A Watchman
The responsibility of a watchman was to stand on the walls of the city as a guard, keeping an eye out for an attack from the enemy. From this vantage point he could look out over the land before him and observe any danger that threatened the inhabitants of the city. To fulfill his duty, the watchman needed to be awake and alert so that if an enemy approached, he would immediately warn the city’s citizens of the approaching danger.
Habakkuk referred to himself as a watchman who was not physically standing as a guard in the tower on the walls of the city looking out for the enemy. Rather his role as a watchman was to look to God with expectant hope that he would give him an answer to his prayer. As a watchman he gave his full attention to eagerly wait to hear the voice of God speaking to him.
1 I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.