Psalms 34:5

5 Nigh ye to him, and be ye lightened (Go ye near to him, and ye shall shine with joy); and your faces shall not be shamed.

Psalms 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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Psalms 34:5 In-Context

3 Magnify ye the Lord with me; and enhance we his name into itself (and let us exalt his name together).
4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all my tribulations (and he rescued, or saved, me, from all of my troubles).
5 Nigh ye to him, and be ye lightened (Go ye near to him, and ye shall shine with joy); and your faces shall not be shamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him; and saved him from all his tribulations.
7 The angel of the Lord sendeth in the compass of men dreading him; and he shall deliver them. (The angel of the Lord guardeth those who fear him/who revere him; and he rescueth them.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.