A profound and absolute yearning to fulfill God's commandments can become an all-consuming experience. This spiritual passion is characterized by an intense desire and deep longing [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד]. In fact, this love for the commandments can grow so overwhelming that it brings the soul to a state of complete exhaustion, draining the individual's strength. It is precisely from this place of spiritual fatigue that a plea is made for the exact opposite: a request for God to grant renewed life and vitality [אבן עזרא].
This request for a long life does not stem from a desire for personal gain. Rather, it is driven by a clear, practical goal. The individual asks for more time and energy simply to have the opportunity to actively perform the commandments he so deeply craves [רד״ק].
When asking God to grant life through His righteousness, commentators offer different ways to understand the nature of this plea. The primary approach views it as an appeal to divine kindness that does not depend on personal merit. Even if a person has sinned [רד״ק, מלבי״ם] or failed to fulfill every commandment in practice, he asks God to grant him life as an act of grace and charity rather than through strict judgment. The hope is that God will combine the good intention and longing with the physical deed, considering the intense desire as if the commandment had actually been performed [מצודת דוד]. In this light, divine charity is a wondrous, elevated action that sustains a person even when his actions alone do not make him worthy [מלבי״ם].
Conversely, this plea for life as a charitable gift can be understood as coming from a place of spiritual wholeness rather than a lack of merit. The individual's longing to fulfill the commandments might be so natural and pure—completely free from any internal struggle against evil impulses and devoid of any desire for reward—that he feels he has not earned any payment for his actions. Because his obedience is simply a natural state of being, he asks for life solely as a free gift of grace [אלשיך]. Another perspective connects the concept of righteousness directly to honesty and justice, suggesting that the individual asks God to sustain him specifically in the merit of upholding His upright laws [מאירי].