Jesus was the one we are to look to

JESUS WAS THE ONE WE ARE TO LOOK TO
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Psalm34:5 5Thosewho look to him are radiant;their
faces are never covered with shame.
New Living Translation
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with
joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS NO. 195
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SABBATHMORNING, MAY 23, 1858, BY
THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE MUSIC HALL, ROYAL SURREY
GARDENS.
“Theylookedunto Him and were lightened: and their faces were not
ashamed.” Psalm34:5.
FROM the connectionwe are to understand the pronoun, “Him,” as referring
to the word, “Lord,” in the preceding verse. “They lookedunto the Lord
Jehovahand were lightened.” But no man ever yet lookedto JehovahGod, as
He is in Himself, and found any comfort in Him, for “our God is a consuming
fire.” An absolute God, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, can afford no
comfort whateverto a troubled heart. We may look to Him, and we shall be

blinded, for the light of Godheadis insufferable, and as mortal eye cannot fix
its gaze upon the sun, no human intellect could ever look unto God and find
light, for the brightness of God would strike the eyes of the mind with eternal
blindness! The only way in which any cansee God is through the Mediator,
Jesus Christ— “Till God in human flesh I see, My thoughts no comfort find.”
God shrouded and veiled in the manhood—there we can with steadygaze
behold Him, for so He comes downto us and our poor finite intelligence can
understand and lay hold upon Him. I shall therefore use my text this morning
and I think very legitimately, in reference to our Lord and SaviorJesus
Christ— “They lookedunto Him and were lightened.” For when we look at
God, as revealedin Jesus Christ our Lord and behold the Godheadas it is
apparent in the Incarnate Man who was born of the Virgin Mary, and was
crucified by Pontius Pilate, we do see that which enlightens the mind and casts
rays of comfort into our awakenedheart! And now, this morning I shall first
invite you, in order to illustrate my text, to look to Jesus Christ in His life on
earth, and I hope there are some of you who will be lightened by that. We
shall then look to Him on His cross. Afterwards, we shall look to Him in His
resurrection. We shall look to Him in His intercession. And lastly, we shall
look to Him in His secondcoming. And it may be, as with faithful eyes we look
upon Him, the verse shall be fulfilled in our experience—whichis the best
proof of a truth— when we prove it to be true in our own hearts. We shall
“Look unto Him” and we shall “be lightened.” I. First, then, we shall LOOK
TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN HIS LIFE. And here the troubled saint
will find the most to enlighten him in the example, in the patience, in the
sufferings of Jesus Christ. These are stars of glory to cheerthe midnight
darkness of the sky of your tribulation. Come here, you children of God, and
whatevernow are your distresses,whetherthey are temporal or spiritual, you
shall, in the life of Jesus Christ and His sufferings, find sufficient to cheerand
comfort you—if the Holy Spirit shall now open your eyes to look unto Him!
Perhaps I have among my congregation, indeedI am sure I have, some who
are plunged in the depths of poverty. You are the children of toil. With much
sweatofyour brow you eat your bread. The heavy yoke of oppressiongalls
your neck. Perhaps at this time you are suffering the very extremity of
hunger. You are pinched with famine and though in the house of God, your
body complains, for you feelthat you are brought very low. Look unto Him,

you poor distressedbrother or sister in Jesus—lookunto Him and be
lightened— “Why do you complain of want or distress, Temptationor
pain?—He told you no less;The heirs of salvation, we know from His Word,
Through much tribulation must follow their Lord.” See Him there! Forty
days He fasts and He hungers. See Him again, He treads the weary way, and
at last all athirst He sits upon the curb of the wellof Sychar, and He, the Lord
of Glory, He who holds the
Looking Unto Jesus Sermon#195
Tellsomeone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 4
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clouds in the hollow of His hands, said to a woman, “Give me to drink.” And
shall the servantbe above his Masterand the disciple above his Lord? If He
suffered hunger and thirst and nakedness,O heir of poverty, be of good
cheer—inall these you have fellowshipwith Jesus—thereforebe comforted
and look unto Him and be lightened! Perhaps your trouble is of another caste.
You have come here today smarting from the forked tongue of that adder—
slander. Your character, thoughpure and spotless before God, seems to be
lost before man, for that foul slanderous thing has soughtto take awaythat
which is dearerto you than life itself— your character, your goodname. And
you are this day filled with bitterness and made drunk with wormwood
because you have been accusedofcrimes which your soul loathes!Come, child
of mourning, this indeed is a heavy blow—poverty is like Solomon’s whip, but
slander is like the scorpionof Rehoboam!To fall into the depths of poverty is
to have it on your little finger, but to be slanderedis to have it on your loins.
But, in all this, you may have comfort from Christ. Come and look unto Him
and be lightened! The King of kings was calleda Samaritan. They said of Him
that He had a devil and was mad. And yet, infinite wisdom dwelt in Him,
though He was chargedwith madness!And was He not ever pure and holy?
And did they not call Him a drunken man and a wine-bibber? He was His
father’s glorious Son and yet they said He did castout devils through
Beelzebub, the prince of the devils! Come, poor slanderedone, wipe those

tears away!“If they have calledthe Masterof the house, Beelzebub, how
much more shall they call them of His household?” If they had honored Him,
then might you have expectedthat they would honor you. But as they mocked
Him and took awayHis glory and His character, He blushed not to bear the
reproachand the shame, for He is with you, carrying His cross before you!
And that cross was heavierthan yours. Look, then, unto Him and be
lightened! But I hear another say, “Ah, but my trouble is worse than either of
those!I am not today smarting from slander, nor am I burdened with penury.
But, sir, the hand of God lies heavy upon me! He has brought my sins to my
remembrance. He has taken awaythe bright shining of His countenance. Once
I did believe in Him and could ‘read my title clearto mansions in the skies.’
But today I am brought very low. He has lifted me up and castme down like a
wrestler. He has elevatedme that He might dash me to the ground with the
greaterforce. My bones are sorelyvexed and my spirit within me is melted
with anguish.” Come, my tried brother, “Look unto Him and be lightened.”
No longer groanover your own miseries, but come with me and look unto
Him, if you can. See the Garden of Olives? It is a cold night and the ground is
crisp beneath your feet for the frost is hard. And there in the gloomof the
olive garden, kneels your Lord. Listen to Him! Canyou understand the music
of His groans, the meaning of His sighs? Surely your griefs are not as heavy as
His were, when drops of blood were forced through His skin and a bloody
sweatdid stain the ground! Say, are your trials greaterthan His? If, then, He
had to combat with the powers of darkness, expectto also do so! And look to
Him in the lastsolemn hour of His extremity and hear Him say, “My God, My
God, why have You forsakenMe?” And when you have heard that, murmur
not, as though some strange thing had happened to you—as if you have to join
in His “lama sabachthani”—andhave to sweatsome few drops of His bloody
sweat. “Theylookedunto Him and were lightened.” But possibly I may have
here someone who is much persecutedby man. “Ah,” says one, “I cannot
practice my religionwith comfort. My friends have turned againstme. I am
mockedand jeeredand reviled for Christ’s sake.”Come, Christian, be not
afraid of all this, but “Look unto Him and be lightened.” Remember how they
persecutedHim? Oh, think of the shame and spitting; the plucking off the
hair, the reviling of the soldiers. Think of that fearful march through the
streets when every man did hootHim and when even they who were crucified

with Him did revile Him! Have you been treated worse than He? I think this is
enough to make you gird your armor on once more! Why need you blush to be
as much dishonoredas your Master? It was this thought that cheeredthe
martyrs of old—they who fought the bloody fight knew they would win the
blood-red crown—that ruby crownof martyrdom! Therefore, they did
endure, as seeing Him who is invisible, for this always cheeredand comforted
them. They remembered Him who had “endured such contradiction of sinners
againstHimself that they might not be wearyor faint in their minds.” They
“resistedunto blood, striving againstsin,” for they knew their Masterhad
done the same and His example comforted them! I am persuaded, beloved
brothers and sisters
Sermon #195 Looking Unto Jesus
Volume 4 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ.
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that if we lookedmore to Christ, our troubles would not become anything like
so black in the dark night. Looking to Christ will clearthe ebony sky. When
the darkness seems thick like that of Egypt—darkness that might be felt like
solid pillars of ebony, even then—like a bright lightning flash, as bright but
not as transient, will a look to Jesus prove!One glimpse at Him may well
suffice for all our toils while on the road. Cheeredby His voice;nerved by His
strength we are prepared to do and suffer, even as He did, to the death—if He
will be with us, even unto the end. This, then, is our first point. We trust that
those of you who are wearyChristians, will not forgetto “Look unto Him and
be lightened.” II. And now, I have to invite you to a more dreary sight. But,
strange it is, just as the sight becomes blacker, so to us does it grow brighter!
The more deeply the Savior dived into the depths of misery, the brighter were
the pearls which He brought up—the greaterHis griefs, the greaterour joys,
and the deeper His dishonor, the brighter our glories!Come, then—and this
time I shall ask poor, doubting, trembling sinners and saints to come with
me—come now to Calvary’s cross. There, onthe summit of that little hill,
outside the gates of Jerusalem, where commoncriminals were ordinarily put

to death—the Tyburn of Jerusalem, the Old Baileyof that city where
criminals were executed—there stand three crosses. The centerone is
reservedfor one who is reputed to be the greatestof criminals! See there!
They have nailed Him to the cross!It is the Lord of life and glory, before
whose feetangels delight to pour full vials of glory. They have nailed Him to
the cross—He hangs there in mid-heaven, dying, bleeding—He is thirsty and
He cries. They bring Him vinegar and thrust it into His mouth. He is in
suffering and He needs sympathy, but they mock Him and they say, “He saved
others, Himself He cannotsave.” Theymisquote His words; they challenge
Him now to destroy the temple and build it in three days. While the very thing
was being fulfilled, they taunt Him with His powerlessnessto accomplishit!
Now see Him, before the veil is drawn overagonies too black for eyes to
behold. See Him now! Was ever face marred like that face? Was everheart so
big with agony? And did eyes ever seemso pregnant with the fire of suffering
as those great wells of fiery agony? Come and behold Him! Come and look at
Him now. The sun is eclipsed, refusing to behold Him! The earth quakes;the
dead rise; the horrors of His sufferings have startled earth itself— “He dies!
The friend of sinners dies.” And we invite you to look to this scene that you
may be lightened. What are your doubts this morning? Whatever they are,
they can find a kind and fond solution here—by looking at Christ on the
cross!You have come here, perhaps, doubting God’s mercy. Look to Christ
upon the cross and canyou doubt it then? If God were not full of mercy and
plenteous in His compassion, wouldHe have given His Son to bleed and die?
Do you think that a Father would rend His darling from His hear, and nail
Him to a tree that He might suffer an ignominious death for our sakes andyet
be hard, merciless, and without pity? God forbid the impious thought! There
must be mercy in the heart of God or else there had never been a cross on
Calvary! But do you doubt God’s powerto save? Are you saying to yourself
this morning, “How can He forgive so greata sinner as I am?” Oh, look there,
sinner, look there to the greatatonement made—to the utmost ransompaid!
Do you think that that blood has not an efficacyto pardon and to justify?
True, without that cross it had been an unanswerable question—“How can
God be just and yet the Justifier of the ungodly?” But see there the bleeding
substitute! And know that God has acceptedHis sufferings as an equivalent
for the woes ofall believers!And then let your spirit dare to think, if it can,

that the blood of Christ is not sufficient to enable God to vindicate His justice
and yet to have mercy upon sinners. But I know you say, “Mydoubt is not of
His generalmercy, nor of His power to forgive, but of His willingness to
forgive me.” Now I beseechyou, by Him that lives and was dead, do not this
morning look into your own heart in order to find an answerto that difficulty!
Do not sit down and look at your sins. They have brought you into the
danger—they cannotbring you out of it. The bestansweryou will everget is
at the foot of the cross. Sit down, when you gethome this morning, for half-
an-hour in quiet contemplation. Sit at the foot of the cross and contemplate
the dying Saviorand I will defy you, then, to say, “I doubt His love to me.”
Looking at Christ begets faith! You cannot believe on Christ exceptas you see
Him and if you look to Him you will learn that He is able to save!You will
learn his loving kindness. And you cannotdoubt Him after having once beheld
Him. Dr. Watts says—
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“His worth, if all the nations knew, Surely the whole world would love Him
too,” and I am sure it is quite true if I read it another way— “His worth, if all
the nations knew Surely the whole world would trust Him too.” Oh, that you
would look to Him now and your doubts would soonbe removed, for there is
nothing that so speedily kills all doubt and fear as a look into the loving eyes
of the bleeding, dying Lord! “Ah,” says one, “but my doubts are concerning
my ownsalvation in this respect. I cannot be as holy as I need to be.” “I have
tried very much,” says one, “to get rid of all my sins and I cannot. I have
labored to live without wickedthoughts and without unholy acts and I still
find that my heart is ‘deceitful above all things.’ And I wander from God.
Surely I cannot be saved while I am like this.” Stop! Look to Him and be
lightened. What business have you to be looking to yourself? The first
business of a sinner is not with himself, but with Christ! Your business is to
come to Christ—sick, wearyand soul-diseased—andask Christ to cure you.

You are not to be your own physician and then go to Christ—but just as you
are! The only salvationfor you is to trust implicitly, simply, nakedly on
Christ. As I sometimes put it—make Christ the only pillar of your hope and
never seek to buttress or prop Him up. “He is able, He is willing.” All He asks
of you is just to trust Him! As for your goodworks, they shall come
afterwards. They are after-fruits of the Spirit. Your first business is not to do,
but to believe. Look to Jesus and put your trust only in Him. “Oh,” another
cries, “Sir, I am afraid I do not feel my need of a Savioras I ought.” Looking
to yourselves again!All looking to yourselves you see!This is all wrong. Our
doubts and fears all arise from this cause—we turn our eyes the wrong way!
Just look to the cross again—justas the poor thief did when he was dying—he
said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Do the same.
You may tell Him, if you please, that you do not feel your need of Him as you
ought. You may put this among your other sins, that you fear you have not a
right sense ofyour greatand enormous guilt. You may add to all your
confessions, this cry, “Lord help me to confess my sins better. Help me to feel
them more penitently.” But remember, it is not your repentance that saves
you—it is the blood of Christ streaming from His hands and feet and side! Oh,
I beseechyou by Him whose servantI am. This morning turn your eyes to the
cross ofChrist! There He hangs this day. He is lifted up in your midst. As
Moses lifted up the serpentin the wilderness, even so is the Sonof Man lifted
up today in your eyes that whoeverbelieves in Him may not perish, but have
everlasting life! And you children of God, I turn to you, for you have your
doubts, too. Would you getrid of them? Would you rejoice in the Lord with
faith unmoved and confidence unshaken? Then look to Jesus! Look againto
Him and you shall be lightened! I know not how it is with you, my beloved
friends, but I very often find myself in a doubting frame of mind. And it seems
to be a question of whether I have any love to Christ or not. And despite the
fact that some laugh at the hymn, it is a hymn that I am forcedto sing— “‘Tis
a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought! Do I love the Lord or
no? Am I His, or am I not?” And I am convinced that every Christian has his
doubts at times and that the people who do not doubt are just the people that
ought to doubt—for he who never doubts about his state, perhaps may do so
when it is too late! I knew a man who said he never had a doubt for 30 years. I
told him that I knew a personwho never had a doubt about him for 30 years.

“How is that?” he said. “Thatis strange.” He thought it a compliment! I said,
“I knew a man who never had a doubt about you for 30 years—he knew you
were always the most confounded hypocrite he ever met—he had no doubt
about you.” But this man had no doubt about himself—he was a chosenchild
of God, a greatfavorite of the MostHigh! He loved the doctrine of election,
wrote it on his very forehead! And yet, he was the hardest driver and the
cruelestoppressorof the poor I ever met with and when brought to poverty,
himself, he might very frequently be seenrolling through the streets. And this
man had not a doubt for 30 years—andyet the bestpeople always doubt!
Some of those who are just living outside the gates of heaven are afraid of
being castinto hell after all—while those people who are on the high road to
the pit of hell are not the leastafraid!
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However, if you would get rid of your doubts once more, turn to Christ. You
know what Dr. Carey had put on his tombstone—just these words, for they
were his comfort— “A guilty, weak and helpless worm, Into Christ’s arms I
fall. He is my strength and righteousness, MyJesus and my all.” Remember
what that eminent Scotchdivine said when he was dying? Someone saidto
him, “What? Are you now dying?” He said, “I am just gathering all my good
works up together, and I am throwing them all overboard. And I am lashing
myself to the plank of free grace, andI hope to swim to glory on it.” So do
you! Every day keepyour eyes only on Christ, and so long as your eyes do
that, your whole body must and shall be full of light! But if you once look
cross-eyed, firstto yourself and then to Christ, your whole body shall be full
of darkness!Remember, then, Christian, to fly to the cross!When that great
black dog of hell is after you, away to the cross!Go where the sheep goes when
he is molested by the dog—go to the shepherd! The dog is afraid of the
shepherd’s crook. You need not be afraid of it—it is one of the things that
shall comfort you. “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Away to the

cross, my brothers and sisters!Away to the cross if you would get rid of your
doubts! I am certain that if we lived more with Jesus, were more like Jesus
and trusted Jesus more, doubts and fears would be very scarce andrare
things. And we should have as little to complain of them as the first emigrants
in Australia had to complain of thistles—forthey found none there, and none
would have been there if they had not been carried there! If we live simply by
faith on the cross ofChrist, we live in a land where there are no thistles! But if
we will live on self, we shall have plenty of thistles, and thorns, and briers and
nettles growing there. “They lookedunto Him and were lightened.” III. And
now, I invite you to a glorious scene—CHRIST’SRESURRECTION. Come
here and look at Him as the old serpent bruises His heel!— “He dies! The
friend of sinners dies, And Salem’s daughters weeparound.” He was wrapped
in His grave clothes and put into His grave and there He slept three days and
nights. And on the first day of the week, He, who could not be held by the
bands of death and whose fleshdid not see corruption, neither did His soul
abide in Hades—He arose from the dead! In vain the bands that swaddled
Him—He unfolded them by Himself, and by His ownliving powerwrapped
them in perfect order, and laid them in their place. In vain the stone and the
seal—the angelappearedand rolled awaythe stone and the Savior came
forth. In vain the guards and watchmen—forin terror they fled far awayand
He rose the conqueror overdeath—the first fruits of them who slept! By His
own powerand might He came againto life. I see among my congregationnot
a few wearing the black mourning clothes of sorrow. You have lost, some of
you, the dearestof your earthly relatives. There are others here, who, I doubt
not, are under the constantfear of death. You are all your lifetime subjectto
bondage because you are thinking upon the groans and dying strife which fall
upon men when they near the river Jordan. Come, come, I beseechyou, you
weeping and timid spirits, behold Jesus Christ risen! For remember, this is a
greattruth of God—“Nowis Christ risen from the dead and become the first
fruits of them who slept.” And the verse of our song just embodies it— “What
though our inbred sins require Our flesh to see the dust, Yet as the Lord our
Savior rose, So all His followers must.” There, widow—weepno longer for
your husband if he died in Jesus. See the Master? He is risen from the dead—
no phantom is He. In the presence ofHis disciples He eats a piece of broiled
fish and part of a honeycomb. No spirit is He, for He says, “Handle Me and

see. A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see I have.” That was a real
resurrection!And learn then, beloved, when you weep, to restrain your
sorrows, foryour loved ones shall live again. Not only shall their spirits live,
but their bodies, too— “Corruption, earth, and worms, Do but refine this
flesh. At the archangel’s sounding trump,
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We put it on afresh.” Oh, think not that the worm has eatenup your children,
your friends, your husband, your father, your agedparents—true, the worms
seemto have devoured them. Oh, what is the worm after all, but the filter
through which our poor filthy flesh must go? For in the twinkling of an eye, at
the lasttrump, we shall be raised incorruptible, and the living shall be
changed!You shall see the eyes that just now have been closed, and you shall
look on them again! You shall againgraspthe hand that just now fell
motionless at the side. You shall kiss the lips that just now were clay-cold and
white, and you shall hear again the voice that is silent in the tomb! They shall
live again!And you who feardeath—why fearto die? Jesus died before you
and He passedthrough the iron gates—andas He passedthrough them before
you, He will come and meet you! Jesus who lives can— “Make the dying bed
Feelsoft as downy pillows.” Why should you weep? Jesus rosefrom the
dead—so shallyou! Be of goodcheerand confidence. You are not lostwhen
you are put into the tomb. You are but seedsownto ripen againstthe eternal
harvest. Your spirit mounts to God. Your body slumbers for a while to be
quickened into eternal life. It cannotbe quickened except it dies. But when it
dies it shall receive a new life. It shall not be destroyed. “Theylookedto Him
and were lightened.” Oh, this is a precious thing to look to—a risen Savior! I
know of nothing that can lift our spirits higher than a true view of the
resurrectionof Jesus Christ from the dead! We have not lost any friends,
then. They have gone before us. We shall not die ourselves. We shall seemto
die, but we shall begin to live. For it is written— “He lives to die. He dies to

live; He lives to die no more.” May that be the lot of eachone of us! IV. And
with the greatestpossible brevity, I invite you to LOOK AT JESUS CHRIST
ASCENDING INTO HEAVEN. After 40 days, He takes His disciples to the
hill, and while He discourses withthem, all of a sudden He mounts upward!
And He is separatedfrom them, and a cloud receives Him into glory! Perhaps
I may be alloweda little poeticallicense if I try to picture that which occurred
after He ascendedinto the clouds. The angels came from heaven— “They
brought His chariotfrom on high, To bear Him to His throne— Clapped their
triumphant wings and cried, The glorious work is done!” I doubt not that
with matchless triumph He ascendedthe hill of light and went to the celestial
city and when He neared the portals of that greatmetropolis of the universe,
the angels shouted, “Lift up your heads, O you gates. And be you lift up you
everlasting doors.” And the bright spirits from burning battlements cried out,
“Who is this King of Glory—who?” And the answercame, “The Lord mighty
in battle and the Lord of Hosts. He is the King of Glory!” And then both they
upon the walls and they who walk with the chariots join the song once more
and with one mighty sea of music, beating its melodious waves againstthe
gates ofheaven and forcing them open, the strain is heard, “Lift up your
heads, O you gates and be you lift up you everlasting doors, that the King of
Glory may come in”—and in He went! And at His feetthe angelic hosts all
casttheir crowns and forth came the blood-washedand met Him, not casting
roses atHis feet, as we do at the feet of conquerors in our streets, but casting
immortal flowers, imperishable wreaths of honor that cannever decay. While
again, again, again, the heavens did ring with this melody, “Unto Him who has
loved us and washedus from our sins in His blood and has made us kings and
priests unto Godand His Father—unto Him be glory forever and ever!” And
all the saints and all the angels said, “Amen.” Now look here, Christians, here
is your comfort—Jesus Christwon the victory, and He ascendedto His throne
of glory! You are fighting today and wrestling with spiritual enemies, not with
flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers. You are at war today and
maybe the enemy has thrust sorelyat you and you have been ready to fall. It is
a marvel to you that you have not turned your back in the day of battle, for
you have often fearedlest you should be made to fly like a cowardfrom the
field. But

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tremble not, your Masterwas more than conquerorand so shall you be! The
day is coming when with splendor less than His, but yet the same in its
measure, you, too, shall pass the gates ofbliss! When you are dying, angels
shall meet you in mid-stream and when your blood is cooling with the cold
current, then shall your heart be warming with another stream—a streamof
light and heat from the greatfountain of all joy, and you shall stand on the
other side of Jordan and angels shallmeet you clothed in their immaculate
garments! They shall attend you up the hill of light and they shall chant the
praise of Jesus and hail you as another trophy of His power! And when you
enter the gates ofheaven, you shall be met by Christ, your Master, who will
say to you—“Welldone, goodand faithful servant, enter into the joy of your
Lord.” Then will you feelthat you are sharing in His victory, as once you
shared in His struggles and His war! Fight on, Christian—your glorious
Captain has won a greatvictory and has securedfor you in one and the same
victory a standard that never yet was stainedwith defeat—thoughoften
dipped in the blood of the slain. V. And now once more, “Look unto Him and
be lightened.” Look, there He sits in heaven. He has led captivity captive and
now sits at the right hand of God, forever making intercession for us! Can
your faith picture Him today? Like a greathigh priest of old, He stands with
outstretchedarms—there is majesty in His manner—for He is no mean
cringing suppliant. He does not beat His breast, nor castHis eyes upon the
ground—but with authority He pleads enthroned in glory! There on His head
is the bright shining miter of His priesthood. And look—onHis breast are
glittering the precious stones whereonthe names of His electare everlastingly
engraved. Hear Him as He pleads! Hear you not what it is?—is that your
prayer that He is mentioning before the throne? The prayer that this morning
you offeredbefore you came to the house of God, Christ is now offering before
His Father’s throne! The vow which just now you uttered when you said,

“Have pity and have mercy”—He is now uttering there. He is the Altar and
the Priestand with His own sacrifice He perfumes our prayers! And yet,
maybe you have been at prayer many a day and had no answer. Poorweeping
suppliant, you have soughtthe Lord and He has not heard you, or at leastnot
answeredyou to your soul’s delight. You have cried unto Him, but the
heavens have been as brass and He has shut out your prayer. You are full of
darkness and heaviness on accountof this, “Look to Him and be lightened.” If
you do not succeed, He will! If your intercessionis unnoticed, His cannot be
passedaway!If your prayers can be like waterspilt on a rock which cannotbe
gatheredup, yet His prayers are not like that—He is God’s Son—He pleads
and must prevail! God cannotrefuse His own Son what He now asks—He who
once bought mercies with His blood. Oh, be of goodcheer, continue still your
supplication! “Look unto Him and be lightened.” VI. In the last place, there
are some of you here wearywith this world’s din and clamor and with this
world’s iniquity and vice. You have been striving all your life long to put an
end to the reign of sin and it seems as if your efforts have been fruitless. The
pillars of hell stand as fast as ever and the black palace of evil is not laid in
ruins. You have brought againstit all the battering rams of prayer and the
might of God—youhave thought—and yet the world still sins, its rivers still
roll with blood, its plains are still defiled with the lascivious dance and its ears
are still polluted with the filthy song and profane oath. God is not honored.
Man is still vile. And perhaps you are saying, “It is vain for us to fight on; we
have undertaken a task which cannot be accomplished!The kingdoms of this
world never canbecome the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.” But,
Christian, “Look unto Him and be lightened.” Lo, He comes!He comes!He
comes quickly! And what we cannot do in 6,000 years, He can do in an
instant! Lo, He comes!He comes to reign! We may try to build His throne, but
we shall not accomplishit. But when He comes, He shall build His throne
Himself, on solid pillars of light, and sit and gloriously judge in Jerusalem
amidst His saints. Perhaps today, the hour we are assembled, Christ may
come—“Forofthat day and hour knows no man; no, not the angels in
heaven.” Christ Jesus may, while I yet speak, appearin the clouds of glory.
We have no reasonto be guessing at the time of His appearing. He will come
as a thief in the night. And whether it shall be at cock-crowing, orbroad day,
or at midnight, we are not allowedto guess. It is left entirely in the dark, and

vain are the prophecies of men—vain your “Apocalyptic Sketches,”or
nonsense like that! No man knows anything of it, except that it is certainHe
will come. But when He comes, no spirit in heaven or on earth should pretend
to know. Oh, it is my joyous hope that He may come while yet I live. Perhaps
there may be some of us here who shall be alive and remain at the coming
8
8
of the Son of Man. Oh, glorious hope! We shall have to sleep, but we shall all
be changed. He may come now and we that are alive and remain shall be
caught up togetherwith the Lord in the air and so shall be forever with Him.
But if you die, Christian, this is your hope—“Iwill come againand receive
you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” And this is to be your
duty—“Watch, therefore, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of
Man comes.” Oh, will I not work on, for Christ is at the door! Oh, I will not
give up toiling ever so hard, for my Mastercomes and His reward is with Him
and His work before Him, giving unto every man according as his work shall
be. Oh, I will not lie down in despair, for the trumpet is now sounding! I think
I hear the trampling of the conquering legion, the last of God’s mighty heroes
are even now, perhaps, born into the world! The hour of this revival is the
hour of the turning of the battle. Thick has been the fight and hot and furious
the struggle, but the trumpet of the Conqueror is beginning to sound, the
angelis lifting it now to his lips! The first blast has been heard across the sea
and we shall hear it yet again. Or if we hear it not in these, our days, yet still it
is our hope. He comes, He comes and every eye shall see Him and they who
have crucified Him shall weepand wail before Him, but the righteous shall
rejoice and shall magnify Him exceedingly. “They lookedunto Him and were
lightened.” I remember I concludedpreaching at Exeter Hall with these three
words, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” And I think I will conclude my sermonof this
morning with the same words, but not till I have spokento one poor forlorn
soul who is standing over there, wondering whether there is mercy for him.

He says, “It is wellenough, sir, to say, ‘Look to Jesus,’but suppose you cannot
look? If your eyes are blind; what then?” Oh, my poor brother, turn your
restless eyeballs to the cross, and that light which gives light to them who see,
shall give eyesightto them who are blind! Oh, if you cannot believe this
morning, look and consider, and weighthe matter and in weighing and
reflecting you shall be helped to believe. He asks nothing of you. He bids you
now believe that He died for you. If today you feel yourselfa lost, guilty
sinner, all He asks is that you would believe on Him. That is to say, trust Him,
confide in Him. Is it not little He asks? And yet, it is more than any of us are
prepared to give unless the Spirit has made us willing! Come, castyourselves
upon Him! Fall flat on His promise! Sink or swim, confide in Him and you
cannot guess the joy that you shall feelin that one instant that you believe on
Him! Were there not some of you impressedlast Sabbath, and you have been
anxious all the week? Oh, I hope I have brought a goodmessageto you this
morning for your comfort. “Look unto Me and be you saved, all the ends of
the earth,” says Christ, “for I am God and beside Me there is none else.” Look
now and looking you shall live! May every blessing rest upon you, and may
eachgo awayto think of that one personwhom we love, even Jesus—Jesus—
Jesus!
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Life's Experiences Turned To Manifold Uses
Psalm34:1-22
C. Clemance
There is no sufficient reasonfor severing this psalm from the detail of history
to which its title refers;and it is much to be wished that its writer had

uniformly turned his own experience to a use as wise as that which he here
urges upon others. But David's pen might be golden, though sometimes his
spirit was leaden; and we may study with greatadvantage the ideal of life
which he sets before us, learning from his experience how we may realize that
ideal, even though, in such a dimly lighted and corrupt age as his, he fell
beneath it. We, who have far more than David's privileges, ought to rise to a
level far beyond that to which he attained. Let us first note the experience
here recorded, and then see how varied are the uses to be made thereof.
I. HERE IS A TOUCHING RECORD OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCE.In many
respects it is such a one as thousands on thousands of God's people may have
passedthrough, and may be passing through now. If we number the points of
experience one by one, the preachermay expand such as may be most
appropriate to any ease orcases withwhich he may be dealing. Here is:
1. A first line of experience - man wanting help from God.
(1) Trouble. (Ver. 6.) A generalterm, yet conveying often the idea of strait-
ness, narrowness, andperplexity. This may arise from bodily weakness,
domestic trouble, personalbereavement, or any other of those manifold
causes ofanxiety to which we are liable.
(2) Fear. (Ver. 4.) The dread of the future is often a heavier care than the
distress of the present. How often would it be a greatrelief if we could see the
forthcoming issue of things! But this cannotbe. Hence fears arise, and we are
tempted to say, "I shall one day perish."
(3) Looking up. (Ver. 5.) We may, we can, look up above our weaknessand
helplessnessto One who is a "Stronghold in the day of trouble" (Psalm 61:2;
Psalm121:1). Note:It is a part of the high and holy education of the saints
that trouble teaches themto look up; and thus their whole natures become
elevated, as they feel and know that they belong to a higher world than this.
(4) Crying. (Ver. 6; see Psalm18:6.)In our darkesthours we know to whom
we speak (Psalm62:1). Howeverdark the night and lonely the path, the child
cannot help crying, "Father!" even when he cannotsee him.

(5) Seeking. (Ver. 4.) This is a prolongationof the cry. It indicates the attitude
of the soul, continuously directed towards the greatFriend and Helper.
(6) All this is in common with others. (Ver. 5.) "Theylooked," etc. Notone
alone, but millions, are at eachmoment looking up trustingly and hopefully,
awayfrom life's cares and sorrows, to him who ruleth over all. Hence we need
not wonderat:
2. A secondline of experience - God granting the help that is implored. As
there are six stages along the first, so are there six features of the second.
(1) The prayer is heard. (Vers. 4, 6.)Here is a grand field for exploration - the
Divine answers to prayer. To enumerate these would require volumes. The
saint may well store them up in his memory for the encouragementof
troubled ones afterwards. If we did but "give others the sunshine," and "tell
Jesus the rest," how rich would be the tokens ofmercy with which we should
rise from our knees!
(2) Angelic ministry is granted. (Ver. 7.) The existence and ministry of angels
are clearlyrevealedin the Word of God. Abraham; Jacob;Elijah; Daniel
(Hebrews 1:14; Psalm68:17). The phrase, "delivereth them" is equivalent to
"sets them free."
(3) Supplies are sent. (Vers. 9, 10.)It is one of the testimonies most frequently
given to those who visit God's people in trouble, that supplies are sent to them
exactly as they require them (Psalm37:25).
(4) Deliverance is sentdown. (Vers. 4, 7.) God, in trouble, makes and shows "a
way of escape."The dart has been turned aside just as it has seemedto be on
the point of striking.
(5) The face has been brightened. (Ver. 5.) The anxious look departs when
help comes;a lightened heart makes a brightened face.
(6) Consequently, it is proved that those who waiton God will not be put to
shame. (Ver. 5, RevisedVersion.) No! it cannot be. The covenant of God's
promise is "orderedin all things, and sure." Not from one alone, but from a
greatmultitude which no man can number, will the testimony come. "Notone

thing hath failed of all that the Lord hath spoken." "Thus saiththe Lord,
They shall not be ashamedthat wait for me."
II. THESE VARIED EXPERIENCESOF LIFE ARE HERE TURNED TO
MANIFOLD USES.
1. Towards God. (Vers. 1, 2.) The psalmist vows that, having such manifold
proof of what Godis to him, and of his faithfulness to all his promises, his life
shall be a perpetual song of praise; that he will make his boast in God's
goodness andgrace, so that those who have, like him, been in the depths of
affliction, may also, like him, be brought forth into a wealthy place. Note:
Deliverances broughtabout in answerto prayer should be followed by long-
continued and grateful praise.
2. Towards the saints. The psalmist
(1) exhorts the saints to join him in thankful song (ver. 3).
(2) He bids them try for themselves how goodthe Lord is (ver. 8), and he
would have them know the blessedness ofthose who trust in him (ver. 8).
(3) He bids them loyally obey their God: this is what is meant by the word
"fear" in ver. 9: not a fear of dread or of servility, but of loyal and obedient
reverence. Note:However severe the pressure or greatthe trouble, we never
need depart from the strict line of obedience to God.
(4) He assures them that no loyal souls shall ever be deserted (vers. 9, 10). God
will see to it that his faithful ones have all needful supplies.
3. Towards allwho have life before them. (Vers. 11, 12.)
(1) He invites the young to come and listen to him, as out of the depths of his
own experience he would show them the value of a godly life.
(2) He propounds a question, which may well evoke a response in many a
young aspiring heart (ver. 12). See the use to which the Apostle Peterputs this
passage(1 Peter3:10-16).

(3) He gives a clearand definite answer, directing them how to governthe lips
and the feet. The lips are to shun guile, and to speak peace andtruth. The feet
are to avoid evil, and to press after righteousness.
(4) He lays down for them a number of axiomata, which may well be their
guide through life.
(a) That the Lord does hear and answerprayer (vers. 15,17-20). The
experience of the faithful gives an overwhelming amount of proof of this.
(b) That in pressing on in life, they will find God's judgments abroad in the
earth, making a distinction betweenthose who serve him and those who serve
him not; rewarding one and condemning the other (ver. 21, RevisedVersion).
(c) That Divine deliverances will compass the righteous around (ver. 22,
RevisedVersion). Loyal souls will ever be receiving new proofs of the
goodness ofthe Lord, and of the blessedness ofsuch as put their trust in him!
"The wickedflee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a
lion!" Note:
1. Amid all the changefulcurrents of human thought and sentiment, there are
ever, ever, in all ages, climes, andlands, these two greatlines of indisputable
fact (vers. 15, 16), to which we do well to take heed - that the Lord is on the
side of good, and that "the face of the Lord is againstthem that do evil." No
perplexity in the mazes of metaphysicalor theologicalcontroversyoughtever
to concealorobscure These plain facts from view.
2. It behoves the young to profit by the experience of the old; for, though no
two experiences are preciselythe same in all details, and though eachone
must bear his ownburden, yet the lives of our fathers, as rehearsedto us by
them, do set forth clearlyand distinctly certain greatprinciples according to
which God governed and guided them - principles which are the same in every
age, and which we cannot ignore, save at imminent peril both for the life that
now is, and for that which is to come.
3. It behoves us to treasure up the experiences of life, to recount and to record
them for the use and help of those who have yet to setout on life's journey.
We know not how our young ones may be exposedin life. Gladly would we

give them the constantscreenofhome. But that cannotbe. Out into the world
they must go. With God's Spirit in their hearts, they are safe anywhere.
Without God, they are safe nowhere. We need not talk at them nor try to
preach religion obnoxiously to them; but we may, we can, we must, tell them
of our God and Saviour, telling them how he has helped us, and will help all
who follow him; that they, too, may "taste and see how goodthe Lord is"! - C.
Biblical Illustrator
They lookedunto Him and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed.
Psalm34:5
Goodauthority for a goodhope
James Wells.
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 lookedunto God
and were lightened. Consider —
I. THEIR EXPECTATION. "Theylookedunto Him." They did so under —
1. The deluge of sin. This universal; none ever escapedit. "We are all under
sin."
2. The deluge of death.
3. Jehovah's eternalwrath. None, by and of themselves, canescape either. But
Jesus said, "Lo, I come," and He hath rolled back the waters ofeach, for all
them that look to Him.
4. Bondage. Israelwas 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.)
Looking unto Jesus
From the connectionwe are to understand the pronoun "Him" as referring to
the word "Lord" in the preceding verse. "Theylookedunto the Lord
Jehovah, and were lightened." But no man ever yet lookedto JehovahGod, as
He is in Himself, and found any comfort in Him, for "our God is a consuming
fire." The only way in which we can see Godis through the Mediator Jesus
Christ.
I. First, LOOK TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN .HIS LIFE. Here the
troubled saint will find the most to enlighten him. In the example, in the
patience, in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, there are stars of glory to cheerthe
midnight darkness of the sky of your tribulation. One glimpse at Him may
well suffice for all our toils while on the road. Cheeredby His voice, nerved by
His strength, we are prepared to do and suffer, even as He did, to the death.
We trust that those of you who are weary Christians will not forgetto "look
unto Him, and be lightened."
II. Come, then, poor, doubting, trembling sinners and saints — COME YE
NOW TO CALVARY'S CROSS. CertainI am, that if we lived more with
Jesus, were more like Jesus, andtrusted more to Jesus, doubts and fears
would be very scarce. "Theylookedunto Him, and were lightened."
III. And now I invite you to a glorious scene — CHRIST'S RESURRECTION.
You have lost, some of you, the dearestof your earthly relatives. There are
others under the constant fearof death. Come, come, behold Jesus Christ
risen! For remember, this is a greattruth — "Now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept."
IV. LOOK AT JESUS CHRIST ASCENDING INTO HEAVEN. You are
wrestling with spiritual enemies; you are at war to-day, and mayhap the

enemy has thrust sore at you, and you have been ready to fall; it is a marvel to
you that you have not turned like a cowardfrom the field. But tremble not,
your Masterwas more than conqueror, and so shall you be.
V. "LOOK UNTO HIM, AND BE LIGHTENED." See there He sits in
heaven, He has led captivity captive, and now sits at the right hand of God for
ever making intercessionforus. Like a greathigh priest of old, He stands with
outstretchedarms: there is majesty in His mien, for He is no mean, cringing
suppliant. If thou dost not succeed, He will; if thy intercessionbe unnoticed,
His cannotbe passedaway. Oh! be of good cheer, continue still thy
supplication. "Look unto Him, and be lightened."
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(5) Were lightened.—The Hebrew verb means properly “to flow,” but by a
natural process, as in the common phrases “streams of light,” “floods of
light,” acquired in Aramaic the sense of “shining.” Such must be its meaning
in Isaiah 60:5, almost the echo of the thought in the psalm, the thought of a
reflex of the Divine glory lighting up the face of those who in trouble seek
God. (Theodorethas “He who approaches God, receives the rays of
intellectual light.”) We naturally think of the dying Stephen.
As to the construction, the subjectmust either be supplied from Psalm 34:2,
or it must be general. The LXX. and Vulg. avoid the difficulty by changing to
the secondperson.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
34:1-10 If we hope to spend eternity in praising God, it is fit that we should
spend much of our time here in this work. He never said to any one, Seek ye

me in vain. David's prayers helped to silence his fears;many besides him have
lookedunto the Lord by faith and prayer, and it has wonderfully revived and
comforted them. When we look to the world, we are perplexed, and at a loss.
But on looking to Christ depends our whole salvation, and all things needful
thereunto do so also. This poor man, whom no man lookedupon with any
respect, or lookedafterwith any concern, was yet welcome to the throne of
grace;the Lord heard him, and savedhim out of all his troubles. The holy
angels minister to the saints, and stand for them againstthe powers of
darkness. All the glory be to the Lord of the angels. By taste and sight we both
make discoveries, andhave enjoyment; Taste and see God's goodness;take
notice of it, and take the comfort of it. He makes all truly blessedthat trust in
him. As to the things of the other world, they shall have grace sufficient for
the support of spiritual life. And as to this life, they shall have what is
necessaryfrom the hand of God. Paul had all, and abounded, because he was
content, Php 4:11-18. Those who trust to themselves, and think their own
efforts sufficient for them, shall want; but they shall be fed who trust in the
Lord. Those shallnot want, who with quietness work, and mind their own
business.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
They lookedunto him - That is, they who were with the psalmist. He was not
alone when he fled to Abimelech; and the meaning here is, that eachone of
those who were with him lookedto God, and found light and comfort in Him.
The psalmist seems to have had his thoughts here suddenly turned from
himself to those who were with him, and to have calledto his remembrance
how they "all" lookedto God in their troubles, and how they all found relief.
And were lightened - Or, "enlightened." They found light. Their faces, as we
should say, "brightened up," or they became cheerful. Their minds were
made calm, for they felt assuredthat God would protect them. Nothing could
better express what often occurs in the time of trouble, when the heart is sad,
and when the countenance is sorrowful - a dark cloud apparently having come
over all things - if one thus looks to God. The burden is removed from the
heart, and the countenance becomes radiantwith hope and joy. The margin
here, however, is, "They flowedunto him." The Hebrew word, ‫רהנ‬ nâhar,

means sometimes "to flow, to flow together," Isaiah2:2; Jeremiah31:12;
Jeremiah51:44; but it also means "to shine, to be bright;" and thence, "to be
cheered, to rejoice," Isaiah60:5. This is probably the idea here, for this
interpretation is better suited to the connectionin which the word occurs.
And their faces were not ashamed - That is, they were not ashamedof having
put their trust in God, or they were not disappointed. They had not occasion
to confess that it was a vain reliance, orthat they had been foolish in thus
trusting him. Compare Job 6:20, note; Psalm 22:5, note; Romans 9:33, note; 1
John 2:28, note. The idea here is, that they found God to be all that they
expectedor hoped that he would be. They had no cause to repent of what they
had done. What was true of them will be true of all who put their trust in God.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
5-7. God's favor to the pious generally, and to himself specially, is celebrated.
looked—withdesire for help.
lightened—or, "brightened," expressing joy, opposed to the downcastfeatures
of those who are ashamedor disappointed (Ps 25:2, 3).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
They looked; the humble, Psalm34:2; or they that fearhim, Psalm34:7, when
they were in distress. Or it is an indefinite expression.
Unto him; either,
1. Unto the Lord, expressedPsalm34:4, i.e. they sought and expected help
from him. Or rather,
2. Unto this poor man, as it follows, Psalm34:6, or unto David. So he speaks of
himself in the third person, which is usual. So the sense is, when I was

delivered, Psalm34:4, men lookedupon me with wonder and astonishment, as
one savedin a prodigious manner.
Lightened, i.e. comfortedand encouragedby my example. But these and the
foregoing words are by the ancient interpreters read imperatively, as an
exhortation to others, to whom he oft addressethhis speech, as Psalm
34:3,8,9,11.
Look unto him, ( with an eye of faith and prayer,) and be ye enlightened, i.e.
take comfort in the expectationof mercy from him. And then the last words
they render thus, and your, Heb. their, (but the change of persons is very
frequent in this book,)fear shall not be ashamed. Their faces were not
ashamed;they were not disappointed of their hope, but found relief, as I did.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
They lookedto him, and were lightened,.... That is, "the humble" ones, Psalm
34:2; and so this is a reasonwhy 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 goodthing; and they were "enlightened";so the Targum
renders it, "their faces were enlightened";as Jarchiand 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 wayof believing:
some render the word "and flowed" (l), as a river does, that is, to the Lord, as
in Jeremiah 31:12. So Kimchi and Ben Melechexplain the word; and it
denotes both the numbers of them that lookedup to the Lord in their distress,
and the swiftness of their motion to him, and their earnestnessand 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 lookedfor,
and what they hoped and believed they should have; namely, deliverance and
salvation, and so peace and pleasure.

(l) "et confluunt", Junius & Tremellius, Michaelis;"et instar fluvii irruerint",
Piscator, Amama; "etconfluxerunt", Gejerus.
Geneva Study Bible
They {d} lookedunto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not
ashamed.
(d) They will be bold to flee to you for help, when they see your mercies
toward me.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
5. They looked&c.]The subjectis to be supplied from the verb. They that
lookedunto him looked, and were brightened. The earnestgaze of faith and
confidence was not in vain. For the phrase cp. Isaiah31:1; and for illustration
see Numbers 21:9; Zechariah 12:10. The Heb. word for brightened is a rare
word, found in Isaiah 60:5 (R.V.); but this, not flowed unto him (A.V. marg.)
is the right sense. In most editions They flowed is wrongly marked as the
alternative to They looked. Forthe thought cp. Psalm36:9.
were not ashamed]R.V. shall never be confounded, lit. put to the blush with
disappointment: a word which has not met us before in the Psalter, but recurs
twice in Psalms 35. (Psalm 35:4; Psalm35:26), and elsewhere.
The reading of the Massoretic textgives a fair sense, but the ancient Versions
(except the Targum) readan imperative in the first clause, and your faces in
the second. We should then render, Look unto him and be brightened, that
your faces may not be confounded. This reading is in itself probable, and is
supported by grammaticalconsiderations. The connexionof thought in Psalm
34:5-6 will then be exactly the same as in Psalm 34:3-4;an invitation, followed
by the statementof a factwhich supports it.

5, 6. Such experience of Jehovah’s help is not limited to the Psalmist.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 5. - They lookedunto him, and were lightened; or, were brightened
(Hengstenberg);i.e. had their countenances lightedup and cheered. And their
faces were not ashamed. As they would have been if Godhad made no
response to their appeal (comp. Psalm 25:2, 3; Psalm 74:21).
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Accordingly, in this closing hexastich, the church acknowledgesHim as its
help, its shield, and its source of joy. Besides the passage before us, ‫הּכה‬ occurs
in only one other instance in the Psalter, viz., Psalm 106:13. This word, which
belongs to the group of words signifying hoping and waiting, is perhaps from
the root‫הח‬ (Arab. ḥk', ḥkâ, firmiter constringere sc. nodum), to be firm,
compact, like ‫הּוה‬ from ‫,הוה‬ to pull tight or fast, cf. the German harren (to
wait) and hart (hard, compact). In Psalm33:20 we still hear the echo of the
primary passageDeuteronomy33:29 (cf. Deuteronomy33:26). The emphasis,
as in Psalm115:9-11, rests upon ‫,הּוה‬ into which ‫,וו‬ in Psalm 33:21, puts this
thought, viz., He is the unlimited sphere, the inexhaustible matter, the
perennial spring of our joy. The second ‫ּכּכ‬ confirms this subjectively. His holy
Name is His church's ground of faith, of love, and of hope; for from thence
comes its salvation. It can boldly pray that the mercy of the Lord may be upon
it, for it waits upon Him, and man's waiting or hoping and God's giving are
reciprocallyconditioned. This is the meaning of the ‫.ּכהאנ‬ God is true to His
word. The Te Deum laudamus of Ambrose closes in the same way.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BARNES

Verse 5
They lookedunto him - That is, they who were with the psalmist. He was not
alone when he fled to Abimelech; and the meaning here is, that eachone of
those who were with him lookedto God, and found light and comfort in Him.
The psalmist seems to have had his thoughts here suddenly turned from
himself to those who were with him, and to have calledto his remembrance
how they “all” lookedto God in their troubles, and how they all found relief.
And were lightened - Or, “enlightened.” They found light. Their faces, as we
should say, “brightened up,” or they became cheerful. Their minds were made
calm, for they felt assuredthat God would protect them. Nothing could better
express what often occurs in the time of trouble, when the heart is sad, and
when the countenance is sorrowful - a dark cloud apparently having come
over all things - if one thus looks to God. The burden is removed from the
heart, and the countenance becomes radiantwith hope and joy. The margin
here, however, is, “They flowedunto him.” The Hebrew word, ‫רהנ‬ nâhar
means sometimes “to flow, to flow together,” Isaiah2:2; Jeremiah31:12;
Jeremiah51:44; but it also means “to shine, to be bright;” and thence, “to be
cheered, to rejoice,” Isaiah60:5. This is probably the idea here, for this
interpretation is better suited to the connectionin which the word occurs.
And their faces were not ashamed - That is, they were not ashamedof having
put their trust in God, or they were not disappointed. They had not occasion
to confess that it was a vain reliance, orthat they had been foolish in thus
trusting him. Compare Job 6:20, note; Psalm 22:5, note; Romans 9:33, note; 1
John 2:28, note. The idea here is, that they found God to be all that they
expectedor hoped that he would be. They had no cause to repent of what they
had done. What was true of them will be true of all who put their trust in God.
BRIAN BELL

Psalm34 8-12-15 Tasteand See that the Lord is GoodI. Slide1
Announce: A. Sorry for the 60 folks who showedup here lastweek. We were
at Rivoli’s. B. Slide2 RachelSmith will share for a little bit from the Brazil
team. Slide3 Alyssa Silva is going to share from the Tanzania team. II. Slide4
Intro: A. Remember when David had a changed behavior but a fixed heart?
(1 Sa.21:10-15)B. Fearof Saul temporarily replacedfaith in the Lord. Fearis
always the enemy of Faith. 1. So David flees 23 miles to the enemy city of
Gath. 2. Should be safe from Saul in Philistine area & maybe from friends
back home. 3. But Fearis always the enemy of Faith. To believe God, to rest
in the Word, to enjoy the promises of God is to conquer our fear. a) No
wonder when fear comes in the door...faithflies out the window. 4. Here we
have a goodman in bad company. Why did he go here? We hate to admit it
but sometimes a persecutedChristian gets better treatment from the enemies
of God’s people than from his own Christian friends. a) It was the king of
Judah who imprisoned Jeremiah & the king of Babylon who sethim free. b)
We glory in our wonderful gospelof love & mercy for the unsaved, but we
usually actas if we have no gospelfor the saint who has been tripped by the
devil!1 C. (11) David the king - Some King? He had no country, no queen, no
subjects, no friends. 1. All he had left was his self-respect...well, until that was
stripped awayalso when he fakedinsanity. a) What an undignified moment in
the life of a man who had been anointed by the spirit of God. How utterly
unworthy of his calling was his behavior. b) But, we can probably all think of
a time where we panickedin God’s will & found ourselves acting like a
complete fool. From national hero to madman. 1
1 Alan Redpath; The Making of the Man of God; pg.72
D.Frompats on the back, to looking over his back, because ofthe fear of
getting stabbed in the back. Israel’s MostWanted! 1. Now his enemies
discardedhim. Would God also abandon him? 2. It’s easyto lose 20-20
spiritual vision. Its easyto develop a spiritual squint, to see things in the
wrong perspective, & to start to panic. E. But I’m glad the bible turns the key
& opens the door to the inner shrine of this man’s life & shows us...a changed
behavior yes, but a fixed heart on God. (we’ll see in Ps.34)1. Don’t just
dismiss David as another casualty. We might be finished with him... but God
sure wasn’t. 2. Whateverhappened to David in Gath causedhim to

acknowledge the inadequacies of his own wisdom & brought him to a place
where he againplaced his confidence in the Lord. a) Let’s remember, It takes
a moment to make a convert; it takes a lifetime to manufacture a saint. 3.
Ps.56 was his prayer for God’s help. Ps.34 was his hymn of praise. 4. Ps.34
also shares that he did alot of praying while in Gath. See 34:4,6,15b,17,18.a)
He learned that the fear of the Lord conquers every other fear.
F. Slide5 Psalm 34 INTRO:It’s an acrostic. It’s a page from David’s diary.
It’s David’s lessonontrying to find protectionin his enemy. It’s David’s
personaltestimony of what God did for him when he found his heart crushed
G. Slide6 Title: Taste and See that the Lord is Good1. Outline: I Will Bless. I
Will Teach.
III. Slide7 I WILL BLESS (1-10)A. (1) Easiersaid than done. Really, bless
him at all times. [why I did intro, this isn’t king David lounging on his king
size fluffy bed in his palace]1. If we’re to praise Him at all times...it must be
important. a) But how, when you feelweak, or your body is rackedw/pain,
circumstances are difficult, watching a close friend go through a hard time? 2.
Yet, it’s what Jesus did before he went to Calvary...He sang, Mt.26:30.
2
3. Yet, it’s what Paul & Silas did in prison when their bodies hurt. Acts16:25
4. Praise magnifies the Lord (3) that’s why we should do it at all times. B. (6)
He calls himself, This poor man - just then he was. He just had to beg bread &
borrow a sword.
C. Slide8 (6-8) The Lord saves (6) keeps (7) & satisfies (8). 1. Saves - us not
from troubles, but out of. Big difference. 2. Keeps - Jude 24 Now to Him who
is able to keepyou from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the
presence ofHis glory with exceeding joy. 3. Satisfies -some of the experiences
of life tastes sour. Sometimes the cup handed to us is not one of sweetness but
of bitterness. Jesus had to drink a bitter cup. a) Do you know what makes the
bitter cup satisfying & sweet? It’s tasting the Lord in it. When you taste the
Lord in the experiences oflife, they becomes sweetin Him. b) Note:not taste
& see if the Lord is good...butthat He is! 4. An atheist was lecturing on the
unreasonablenessofsalvationjust by believing on Jesus. He then invited

anyone with a question to come the platform. Immediately a man, who before
his conversionhad been a notorious drunkard in the town, stepped up. W/o
asking a question he coollyand quietly peeledan orange and slowly beganto
eat it. The exasperatedatheistlecturer thundered out, “Man, stop your acting
foolish and tell me your question!” The man finished his orange and looking
him straight in the eye said, “Tellme, was this orange sweetor sour?” “How
should I know?” saidthe atheist. “I never tastedit.” “Then stop criticizing the
gospeluntil you too have tastedit. I have tastedit and know that it is the
powerof God which is able to transform a hell-bound drunkard into a saint.”
And pointing to his town’s folk he concluded, “And those can testify what it
has done for me. Don’t find fault with something you never tasted. Meeting
adjourned!” a) An atheist cannotfind God for the same reasonthat a thief
cannot find a policeman. Taste & see that the Lord IS Good!
3
IV. Slide9 I WILL TEACH (11-22)A. Slide10a (12-15)Vs.13-15seemto give 4
answers to the question in vs.12. 1. Control your tongue (13). 2. Slide10b
Depart from evil & do good(14a)- sow the seeds of goodness, you’ll reap the
fruit of goodness.3. Slide10c Seekpeace & pursue it (14b) don’t walk around
w/a revolver in your hand. 4. Slide10d Trust the Lord because He’s watching
you & His ears are open to their cry (15) a) His ears are open to their cry -
open means attentive to. He’s both watching you & He’s listening to you. B.
Slide11 (17,18)Is your heart hurting? Heartbroken, brokenheart, heartache?
We’ve all encountered...dashedhopes, smashedplans, a crushing experience.
1. Maybe you feel like a bird with a broken wing, an animal w/a brokenleg, a
woman w/a broken heart, a man w/a brokenpurpose. a) Slide12 You may
hide from man, but the greatLover of man meets you there. b) He comes. He
sits. He waits. Brokennessattracts God. c)It’s dark, you think you’re
deserted, but it’s not so...Godis there. God is near. d) Call to Him...a whisper
will bring His response. 2. Slide13 Goodnews...Jesus was sentto heal the
broken hearted. Lk.4:18 3. What’s the secret? Give the Lord all the pieces &
He will heal you. C. Slide14a (22)Trust in Him...for what? 1. Trust in the
Lord with your frustrations (17). Trouble = to be in a bind, frustrated. a)
Sometimes we bring trouble on ourselves, as Daviddid here. b) Sometimes
other people cause our trouble, as Saul did for David. c) Sometimes we have

troubles because Godknows we need them. (1) We need to pray for His help
& trust the Lord with your frustrations. 2. Slide14b Trust in the Lord with
your feelings (18). David was repenting because ofhis sin & his heart was
broken. God respects that attitude of heart. 4
3. Slide14c Trustin the Lord with your future (20). Guard = to exercise great
care over, to protect. a) When Jesus was onthe cross, the devil was doing his
worse, yet he could only do what Godpermitted. (couldn’t break His bones).
b) God was guarding His own Son, & He will guard us. 4. Slide14dTrust in
the Lord with your foes (21). Their own sin will slay them. Give your enemies
to the Lord. Let Him be their judge. 5. Slide14e Trust in the Lord with your
failures (22). Condemned=to be held guilty a) David sinned againstthe Lord
(the cause ofhis broken heart) but Godrescued& forgave him.
STEVEN COLE
Psalm34: Enjoying God and His Blessings
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A question that I often ask those who come to me for counselis, “Do you want
God’s blessing in your life?” On the surface, it sounds like a no-brainer.

“Duh! Of course I want God’s blessing in my life! Do you think I’m stupid, or
what?” But answering yes to that question commits you to an often-difficult
way of life. God does not bless those that ignore His commandments and live
to please themselves. He blesses those thatfear Him and walk in His ways,
turning from their sins. Now, do you really want God’s blessing in your life?
David did. In spite of his many failures and sometimes flagrantsins, he kept
coming back to the Lord, repenting of his sins, and seeking Godas his chief
joy and treasure. David wasn’t just, as so many do, trying to milk God for His
blessings, but continuing to live for his own selfish ends. Rather, David saw
God Himself as the supreme blessing. He would agree with what Asaph wrote
(Ps. 73:25), “Whom have I in heavenbut You? And besides You, I desire
nothing on earth.” In Psalm34, David tells us how to enjoy God and His
blessings:
To enjoy God and His blessings, seekHim for salvation, fear Him, and walk in
His ways.
Psalm34 is an acrostic, with eachverse beginning with a successive letterof
the Hebrew alphabet. Interestingly, as in Psalm25, one letter (vav) is missing
and the final verse interrupts the sequence, thus making it stand out for
emphasis. As with all acrostics, the outline is not as clearas in some other
psalms. Derek Kidner (Psalms 1-72 [IVP], pp. 138, 140)outlines it broadly as,
“Rejoicewith me” (vv. 1-10)and “Learn from me” (vv. 11-22). The first
sectionis David’s testimony; the secondsectionis his teaching. Addressing his
audience as “children” (34:11) was a common way for Hebrew teachers to
address their pupils.
The psalm comes out of an embarrassing incident in David’s life. He was
running from King Saul, who was seeking to kill him. He came famished to
Ahimelech the priest, who gave him and his men the consecratedbread. David
also took Goliath’s sword, which had been stored at the Tabernacle. An
informant told Saul where David was at, so he had to flee again. This time,
perhaps in panic, he fled from Israeli territory and went to Achish, the
Philistine king of Gath. It’s rather bizarre, because Gathwas the hometown of
Goliath, whom David had killed! So here is David, carrying Goliath’s sword

(which could hardly be camouflaged!), showing up in Goliath’s town! Achish,
by the way, is referred to in the Psalminscription as Abimelech, which was a
dynastic title for Philistine kings (it means, “my father is king”), much as
Pharaohwas a title for Egyptian kings.
David wasn’t long in Gath before the servants of Achish said, “Isn’t this
David, of whom the Israelis sing, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his
ten thousands?’” (See 1 Sam. 21:11.)So, fearing that he had jumped from the
frying pan into the fire, David panicked. He decided to actlike an insane man,
scribbling on the city gate and drooling into his beard. Achish fell for the ruse.
He sarcasticallyaskedhis men (1 Sam. 21:15), “Do I lack madmen, that you
have brought this one into my presence?”And so by his deception, David was
enabled to escape. Buthis acting like a madman had dishonored God in front
of these pagans.
But then he wrote this psalm, praising God for his deliverance and
denouncing deception(Ps. 34:13). What’s going on here? It seems that in
reflecting back later on this close escapefrom death, David realizedthat in
spite of his failure, God had been gracious in rescuing him anyway. True,
David had been in a very tight spot, but that did not justify his deception. He
actually continued this pattern of deception with Achish, convincing him that
he was raiding Israelivillages, when he actually was slaughtering off the
inhabitants of the land (1 Sam. 27:8-12). This almost resulted in David’s being
forcedto go into battle with the Philistines againsthis owncountrymen. It also
resulted in the capture of David’s and his men’s wives and property, so that
his ownmen were talking of stoning him (1 Sam. 30:6).
So sometime after David recoveredfrom all of these difficult trials causedby
his ownpanic and deception, he penned Psalm34. He realizes now that
deceptionand evil are not the wayto the goodlife. Rather, seeking Godfor
deliverance, fearing Him, and walking in His ways are the way to enjoy God
and His blessings.
Even some conservative commentators have said that the psalm does not bear
any resemblance to the circumstances alludedto in the title. But there are
connections that can be made. In verses 4-6 David alludes to the extreme

danger that he was in. Some may ask, “How canhe say that he cried out to the
Lord for deliverance when he was using deception to getout of this jam?” The
answeris that he did both. It is rare, especiallyfor younger believers, to be
completely pure in our methods, especiallywhen we’re in a sudden crisis. So
the psalm is a testimony to God’s grace in bearing with our weaknesses. This
does not justify our sin, but it does magnify God’s grace towards his weak
children.
Further allusions to David’s situation include verse 7, which pictures the angel
of the Lord guarding David’s camp at the cave of Adullam, where he fled
from Achish. Verse 10 refers to the lions that inhabited the area. Some
commentators take this as a poetic reference to powerful, rapacious human
leaders. But it would be natural for David to refer to the hungry lions that he
saw around him, contrasting them with God’s care for him and his men.
Verses 13 and 18 reflectDavid’s later repentance as he thought back on his
panickeduse of deception. And, verse 20 reflects David’s safe escape fromthe
Philistines. He was probably handled roughly, but he gotawaywith no broken
bones.
We candraw four practical lessons fromthis psalm:
1. The life that God blesses is not free from extreme trials.
This is a psalm about close escapes from death. We see this in the psalm title.
It is also evident in verses 6 & 7 and 17 & 19. Verse 19 states plainly, “Many
are the afflictions of the righteous….” I bring this up because I often
encounter Christians who think, “I trusted in Christ as my Saviorand I’m
trying to follow Him. So why am I having all of these trials?” They mistakenly
think that following Christ means that He puts a protective shield around you,
so that trials just glance off. But Paul told the young converts in the churches
he founded (Acts 14:22), “Throughmany tribulations we must enter the
kingdom of God.” Peter wrote to a suffering church (1 Pet. 4:12), “Beloved, do
not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for
your testing, as if some strange thing were happening to you.” Note three
things:
A. Some trials are due to our own sins and shortcomings.

We have alreadyseenthis with David. He may have fled to Achish in panic
without pausing to seek the Lord. His later trials when his and his men’s
families and possessions were takenwere a direct result of his wrongful
thinking that he would perish at the hand of Saul (1 Sam. 27:1). Later, David
watchedhis ownfamily fall apart and his kingdom go through Absalom’s
rebellion as the consequence ofhis sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12). He also
saw many in his kingdom die as a direct consequence ofhis sin in numbering
the people (2 Sam. 24:10-17).
The important lessonis to learn how to respond when God brings into your
life these consequences foryour sins. It’s easyto minimize your own
responsibility for the sins by blaming others or by excusing yourself, and then
to get angry at God. You canthink, “What I did was no worse than what
everyone else does. Besides,if I hadn’t been provoked, I wouldn’t have done
this. So it’s not fair for God to discipline me when others do far worse and get
awaywith it.”
Or, you can humble yourself before God, as David did, with a brokenhearted,
contrite spirit (Ps. 34:18). You can submit to God’s dealings with you, as
difficult as they are (2 Sam. 16:5-13).
B. Some trials are due to the sins of others againstus.
David got into this jam with Achish and the Philistines because Saulwas
wrongly trying to kill him. David had done nothing to undermine Saul’s
authority or leadership. He had been loyal to Saul, serving him as a son. And
yet Saulwas insanely jealous of David and was trying to kill him.
Again, it is important how you respond when someone else has sinned against
you in a terrible way. Perhaps your father molestedyou. Or your parents may
have abused you verbally and physically. Or, a trusted friend betrayed you.
Or, you were sabotagedat work by unscrupulous co-workerswho gotyou
fired, even though you were a conscientious, hardworker. Do you take refuge
in the Lord and pray for those that wrongedyou? Do you recognize that if
God had not been gracious to you, you would be acting just as they actedor
worse? Whenwe’re sinned against, we need to be very careful not to sin in
reaction.

C. When we turn to the Lord in our trials, He canuse even our past sins for
His holy purposes.
This is not in any way to say, “Let’s sin so that grace may increase” (Rom.
6:1)! Rather, it is to recognize that God is the God of the second(and third
and fourth) chance. The Bible is full of stories of those whose disobedience
God used to teachus and to further His holy purposes. Here is David,
teaching us not to use deceptionas he did. Jacob’s storyshows us the same
thing. Jonah’s story shows us God’s grace in using the disobedient prophet.
Peter’s denials and restorationhave encouragedmostof us when we have
failed the Lord.
So whether your trials are due to your own sin or to the sin of others against
you or due to living in a fallen world, don’t let those trials cause you to turn
awayfrom the Lord in bitterness. Rather, let them push you to the Lord for
deliverance and grace.
2. Our trials should drive us to the end of ourselves so that we seek the Lord
for salvationas we fearHim and learn to walk in His ways.
We canbreak this down into four components:
A. To come to the end of ourselves, we must be brokenheartedand contrite
over our sins.
David is boasting here (34:2), but not in himself. He is boasting in the Lord,
which means that he recognizes that he is the objectof God’s undeserved
favor (see 1 Cor. 1:26-31). As a result, the humble (those who also recognize
that they are recipients of grace)will rejoice with him as he tells of God’s
deliverance. So David concludes (34:18), “The Lord is near to the
brokenheartedand saves those who are crushedin spirit.”
John Bunyan wrote an entire book titled, The Acceptable Sacrifice, orThe
Excellencyof a BrokenHeart (in his Works [Baker], 1:685-720;also,
published separatelyby Bannerof Truth). I cannotrecommend it highly
enough! (I put a page full of quotes on the back of today’s bulletin and also on
the church web site.) Bunyan goes into greatdetail to spell out what a broken
heart and a contrite spirit consistof, so that we can evaluate our ownhearts

before God to make sure that we are brokenand contrite. While we grow in
brokenness before the Lord over time, if we have never been broken and
contrite before Him, we are not truly saved.
While I cannot begin to condense all of Bunyan’s gems into one sermon, let
alone one paragraph, let me summarize how he explains the two terms,
broken and contrite. To have your heart broken means “to have it lamed,
disabled, and takenoff by sense ofGod’s wrath due to sin, from that course of
life it formerly was conversantin” (1:695). As for a contrite spirit, it “is a
penitent one; one sorelygrieved, and deeply sorrowful, for the sins it has
committed againstGod, and to the damage of the soul” (ibid.).
Further, the brokenheartedman sees himself to be a poor man, as David here
acknowledgeshimselfto be (34:6). Jesus pickedup on this theme when He
said (Matt. 5:3-4), “Blessedare the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessedare those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Bunyan’s treatise is primarily basedon David’s cry after his sin with
Bathsheba (Ps. 51:17), “The sacrifices ofGod are a broken spirit; a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Isaiahalso writes abouta
broken and contrite heart (57:15): “Forthus says the high and exaltedOne
who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and
also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the
lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” If you need reviving, it begins
with a broken and contrite heart! (See also, Isa. 61:1;66:2.)
B. Our brokenness shoulddrive us to seek the Lord for salvationand take
refuge in Him.
Until you realize that you are brokenbeyond your own ability to fix, you will
not cry out to God for salvation from your sin. As long as you think that your
own goodnessorworks will getyour life put back together, you will not see
yourself as a poor man (or woman), crying out to God to save you (34:6). As
God opens your eyes to the seriousnessofyour sin, let it drive you to the cross
for God’s salvation. Although David may have hid in a cave from Saul and
from the Philistines, in his heart he was hiding in God as his refuge (34:8). Are

you? Have you come to the place of feeling broken and crushed by your sin, so
that you have cried out to Godto save you through Jesus and His shed blood?
C. To experience God’s salvation, we must fear Him.
David feared Saul and he fearedthe Philistines. But he testifies (34:4), “I
sought the Lord, and He answeredme, and delivered me from all my fears.”
He goes on to state (34:7), “The angelof the Lord encamps around those who
fear Him, and rescues them.” Further (34:9), “O fearthe Lord, you His saints;
for to those who fear Him there is no want.” Again (34:11), “Come, you
children, listen to me; I will teachyou the fear of the Lord.” Fearing God is
inextricably bound up with experiencing His salvation.
I read somewhere lastyearthat a professorat a Christian college mentioned
fearing God in his classroom. He said it expecting that all the students would
agree that we are to fear God. But he was stunned when they all vigorously
disagreedthat as Christians we should fear God! They argued that God’s love
excludes all need to fear Him! While it is true that perfect love casts out the
fear of punishment (1 John 4:18), it is also abundantly clearthat we are
always to fear God in the sense of bowing in reverent awe before Him. Even
the saints need to be exhorted to fear God (Ps. 34:9)! If you do not fear Him,
you will not take refuge in Him.
D. To fear the Lord is to live in obedience to Him.
Throughout this psalm, there is an emphasis on being righteous, which means,
to obey the Lord. David addresses his readers as “saints” (or, “holy ones”),
which is somewhatunusual in the Old Testament(Willem VanGemeren,
Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. by Frank Gaebelein[Zondervan], 5:284).
He exhorts us to “depart from evil and do good” (34:14). He assures us (34:15)
that “the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to
their cry.” Mostscholars also take verse 17 to be referring to the cry of the
righteous (the Hebrew word “righteous” is lacking). He also mentions the
righteous in verses 19 & 21.
By contrast, David states (34:16), “The face ofthe Lord is againstevildoers, to
cut off the memory of them from the earth.” Further (34:21), “Evil shall slay

the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.” So either
God’s eyes are towards us favorably because we obeyHim (34:15), or His face
is againstus because we disobeyHim (34:16, 21). At the root of obeying the
Lord is fearing Him. As Proverbs 8:13 states, “The fearof the Lord is to hate
evil.” Fearing Him leads to obeying Him, which leads to enjoying God and
experiencing His blessings.
3. When we experience God’s blessings, He expects us to share it with others
and to invite them to experience God’s blessings, too.
The entire psalm repeats the theme, “I’ve receivedGod’s blessings;you can,
too!” Verse 3, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name
together.” In verses 4-10, the idea is, “Godrescuedme; He can rescue you,
too!” Thus, the invitation (34:8), “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how
blessedis the man who takes refuge in Him!” Don’t just look on, wishing that
my blessings were yours. Taste the Lord’s goodness yourself!Prove in your
own experience that the Lord saves all that take refuge in Him. Or, again,
basedon David’s experience of not being in want of any goodthing (34:10), he
invites his readers to listen as he teaches them about the truly goodlife (34:11,
12).
Praise is bestwhen it is shared. Have you ever stoodalone at the rim of the
Grand Canyon, admiring the spectacularview, when a strangerwalks up? It’s
hard not to say, “Isn’t this amazing!” Why? Because praise is meant to be
shared. In verse 5, David says that those that lookedto the Lord were radiant.
The Hebrew word is used (Isa. 60:5) of a mother’s face lighting up with joy
when her children, given up for lost, return home. She can’t hide her delight.
When you’ve experiencedGod’s salvation, your face should be radiant when
you think about your Savior! And you should want to share your praise with
others in joyful song.
But the psalm states that God delivers the righteous from all of his afflictions
(34:19). “He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken” (34:20). John
(19:36) cites this verse (or Exod. 12:46)as applying to Jesus not having His
legs brokenon the cross. Yet Jesus was not delivered; He died. We all know of
many of God’s faithful servants who have not been delivered from all of their

afflictions. Many have not only had their bones broken, but they have been
brutally killed for the gospel. Thus we must considera final point:
4. The ultimate experience ofGod’s blessing and salvationwill not be in this
life, but in the life to come.
The final verses (19-22)must find their ultimate fulfillment beyond death,
when God will finally justify His servants and condemn the wicked. These
verses make obvious what the Bible clearly teaches throughout, that there is a
greatdivide betweenthose whom God redeems and those whom Godwill
condemn. The Hebrew word for “condemned” (34:21, 22) means to bear one’s
guilt (Kidner, p. 141). It is the opposite of being justified. “Those who hate the
righteous will be condemned” (34:21b). “None of those who take refuge in
Him will be condemned” (34:22b). Those are the only options! Make sure that
you’ve takenrefuge in Jesus Christ! “Therefore there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
Critics scoff, “That’s just pie in the sky when you die!” My response is, what
will you have in the sky when you die? We’re all going to die. The question is,
where will you spend eternity? If Jesus is not bodily risen from the dead, you
don’t need to worry about it, because there is no eternity (1 Cor. 15:12-19).
But if He is risen, you had better make sure that He has redeemed your soul
and rescuedyou from God’s righteous judgment!
Conclusion
So, how many of you want God’s blessing in your life? No, don’t raise your
hands. Rather, repent of your sins. Ask God for a broken and contrite heart.
Cry out to Jesus forsalvation. Then, live by fearing Him and walking in His
ways. You’ll be blessed!
Application Questions
Why do so many Christians think that following Christ brings exemption
from trials? Why is this view spiritually dangerous?
How does a person who lacks a brokenand contrite heart get one? How would
you counselsuch a person?

Why do so few Christians live in the fearof God? Have we over-emphasized
His love?
Why is it not a cop-out to say that our final blessing and salvationonly comes
in heaven?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2009,All Rights Reserved.
CHRISTIANS OF THE SHINING FACE
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Psalm34:1-8
12-1-63 7:30 p.m.
On the radio you are sharing the services ofthe First Baptist Church in
Dallas, and this is the pastor bringing the evening message entitledChristians
of the Shining Face, orThe Road to Radiance. In your Bible turn to Psalm 34,
Psalm34; and if your neighbor does not have his Bible, share yours with him.
Psalm34, and let us read togetherthe first eight verses. Psalm34, the first
eight verses, all of us, all of us reading it out loud together. Psalm34, the first
eight verses, now together:
I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soulshall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and
be glad.

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
They lookedunto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not
ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and savedhim out of all his
troubles.
The angelof the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and
delivereth them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessedis the man that trusteth in Him.
[Psalm 34:1-8]
My text, Psalm34:5, “They lookedunto Him, and were radiant.” The King
James Versiontranslates the Hebrew word “lightened, brightened, glorified.”
The American RevisedVersion of 1901 translates it “radiant”; and that is as
beautiful and as meaningful a translation as anyone could suggest. And what
a glorious characterizationof that soul that looks to God: “They lookedunto
Him, and were radiant” [Psalm34:5]; Christians of the Shining Face.
A little waif was carried into a hospital and for the first time heard the story
of the birth and coming of Jesus. Afterhe heard it, such a marvelous message
of goodnews, a nurse walkedinto the room, and the little waif lookedather,
and said, “Have you heard of the story of Jesus? Youlook as though you
hadn’t.” And the nurse said to the little fellow, “Why, why, how do I look?”
And he replied, “Kind of glum.” Oh! Howeverand whateverthe depths of
our sorrows, andsometimes the almost unfathomable reaches ofour despair,
yet the Christian, the child of God ought always to reflect the glory of the faith
of the Lord in his soul. His face ought to shine. His heart ought to be lifted
up. And his soul ought to exalt in God. “O magnify the Lord with me, and let
us exalt His name together” [Psalm34:3]; Christians of the shining face.

These who have been with the Lord do shine, unconsciouslythey shine. After
Moses hadspokenwith the Lord on top of Mount Sinai, he came down, and
those in the camp waiting for the presence ofthe lawgiverhad to hide their
eyes from the glory of God that shone in the face of Moses. “He wistnot,” the
Bible says, “that the skin of his face shined” [Exodus 34:29-35]. He had been
with the Lord.
On top of Mount Transfiguration, the Book says thatthe face of our Lord
turned like the brightness of the sun, and His garments like the whiteness of
the brightness of light [Matthew 17:2]. “ForGod, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge ofthe glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” [2 Corinthians 4:6].
“And we all, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changedinto
the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” [2
Corinthians 3:18]; Christians of the shining face.
I tell you truly, and I exaggerate not, I tell you truly, that these who are with
God, who live in the presence ofJesus, somehow shine in their souls, in their
eyes, and in their lives. Whateverkinds of people they are, and however
strange and unusual and different, and whatevertheir backgrounds, if they
have been with Jesus, they shine. “Theylookedunto Him, and were radiant”
[Psalm 34:5].
When I was a youth, I was walking down the streets ofChicago;and in a slum
sectionin the heart of the city, I heard singing. I crossedthe street. There
was a mission there. I walkedin and satdown. I never saw such a motley
group in my life, nor had I ever seensuch a service as they were having.
There was a presiding officerup there. He was taking charge of the service.
They didn’t have any preacher, didn’t have any singer—I don’t know how
they could get along without us, don’t know how they could have a service—
but they had the most unusual kind of one. Everybody there and it seemedto
me they were all about fifty or sixty, everybody there had a song he wanted to
sing, he had a poem about Jesus he wanted to read, he had a passageof
Scripture that he wantedto quote, he had some kind of a testimony that he
wanted to give. And the service followedthat way.

They were the derelicts of life. They were the flotsamand jetsam of
humanity. They were the funniest looking people I ever saw in my life and
spoke with the strangestbrogue. But when they sang their songs, and when
they testified their witness, and when they quoted their Scriptures, their faces
shined! They had been saved! “Theylookedunto Him, and were radiant”
[Psalm 34:5].
In preparing the sermon for tonight, I read a story told by Dr. Ironside of the
Moody Church in Chicago. He said, “I was walking up MarketStreetin San
Francisco upon a day, long time ago, and across the streetfrom me the
SalvationArmy was conducting a service. And they had a rather large group
around them. So I walkedacrossthe street to share in the service.” And he
said, “I made my wayup to the SalvationArmy band, and the captain
recognizedme, and said, ‘Dr. Ironside, welcome. Come up here and stand on
the curb and give your testimony for Jesus.’” So the preachertook his place
on the curb, and began to tell the folks on the streetwhat Jesus had done for
him.
And while he was speaking, there was a distinguished looking man standing
there in the streetlistening to his testimony, who reachedinto his pocketand
took out a personalcard, and on the back of it wrote something, and walked
through the crowdand handed it to the preacherwhen he got through his
testimony. First the preacher lookedatthe card, and he recognizedthe name
of the man; an illustrious man, a man whose name he’d seenoften in the
press. He recognizedthe name of the man, and he turned it over, and the card
challengedthe preacher to a debate the following Sunday afternoon at four
o’clock in the Academy of Science Hall, all expenses to be paid by the man.
And they were to debate the subject, “Infidelity: Agnosticismversus
Christianity.”
Well, as the preacherheld the card and lookedat the distinguished gentleman,
he announced it to the people on the street:“I have been challengedto a
debate next Sunday afternoon, four o’clock, in the Academy Science Hall, on
the subject‘Agnosticism versus Christianity.’ Now,” saidthe preacher, “I
will be happy to acceptthis challenge under one condition: first, I want the
illustrious gentlemanto bring with him two witnesses. One, a man who has

been in the depths of sin and has been raisedto a glorious new life by the
gospelof agnosticismand infidelity; I want him to bring one man as a witness
and as a testifier to what agnosticismhas done for him, raising him up of the
miry pit and setting his feet on the rock.” Thenhe said, “I want the illustrious
gentleman to bring one other witness: I want him to bring a woman who has
fallen into the mire and filth and dirt of life, and who has been savedto a new
and a glorious redemptive purpose in the gospelofagnosticismand
infidelity.” Then he said, “My part will be, I shall come to the meeting at four
o’clock Sunday afternoon, and I shall bring a hundred witnesses withme who
have been in sin, and whom Christ has raisedto a glorious new life in Jesus.
Now,” he said to the gentleman, “will you acceptmy challenge, and I’ll meet
you next Sunday afternoonat four o’clock, one hundred witnesses forme, and
I ask only two for you?”
Why, you know what happened. The gentleman bowed out, bowed out,
bowed out. Where could you find anybody who had been savedout of a life of
sin and want and despair by the gospelof infidelity and agnosticism? Didyou
ever hear a song about it even? Where would anybody want to sing if he was
an infidel? But say, but say:when we hear the gospelofthe Son of God, and
our lives are blessedand changed, and our feet are set on the everlasting Rock
of Ages, who could but sing? “O magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt His
name together…Theylookedunto Him, and were radiant” [Psalm34:3, 5].
There is something saintly, saintly about the looks ofpeople who live in the
presence ofJesus.
I was reading in the life of Dr. Trumbull, Henry Clay Trumbull. I was
reading in the life of Dr. Trumbull. He was a boy born and reared in
Stonington, Connecticut. And in the long ago day, they had trains that came
to the seaportat Stonington; and at that place they caughtships that went
down to New York City. And the little boys in the town of Connecticut,
Stonington, used to play on the wharfs. They might see the face of some
famous man who was passing through, coming from or to New York City.
And this little boy, while he was playing on the wharf, this little boy saw a
man who had come through Stonington. And the little boy lookedat him in
wonder and in amazement. And the little fellow thought, “I believe I

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