like those servants. He had prayed that God would give peace to Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-9). And now the poet waited for God to act. But the poet was not doing nothing. He was watching for God’s instructions. When God gave the order, the poet would act without delay.

And God did not need to do great things before the poet would obey him. The poet did not need to hear a loud voice. He only needed the simplest, quietest instruction. He would know when God was asking him to do something. Like the servants, the poet had watched God, his master, for a long time. But also like the servants, the poet would not act without his master’s (God’s) instructions. He trusted that God knew better than him when to act. And he believed that God knew best what to do.

When God acted, he would show his kindness. He cared about his servants who had suffered so much. Proud people had established their own rule over the country. Cruel people had become the rulers and judges. They dealt with God’s people as if they (the evil rulers) were the real masters.

But the poet never forgot that God was really his master. He was confident that God could act to rescue his people. God knew the right time to act, and God knew the right way to act.

It took only the slightest movement of God’s finger for him to defeat his enemies (Exodus 8:19). If he lifted his right hand, he would destroy their forces completely (Exodus 15:6). God had done it in the past. You will see that if you read those verses from Exodus.

And the poet watched and waited for God to do it again.

Next part: A lesson from Psalm 123

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