Passage Research
Psalm 123 — Sermon Preparation
A Song of Ascents of communal dependence, comparing the congregation's upward gaze to servants watching their master's hand, awaiting mercy. Below is a research summary for Psalm 123, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 4
- verses
- 41 / 28
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 3
- classic sermon excerpts
- 3
- preachers & commentators
Psalm 123 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חָנַן | chânan | H2603 | 3 | bend, favor |
| עַיִן | ʻayin | H5869 | 4 | eye, fountain |
| בּוּז | bûwz | H937 | 2 | disrespect |
| שָׂבַע | sâbaʻ | H7646 | 2 | sate, fill |
| רַב | rab | H7227 | 2 | abundant |
| יָד | yâd | H3027 | 2 | hand, open |
| גַּאֲיוֹן | gaʼăyôwn | H1349 | 1 | haughty |
How preachers through history handled this text
3 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 123, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“This psalm was penned at a time when 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. …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 3 (Job to Song of Solomon), on Psalm 123:1–30 (Public Domain)
Places in the text
Based on ancient-geography data
- Jerusalem— Ps 123:1
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