We now enter the resh stanza, and the psalmist’s prayers for deliverance intensify. He pleads for the Lord to look on his affliction. The Hebrew verb translated “look on” is raah, meaning to see or to perceive with understanding. This is not a request for God to simply notice his suffering, but to see it fully and respond with purposeful action. To be seen by the Lord is to be helped by the Lord. The psalmist asks God to deliver him, to save him from distress he cannot escape on his own. Spurgeon observes, “It should be the desire of every gracious man who is in adversity that the Lord should look upon his need, and relieve it in such a way as shall be most for the divine glory, and for his own benefit.” The basis of the psalmist’s request is his remembrance of and obedience to God’s law. He is not claiming that God owes him deliverance, but resting in God’s own promises. The Lord has bound himself by his word to care for those who fear him and keep his commandments. The psalmist’s confidence does not rest in personal merit, but in the faithfulness of the God who sees, understands, and saves according to his word.
