Good Authority for a Good Hope
Psalm 34:5
They looked to him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.


How low, oftentimes, has been the condition of the people of God! See the lamentations of Jeremiah. But he and all God's saints have looked unto God and were lightened. Consider —

I. THEIR EXPECTATION. "They looked unto Him." They did so under —

1. The deluge of sin. This universal; none ever escaped it. "We are all under sin."

2. The deluge of death.

3. Jehovah's eternal wrath. None, by and of themselves, can escape either. But Jesus said, "Lo, I come," and He hath rolled back the waters of each, for all them that look to Him.

4. Bondage. Israel was in bondage, and so are God's people now. But the Lord has promised to deliver them. "The sighing of the prisoners "comes before Him, and He preserves those that "are appointed to die." The sins of our nature are hard task-masters.

II. CONFIRMATION. They "were lightened" in mind and in soul. Let us then rejoice in our religion, and we shall never be ashamed.

(James Wells.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

WEB: They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.




The Reasonableness of Prayer
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