Background - Little to go on, but the Babylonian captivity is suggested by the circumstances noted in v4. Yet, God's people have all too often been in similar circumstance, so it is by no means conclusive. Note particularly the similarity to Neh 2:19 - When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem heard of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, they mocked and despised the Jews, asking if they weren't rebelling against the king.
"It is an upward glance of waiting faith to Jahve under tyrannical oppression." (Keil & Delitzsch)

The Eyes Say it All

Eyes (`ayin [5869]):

the eye, mental and spiritual faculties; a fountain, well, or spring (Ge 16:7), 'the eye of the water';

"When no hope of aid is left…on earth,…remember that the power of God remains in heaven in unimpaired and infinite perfection." (Calvin)

We must look beyond our worldly resources, beyond the mountains, beyond all the idols of this life, to the One who still rules over all from His heavenly throne.

God must often strip us of all our worldly means of assistance, so that we will learn to lean upon Him alone.

Parallelisms - servant / maid     / us
                     master / mistress / God

Matthew Henry's hand of the master:

The servant looks to the master's hand to

• Direct him in his work, both as to the what and the how of it;
• Provide for his needs (Pr 31:15 - She rises early to feed her household, as well as her maidens.) From Him our daily bread, from Him our sufficient grace, to Him our thanks;
• Assist when our strength cannot complete the task;
• Protect when we are opposed in pursuit of His will; Since the slave of old was forbidden by law to carry any weapon, his master was all the more inclined to their defense, if they were attacked without cause.
• Correct when we provoke Him (Is 9:13 - Yet they didn't turn back when He struck them, nor did they seek the LORD of hosts. Ge 16:6 - Hagar fled at her harsh treatment), but we must rather submit ourselves in humility beneath His hand;
• Reward. Hypocrites seek and find their reward from the world (Mt 6:2 - do not give so as to be honored, or that will be the whole of your reward). We must seek ours from Him.

This is the radical obedience Pastor spoke of Sunday. "They attentively mark every expression of [His] will; …they are ready to obey [His] commands on the slightest intimation of [His] wishes - standing in a waiting posture, with no will of their own - their own wills absorbed in the will of the Master" (Barnes).

"this hand regulates the whole house, and they wait upon [His] winks and signs with most eager attention." (Keil & Delitzsch

Our Merciful Master

3 Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us;
For we are greatly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is greatly filled
With the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.

Mercy (chanan [2603]):

be gracious, show favor, pity, have mercy on; to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior. an essential quality of God

19 O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.

Grace is that blessing which made Messiah's words so rich to us. It is that same grace of God that opened our ears and our minds to understand the significance, to recognize our salvation as it came to us. The magnitude of His grace shows in that this enlightenment came even while we remained bound in sin, reviving us in spite of our bonds, and giving us a firm anchor in His holy house.

The second aspect comes in that His grace comes accompanied by His other attributes, with His glory and His wisdom. With such grace He blesses those who have received of His first grace, and determined to walk worthy of that gift. Whereas the first grace is to free those in rebellion, the second is to strengthen those who were freed.

In New Testament grace (charis), I again see the two ideas that I saw in the Old Testament - that grace is the means of and reason for our salvation, and that it tends to come accompanied by other aspects of God' nature. Towards the first, and by far most common view of grace, 2Co 8:9 stands out, declaring that the Grace of Christ showed in His setting aside His own position to be like us, so that we could be like Him. Then, also, there's Eph 1:5-7, declaring that our adoption was predetermined by God before we could possibly earn it, solely by His will and solely that His grace thus shown might be praised. Our redemption and forgiven state attest to the absolute richness of His grace. As He witnesses by His grace to the truth of those who work for Him, and of His own gospel, there remains that element of salvation being at the core of grace. The gospel message would be a simple story were salvation not at the heart of its meaning, and we are told that that gospel is a testimony to God's grace (Ac 20:24), and that it is in fact that very grace, itself (1Pe 5:12). His grace is also in the calling and equipping of His workers, again pointing somewhat indirectly at salvation. For His workers were called to preach the gospel, and the message of the gospel is salvation - the declaration and praise of God's grace.

Next, it is well to note that God does not show His grace towards us without purpose. Of course, His primary purpose remains the declaring of His gospel (1Co 1:4-8 - He gave us of His grace in Christ, giving us greater speech and knowledge so as to confirm the gospel.) But, as the verse continues, we find that it also leaves us lacking no gift, and strengthens and enlivens us as we await His return, and it keeps us blameless in Him as we wait. Why are we left lacking no gift? 2Co 9:8 gives us the answer: so that we can overflow in His grace to doing good deeds. Furthermore, it promotes unity among His people, for His grace is not given to the proud, who would be divisive (1Pe 5:5). Rather, the presence of His grace in us causes others to desire our company (2Co 9:14).

Then, there's the aspect of grace to come, as we look forward to the final resurrection of the saints when Christ returns (1Pe 1:13). To me, this suggests a triune nature to grace, which should not really be a surprise to anybody.

1. There is the grace given us to be able to accept the proffered salvation in the first place,
2. the grace in which God provided for our needs in spite of us. To this is added - grace upon grace (Jn 1:16-17) - the full measure of Christ's truth in us, the accompanying gifts and powerful witnesses that enable us to work for Him, to overflow with Him.
3. Thirdly, there is the grace to come, perhaps what James refers to as the greater grace (Jas 4:6).

Scoffing (la`ag [3933]):

derision, stammering; (ISBE) insulting words, combining bitterness with ridicule. Where scorn speaks of an inner attitude of superiority, scoffing is the outward expression.

"It is no new thing for the Church to be held in contempt by the children of this world who abound in riches." (Calvin)

'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… The church has performed its duty better in the furnace of persecution than it has in the "happy" scenes of the world.' (Barnes)

The same Satanic spirit still reigns; and can we be too grateful that these enemies of the cross are kept in chains! We live in a land of civil and religious freedom; and they cannot go beyond the boundaries of misrepresentation and scorn. They may show their teeth and growl, but they cannot bite. They may curse you, but they cannot lay a finger upon you. They may hiss at you, but what is that compared with the rattlesnake springing upon you, embracing you with his slimy folds, fastening this fangs in your flesh, and changing you in a few hours into a hideous and bloated corpse! How can we value enough the privileges of Christians in this dear land of our fathers, where freedom has built her home! (Barnes)

Closing Thoughts