Commentario del capitolo
Psalms Capitolo 123
서론
Psalm 123 Introduction
简体中文
Originale inglese
This psalm is entitled simply "Song of Degrees." See the notes at the title of Psalm 120:1-7. Nothing is intimated in regard to the authorship of the psalm, or to the occasion on which it was composed. The only circumstance which throws any light on its origin is the statement in Psalm 123:4, that the author and his friends - the people of God referred to in the psalm - were exposed to derision and contempt for their attachment to religion, especially the contempt and reproach of those who were in circumstances of ease and affluence, or who were in the more elevated ranks of life. This might accord well with the condition of the exiles returning from Babylon, or with the condition of the returned captives when rebuilding the walls of the city, and when they met with scorn and contempt from the Samaritans and the Ammonites; from Sanballat and Tobiah; from the Arabians and the Ashdodites Nehemiah 4:1-8; but there is no certain evidence that the psalm was composed on that occasion. The pious Hebrews of antiquity - David and others - and the people of God at all times have been too much exposed to this kind of treatment to make the mere applicability of the psalm to that particular time a reason for concluding that it must have been composed then; and it is now impossible to determine by whom, or on what occasion it was composed. It refers to what may occur in any age of the world; and it expresses the proper feelings of piety at all times when we are, on account of our religion, exposed to "the scorning of those that are at ease, and to the contempt of the proud."
1
Psalm 123:1
简体中文
我向你——指向神。
举目——在恳求与祷告中。当我们向神说话时，本性促使我们向上仰望，仿佛祂住在我们之上。这是心灵自然的感触：祂必是一切存在者中至高的那一位，住在万有之上。参见 Psalm 121:1。
坐在天上的主啊——祂的家——祂特殊的居所——在天上，在穹苍之上。这符合人们共同的情感，也符合圣经中对神的一贯描述，尽管神确实也无所不在。试参 Psalm 2:4; Psalm 11:4。
Originale inglese
Unto thee - To God.
Lift I up mine eyes - In supplication and prayer. Nature prompts us to look up when we address God, as if he dwelt above us. It is the natural prompting of the heart that he must be the most exalted of all beings, dwelling above all. See Psalm 121:1.
O thou that dwellest in the heavens - Whose home - whose special home - is in heaven - above the sky. This is in accordance with the common feelings of people, and the common description of God in the Bible, though it is true also that God is everywhere. Compare Psalm 2:4; Psalm 11:4.
2
Psalm 123:2
简体中文
看哪，仆人的眼睛怎样望主人的手……——或作“是对着主人的手”；或作“注视主人的手”。就是说，我们以同样的恭顺、倚靠并随时留意神旨意的灵仰望神，正如仆人对他们的主人、婢女对主母的意思所显明的那样。对这比喻的含义，历来有些不同的看法。有人认为其所指是仆人在危险中仰望主人保护；另有人认为是仰望主人供应所需；还有人认为，是当他们犯了过错时单单仰望主人求赦免。参见 Rosenmuller 该处的注释。然而真正的观念似乎应是：他们以恭顺和敬意仰望主人；留心注视主人旨意的每一个表情；一有最轻微的示意便随时预备遵命——以等候的姿态站立，没有自己的意思——自己的意思消融于主人或主母的意思之中。
以下东方旅行者的记述或许可以说明这里的观念：芒德雷尔（Maundrell，《从阿勒颇到耶路撒冷游记》，13页）论到在的黎波里会见帕夏时说：“仆人们全都人数众多地站着，带着极度的恭敬和最深的沉默，以极度的专注和敬意服事客人。”波科克（Pococke）提到，在埃及，奴隶们站在桌子的末端，保持最深的沉默，双手交叠互握，以最深的注意留意主人最轻微的动作——主人借手势和眼色向他们传达意愿。萨瓦里（Savary）在《埃及书简》（135页）中说：“奴隶们双手交叠在胸前，安静地站在大厅的尽头。”“他们的眼睛注视着主人”，并留意他旨意最细微的表露。参见 Rosenmuller 的 Morgenland，ii. 109、110 中的其他例证。诗人所指的正是这样的习俗；其观念是：他在患难中眼目注视神，深沉默然，深切注意，如同仆人静候主人、捕捉他旨意最细微的示意——头或手的一个动作——或任何表明他喜悦的事。
直到他怜悯我们——我们除了等候无事可做。我们没有别的资源。我们若转离祂，就什么也不能做。我们唯一的盼望与期待就在那里；我们若要得宽解，就必须从那里得。最稳妥——也是唯一——的解救之望，就是仰望神；我们灵魂的宗旨，就是这样行，直到我们寻得帮助与拯救。下一节中那恳切的祷告，正是在这样的姿态中献上的。
Originale inglese
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters ... - Or, are to the hands of their masters; or, regard the hands of their masters. That is, we look to God with the same spirit of deference, dependence, and readiness to mark the will of God, which is evinced by servants in regard to their masters, and by maidens in regard to the will of a mistress. There has been some difference of view in regard to the meaning of this comparison. Some have supposed that the allusion is to the fact that servants, when in danger, look to their masters for protection; others, that they look to them for the supply of their needs; others, that when they have been guilty of an offence they look to them alone for pardon. See Rosenmuller, in loc. The true idea, however, seems to be, that they look to them with deference and respect; that they attentively mark every expression of their will; that they are ready to obey their commands on the slightest intimation of their wishes - standing in a waiting posture, with no will of their own - their own wills absorbed in the will of the master or the mistress.
The following extracts from Oriental travelers may illustrate the idea here: Maundrell (Reise von Aleppo nach Jerusalem, s. 13), speaking of an interview with the Pasha at Tripoli, says, "The servants all stood in great numbers with the utmost respect, and in profoundest silence, and served the guests with the utmost attention and respect." Pococke remarks that in Egypt the slaves stand in the profoundest silence at the end of the table, their hands laid cross-wise over one another, and that they mark with the deepest attention the slightest movement of their master, who conveys his wishes to them through signs and winks. Savary, in his Letters from Egypt (p. 135), says, "The slaves stand with their hands laid cross-wise over their breasts, silent, at the end of the hall. "Their eyes are directed to the master," and they are attentive to the slightest indication of his will." See other illustrations in Rosenmuller, Morgenland, ii. 109, 110. It is to such a custom as this that the psalmist refers; and the idea is, that his eyes were directed to God, in his troubles, in profound silence, and with deep attention, resembling that of servants waiting in stillness on their master, and catching the slightest intimation of his will - a movement of the head or hand - or anything which would indicate his pleasure.
Until that he have mercy upon us - We have nothing to do but wait. We have no other resource. We can do nothing if we turn away from him. Our only hope and expectation is there, and if we ever find relief, it must be there. The surest - the only - hope of relief is to wait on God; and it is the purpose of our souls to do this until we find help and deliverance. This is the attitude in which the earnest prayer in the next verse is offered.
3
Psalm 123:3
简体中文
“耶和华啊，求你怜悯我们，怜悯我们”——这是恳切祈求的话，带着强调重复祷告所求的对象。经文描绘这些祈求者站立恳求，陈明这请求，深觉帮助惟独从神而来；单单仰望祂；并且注视祂的面，如同仆人注视主人的面一样。
“我们被充满到极处”——此处所用的希伯来文词意为饱足、饱和——如用于饥者或渴者，指胃口完全得着满足。继而它引申为完全满溢；这里的观念是：加在他们身上的藐视已经到了无以复加的地步，他们再不能经受更多了。
“是被藐视”——人们已经用尽各种方式向我们表示藐视；我们被彻底轻视。
Originale inglese
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us - The language of earnest pleading, repeating with emphasis the object of the prayer. The supplicants are represented as standing and urging this petition, feeling that help could come only from God; looking only to him; and watching his countenance, as servants do their master's.
For we are exceedingly filled - The Hebrew word used here means to be saturated; to have the appetite fully satisfied - as applied to one who is hungry or thirsty. Then it comes to mean to be entirely full, and the idea here is, that as much contempt had been thrown upon them as could be; they could experience no more.
With contempt - Contempt has been shown us in every possible way. We are thoroughly despised.
4
Psalm 123:4
简体中文
我们的灵魂极其饱足——即完全饱足了。本节说明了他们所必须承受之藐视的性质与来源。
那些安逸人的讥诮——按照对"上行之诗"的一种解释（参见 Psalm 120:1-7 的引言），这便是意义"上行"的一个例子，即思想的向上提升：在 Psalm 123:3 中只是笼统地提及"藐视"，而在本节中，思想被继续向前、向上推进，或者说增添了一个使其更加强烈的意思。这乃是出于安逸之人——即轻浮者、富足者、骄傲者——的讥诮。"讥诮"一词意为嘲弄、奚落。希伯来文中的观念源自"口吃"（该词的本义），继而引申为嘲弄，即复述别人的话，或模仿某人的声音以加讥笑。参 Psalm 2:4；Job 22:19。"安逸之人"一语，本义指平静安稳的人（Job 12:5；Isaiah 32:18；Isaiah 33:20），继而用来指生活安逸的人、放纵享乐、穷奢极欲的人（Amos 6:1；Isaiah 32:9, Isaiah 32:11）。在这里，它似乎是指以我们的话说"境况优裕"的人：富有的人、无须被迫劳碌的人；继而指轻浮的人、追逐时髦的人、处于社会上流的人。这藐视因出自这样的群体而更形加重；不是出自卑微、无知、平庸之辈，而是出自那些自命高雅、并在欢乐、地位与时髦的圈子里声名显赫的人。这种藐视，即使对好人而言（人性本是如此），也比出自下层社会之人的藐视难以忍受得多。在后一种情形，我们或许觉得自己可以以藐视还藐视；在前一种情形，我们却不能。我们可以无视地位低于我们之人的意见；而对于地位高于我们之人对我们的看法，很少有人不受其影响。
和骄傲人的藐视——指那些自高的人，或在于地位，或在于境况，或在于心境。其中心意思乃是：这是出自世人所仰望之人的藐视。虔诚之人历来多有这样的遭遇必须面对，而且事实上，它往往比失去财物，比身体的疼痛与刑罚，更是对信仰真实与能力的严酷考验。我们若拥有居高位者的尊重——称赞——就能忍受许多；当我们能够忍受伟人、贵胄、学界之人、轻浮之徒与时髦之辈的讥笑时，那是对我们信仰真实与能力十分确凿的考验。敬虔受此拦阻、蒙此遮蔽，比因逼迫而如此更为常见。当轻浮之徒与时髦之辈对敬虔群起扑击时，敬虔仍能灿然放光，这比君王试图以权势压垮它时更为罕见。教会在逼迫的火炉中所尽的本分，比在世上"安乐"场面中所尽的更好。
Originale inglese
Our soul is exceedingly filled - Thoroughly sated. This verse states the nature and the source of the contempt which they were called to bear.
With the scorning of those that are at ease - According to one view of these "Psalms of Degrees" (see the Introduction to Psalm 120:1-7) this would be an instance of an "ascent" in the sense, or of the going up of the thought, where in Psalm 123:3 there was mention made in general of "contempt," and in this verse the thought is carried onward and upward, or there is an additional idea which gives intensity to it. It is the scorn proceeding from those who are at ease; that is, the frivolous, the affluent, the proud. The word scorning means derision, mockery. The idea in the Hebrew is derived from stammering, which the word properly means; and then, mockery, as repeating over the words of another, or imitating the voice of one in derision. Compare Psalm 2:4; Job 22:19. The phrase "those that are at ease" properly refers to those who are tranquil or quiet, Job 12:5; Isaiah 32:18; Isaiah 33:20; and then it is used of those who are living at ease; those who are living in self-indulgence and luxury, Amos 6:1; Isaiah 32:9, Isaiah 32:11. Here it would seem to refer to those who, in our language, are "in easy circumstances;" the affluent; those who are not compelled to toil: then, the frivolous, the fashionable, those in the upper walks of life. The contempt was aggravated by the fact that it came from that quarter; not from the low, the ignorant, the common, but from those who claimed to be refined, and who were distinguished in the world of gaiety, of rank, and of fashion. This, even for good people (such is human nature), is much more hard to bear than contempt is when it comes from those who are in the lower walks of life. In the latter case, perhaps, we feel that we can meet contempt with contempt; in the former we cannot. We disregard the opinions of those who are beneath us; there are few who are not affected by the opinions entertained of them by those who are above them.
And with the contempt of the proud - Those who are lifted up; either in rank, in condition, or in feeling. The essential idea is, that it was the contempt of those to whom mankind look up. Religious people have always had much of this to encounter, and often it is in fact a more severe test of the reality and power of religion than the loss of goods, or than bodily pains and penalties. We can bear much if we have the respect - the praise - of those above us; it is a very certain test of the reality and the power of our religion when we can bear the scorn of the great, the noble, the scientific, the frivolous, and the fashionable. Piety is more frequently checked and obscured by this than it is by persecution. It is more rare that piety shines brightly when the frivolous and the fashionable flown upon it than when princes attempt to crush it by power. The church has performed its duty better in the furnace of persecution than it has in the "happy" scenes of the world.
本诗仅题为“上行之诗”。参见 Psalm 120:1-7 标题的注释。关于本诗的作者、或其写作的缘由，均无任何提示。唯一对其来源略有照明的情节，是 Psalm 123:4 的话：作者和他的同伴——诗中所指的神的子民——因依附宗教而受讥诮和藐视，尤其是那些生活安逸富足之人、或身处较高阶层之人的藐视和羞辱。这可能与从巴比伦归回之被掳者的境况相合，也可能与归回者在重建城墙之时的境况相合——那时他们受到撒玛利亚人和亚扪人、参巴拉和多比雅、亚拉伯人和亚实突人的讥诮藐视（Nehemiah 4:1-8）；但并没有确实的证据表明本诗写于那个场合。古时的敬虔希伯来人——大卫等人——以及一切时代的神子民，受这类对待实在太多，以致单凭本诗适用于那个特定时期，并不足以断定它必是那时所写；如今已无法确定它写于谁手、缘何而作。它所指的，是世界任何时代都可能发生的事；它所表达的，是每当我们因宗教的缘故受“安逸人的讥诮和骄傲人的藐视”时，敬虔之心当有的情感。