Psalm 34:5

5 Welche auf ihn sehen, die werden erquickt, und ihr Angesicht wird nicht zu Schanden.

Psalm 34:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 34:5

They looked to him, and were lightened
That is, "the humble" ones, ( Psalms 34:2 ) ; and so this is a reason why they should join in praising and magnifying the Lord; these "looked" up to God in prayer and by faith, when in distressed and uncomfortable circumstances, for help and deliverance, and a supply of every needful good thing; and they were "enlightened"; so the Targum renders it, "their faces were enlightened"; as Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it, in opposition to what follows: they must have been enlightened before they could look, but by looking to the Lord more light was gained: this chiefly designs the light of joy, peace, and comfort, which is had in a way of believing: some render the word "and flowed" ^F12, as a river does, that is, to the Lord, as in ( Jeremiah 31:12 ) . So Kimchi and Ben Melech explain the word; and it denotes both the numbers of them that looked up to the Lord in their distress, and the swiftness of their motion to him, and their earnestness and fervour of mind; so faith is not only a looking to Christ, but a going forth unto him;

and their faces were not ashamed;
having what they prayed and looked for, and what they hoped and believed they should have; namely, deliverance and salvation, and so peace and pleasure.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (wdhnw) "et confluunt", Junius & Tremellius, Michaelis; "et instar fluvii irruerint", Piscator, Amama; "et confluxerunt", Gejerus.

Psalm 34:5 In-Context

3 Preiset mit mir den HERRN und laßt uns miteinander seinen Namen erhöhen.

4 Da ich den HERRN suchte, antwortete er mir und errettete mich aus aller meiner Furcht.

5 Welche auf ihn sehen, die werden erquickt, und ihr Angesicht wird nicht zu Schanden.

6 Da dieser Elende rief, hörte der HERR und half ihm aus allen seinen Nöten.

7 Der Engel des HERRN lagert sich um die her, so ihn fürchten, und hilft ihnen aus.