“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

Christians need not fear the cruelty of their enemies because God watches over them. When the Bible attributes eyes and ears to God, we call this an anthropomorphism. An anthropomorphism attributes human physical characteristics to God. This anthropomorphism usually describes an attribute or action of God that forms an orientation or policy toward us. The “eyes of the Lord” here is God’s careful oversight of his people. God especially watches out for his people. He will never fail the righteous.

“Eyes” is qualitative in Greek. God ever watches. He watches to bless us. 

Job 34:21, “For His eyes are on the ways of man,

And He sees all his steps.”

2 Ch. 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”

Hebrews 4:13, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

“On” means “upon.” God’s eyes are favorably watching us. 

“Righteous” – Christians are righteous in two senses:

1) God views us as righteous in his eyes, so we do not have to gain his favor. This is judicial righteousness (Rom. 5:1). We already have God’s favor because of the death of Christ for our sins.

2) We are experientially righteous when we walk with the Lord. The latter is the point of this verse. This righteousness is experiential, not judicial righteousness. 

PRINCIPLE:

God sovereignly and favorably cares for us all of the time. 

APPLICATION:

It is wonderful to know that the eyes of the Lord are over us all the time. He watches, provides, and protects us. He anticipates our problems. He knows the trouble that lies ahead. 

For a deeper study of God’s sovereign watching over us, or the more specific doctrine of concursus, go here:

https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/doctrine/concursus/gods-decree-and-free-will/