Psalm 123:4 NKJV
Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
A Reflection on Faith
My Notes
Scripture
Psalm 123:4 (NKJV) “Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.”
The psalmist gives voice to the deep weariness of God’s people when surrounded by mockery and disdain. The contempt of the proud and the scorn of those at ease weigh heavily on the soul. Those who live in comfort, untouched by affliction, often grow careless in spirit. Their ease becomes a breeding ground for arrogance, and their pride manifests in mocking the faithful.
Yet, this lament is not without hope. The psalmist’s cry is framed within the larger context of looking upward to the Lord (Psalm 123:1–2). Though the proud scorn, the believer’s eyes remain fixed on the throne of mercy. The contempt of men cannot cancel the compassion of God.
The ungodly may ask, “Who is the Lord that we should obey His voice?” (Exodus 5:2 NKJV). But the faithful know that the mercy of God triumphs over the contempt of the proud. The scorn of the world becomes a test of faith, refining devotion more than persecution itself. For our comfort, we remember that Christ Himself was “despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3 NKJV). He bore the contempt of the ungodly, yet He was exalted to the right hand of the Father.
Thus, when we endure scorn, we share in His sufferings and anticipate His glory. The contempt of the world is not a mark of shame but a certificate that we are not of the world (John 15:19 NKJV).
Meditation Questions
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When have I felt the sting of scorn or contempt for my faith? How did I respond?
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In what ways does the ease of others tempt me to envy rather than to trust in God’s mercy?
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How can I lift my eyes more consistently to the Lord when surrounded by voices of derision?
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What does it mean to me personally that Jesus was “despised and rejected of men”?
Key Takeaways
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The scorn of the proud is a common burden for the faithful, but it is not the final word.
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Ease without affliction often produces arrogance and contempt toward holiness.
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God’s mercy triumphs over human contempt, preserving the honor of His people.
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Bearing scorn for Christ is evidence that we are not of the world but belong to Him.
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Christ Himself endured rejection, showing us that contempt precedes exaltation.
Prayer
Abba, when my soul is filled with the scorn of those at ease and the contempt of the proud, lift my eyes to Your throne of mercy. Remind me that You see, You know, and You vindicate Your people. Strengthen me to bear reproach with patience, as my Lord Jesus bore rejection with steadfast love. May the contempt of the ungodly only deepen my devotion to You, and may I rest knowing that Your mercy will triumph. I thank you for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Cross References (NKJV)
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Isaiah 53:3 – “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
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Exodus 5:2 – “And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.’”
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Amos 6:1 – “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes!”
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John 15:19 – “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
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Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
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Nehemiah 4:4 – “Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity.”
Proverb for Today
By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. Proverbs 13:10 NKJV
Closing
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NKJV
Bill
Posted on 12/13/2025 by Bill Stephens
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Summary of Commentaries:
The commentaries highlight the psalmist’s lament over relentless scorn from the proud and those at ease. Such contempt arises from arrogance, ease without affliction, and disregard for holiness, often striking harder than persecution. Spurgeon, Barnes, Gill, and Henry note its corrosive effect on faith, yet emphasize God’s mercy as the believer’s refuge. Enduring Word and others remind us that Christ Himself bore rejection, turning contempt into honor. Thus, enduring scorn proves our faith genuine and anchors our hope in God’s triumph.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease.” Knowing no troubles of their own, the easy ones grow cruel and deride the people of the Lord. Having the godly already in secret contempt, they show it by openly scorning them. Note those who do this: they are not the poor, the humble, the troubled, but those who have a merry life of it, and are self-contented. They are in easy circumstances; they are easy in heart through a deadened conscience, and so they easily come to mock at holiness; they are easy from needing nothing, and from having no severe toil exacted from them; they are easy as to any anxiety to improve, for their conceit of themselves is boundless. Such men take things easily, and therefore they scorn the holy carefulness of those who watch the hand of the Lord. They say, Who is the Lord that we should obey his voice? And then they turn round with a contemptuous look and sneer at those who fear the Lord. Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion; their contempt of the godly shall hasten and increase their misery. The injurious effect of freedom from affliction is singularly evident here. Place a man perfectly at ease, and he derides the suffering godly, and becomes himself proud in heart and conduct.
“And with the contempt of the proud.” The proud think so much of themselves that they must needs think all the less of those who are better than themselves. Pride is both contemptible and contemptuous. The contempt of the great ones of the earth is often peculiarly acrid: some of them, like a well-known statesman, are “masters of gibes and flouts and sneers,” and never do they seem so much at home in their acrimony as when a servant of the Lord is the victim of their venom. It is easy enough to write upon this subject, but to be selected as the target of contempt is quite another matter. Great hearts have been broken, and brave spirits have been withered beneath the accursed power of falsehood and the horrible blight of contempt. For our comfort, we may remember that our divine Lord was despised and rejected of men, yet he ceased not from his perfect service till he was exalted to dwell in the heavens. Let us bear our share of this evil which still rages under the sun, and let us firmly believe that the contempt of the ungodly shall turn to our honor in the world to come: even now it serves as a certificate that we are not of the world, for if we were of the world the world would love us as its own.
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Enduring Word
With the scorn of those who are at ease: This scorn is never easy to bear, but it is especially painful when it comes from those who seem to be at ease, who seem to have few problems or difficulties in life. (Guzik)
i. “The reason people ridicule what they oppose, aside from it being so easy, is that it is demoralizing and frequently effective. It is effective because it strikes at the hidden insecurities or weaknesses that almost everybody has.” (Boice)
With the contempt of the proud: This made the contempt heaped on the psalmist even worse, knowing it came from the proud and arrogant. Yet the psalmist was satisfied to wait for God’s mercy. (Guzik)
i. Nevertheless, this psalm is filled with the unspoken confidence that the mercy of God will triumph over the contempt of the proud. (Guzik)
iii. “This sweet psalm, with all its pained sense of the mockers’ gibes and their long duration, has no accent of impatience.” (Maclaren)
iv. Contempt “…can be an honor (Acts 5:41), and it is something Christ Himself accepted and made redemptive.” (Kidner)
v. “To set the life toward worship in an ungodly age is ever to be the object of scorn and contempt. What matters it? The eyes of Jehovah’s pilgrims are lifted to the throne set high above all the tumult and strife of tongues.” (Morgan)
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Albert Barnes
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 looks 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 rarer that piety shines brightly when the frivolous and the fashionable fly 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.
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John Gill
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease,…. That are in easy and affluent circumstances; abound in the things of this world, and have more than heart can wish; have no outward trouble, as other men, or as the saints have; nor any uneasiness of mind, on account of sin and their eternal state: they have been at ease from their youth; Satan, that has the possession of them, keeps the goods in peace; and their consciences are seared as with a red hot iron, and they are past feeling; though they are far from having any true solid peace of mind: and such persons are generally scorners of the saints, and load them with their gibes and jeers in a most insolent manner; which makes it very irksome and grievous to bear;
[and] with the contempt of the proud: who are proud of their natural abilities; of their wealth and riches, and of their honors and high places: and such are generally scorners, and deal in proud wrath; and, through their pride, persecute the poor saints with their reproaches, and by other ways; see Proverbs 21:24. Some understand by these characters, “that are at ease,” or “quiet”, and are “proud,” or “excellent”, as the phrases may be rendered, such described by them as are the objects, and not the authors, of scorn and contempt; even the saints, who are the quiet in the land, and the excellent in the earth; those precious sons of Zion, who are disesteemed by the men of the world, Psalm 35:20.
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Matthew Henry
To what degree they were reproached: “We are filled, we are surfeited with it. Our soul is exceedingly filled with it.” The enemies thought they could never jeer them enough, nor say enough to make them despicable; and they could not but lay it to heart; it was a sword in their bones, Ps. 42:10. Note,
[1.] Scorning and contempt have been, and are, and are likely to be, the lot of God’s people in this world. Ishmael mocked Isaac, which is called persecuting him; and so it is now, Gal. 4:29.
[2.] In reference to the scorn and contempt of men, it is a matter of comfort that there is mercy with God, mercy to our good names when they are barbarously used. Hear, O our God! for we are despised.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“Exceedingly filled,” or perhaps, “has long been filled.” (Compare Psalm 120:6). This expression, together with the earnestness of the repeated prayer, “Be gracious unto us,” shows that the “scorn” and “contempt” have long pressed upon the people, and their faith has accordingly been exposed to a severe trial. The more remarkable is the entire absence of anything like impatience in the language of the psalm.
—J. J. Stewart Perowne.
“Those that are at ease,” who are regardless of the troubles of others. and expect none of their own.
—James G. Murphy.
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