Charles H. Spurgeon on Psalms 123:2

Our eyes wait. Here the Psalmist uses another word: it is the eye waiting. What is the reason of the second word? Now he leaves the similitude in the first line; for in the first line it is thus, —"As the eyes of servants look, and the eyes of a maiden look"; here it is the eye waits. There is good reason: to wait is more than to look: to wait is to look constantly, with patience and submission, by subjecting our affections and wills and desires to God's will; that is to wait, David in the second part, in the second line, gives a better word, he betters his copy. There is the duty of a Christian, to better his example; the eyes of servants look, David's eyes shall wait: "So our eyes wait". It is true, indeed this word is not in the original, therefore you may observe it is in a small letter in your Bibles, to note that it is a word of necessity, added for the supply of the sense, because the Holy Ghost left it not imperfect, but more perfect, that lie put not in the verb; because it is left to every man's heart to supply a verb to his own comfort, and a better he cannot than this. And that this word must be added appears by the next words: "until that he have mercy upon us". To look till he have mercy on us is to wait; so there is good reason why this word is added. If we look to the thing begged —"mercy" —it is so precious that we may wait for it. It was "servants" that he mentioned, and it is their duty to wait upon their masters; they wait upon their trenchers at meat; they wait when they go to bed and when they rise; they wait in every place. Therefore, because he had mentioned the first word, he takes the proper duty; there is nothing more proper to servants than waiting, and if we are the servants of God we must wait. There is good reason in that respect, because it is a word so significant, therefore the Spirit of God varies it; he keeps not exactly to the line, "So do our eyes look, "but he puts it, "So do our eyes wait." —Richard Holdsworth.