“Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.”
The psalmist appeals to God 'Lord, how long will you look on?' expressing the anxiety that God's intervention is delayed and questioning when divine justice will manifest. The verb 'look on' suggests passive observation, implying that God witnesses the persecution but has not yet intervened. The phrase 'how long' conveys the psalmist's sense that the suffering has extended beyond endurance. This verse articulates the profound struggle of faith: maintaining trust in God while experiencing the apparent delay or absence of divine intervention.
Church Fathers on Psalms 35:17
1. ...The title of it causes us no delay, for it is both brief, and to be understood not difficult, especially to those nursed in the Church of God. For so it is, “To David himself.” The Psalm then is to David himself: now David is interpreted, Strong in hand, or Desirable. The Psalm then is to the Strong in hand, and Desirable, to Him who for us has overcome death, who unto us has promised life: for in this is He Strong in hand, that He has overcome death for us; in this is…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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