Psalms 119:135
in Psalms 119Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; And teach me thy statutes.
KJV
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Wonderful are Your testimonies
on Psalms 119:129-136
The unfolding of the words gives light and informs the simple, so the light comes at the word's first opening. He asks for ordered steps and no sin ruling him. The last verse has tears running over a law men do not keep.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Show the light of Your countenance on Your servant, and teach me your statutes" [Psalm 119:135]: that is, manifest Your presence, by succouring and aiding me. "And teach me Your righteousnesses." Teach me to work them: as it is more plainly expressed elsewhere, "Teach me to do Your will." For they who hear, although they retain in their memories what they hear, are by no means to be considered to have learned, unless they do. For it is the word of Truth: "Every man that has heard and has learned of the Father, comes unto Me." [John 6:45] He therefore who obeys not in deed, that is, who comes not, has not learned.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
An ardent desire (compare Ps 56:1, 2) for spiritual enlightening, establishment in a right course, deliverance from the wicked, and evidence of God's favor is expressed I opened my mouth, and panted--as a traveller in a hot desert pants for the cooling breeze (Ps 63:1;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
"Make thy face to shine upon thy servant." Oppressors frown, but do thou smile. They darken my life, but do thou shine upon me, and all will be bright. The Psalmist again declares that he is God's servant, and he seeks for no favour from others, but only from his own Lord and Master. "And teach me thy statutes." This is the favour which he considers to be the shining of the face of God upon him.
"Make thy face to shine upon thy servant." Oppressors frown, but do thou smile. They darken my life, but do thou shine upon me, and all will be bright. The Psalmist again declares that he is God's servant, and he seeks for no favour from others, but only from his own Lord and Master. "And teach me thy statutes." This is the favour which he considers to be the shining of the face of God upon him. If the Lord will be exceeding gracious, and make him his favourite, he will ask no higher blessing than still to be taught the royal statutes. See how he craves after holiness; this is the choicest of all gems in his esteem. As we say among men that a good education is a great fortune, so to be taught of the Lord is a gift of special grace. The most favoured believer needs teaching; even when he walks in the light of God's countenance he has still to be taught the divine statutes or he will transgress.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Make thy face to shine - Give me a sense of thy approbation. Let me know, by the testimony of thy Spirit in my conscience, that thou art reconciled to me. The godly in all ages derived their happiness from a consciousness of the Divine favor. The witness of God’s spirit in the souls of believers was an essential principle in religion from the foundation of the world.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant - Hebrew, “Let thy face give light to thy servant.” See the notes at Psa 4:6. And teach me thy statutes - See the notes at Psa 119:12.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּ֭נֶיךָ | paneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֵ֣ר | haer | make shine | H215 → | 43 times |
| בְּעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ | beavdekha | on servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְ֝לַמְּדֵ֗נִי | velamedeni | and teach me | H3925 → | 85 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃ | chukeicha | decrees your | H2706 → | 127 times |
פָּ֭נֶיךָface your
paneikhaH6440 →2123 times
הָאֵ֣רmake shine
haerH215 →43 times
בְּעַבְדֶּ֑ךָon servant your
beavdekhaH5650 →799 times
וְ֝לַמְּדֵ֗נִיand teach me
velamedeniH3925 →85 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃decrees your
chukeichaH2706 →127 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 24:45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
it leads to
- Acts 16:14
Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
- 1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son…
- Psalms 119:18
Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
- 2 Corinthians 3:14–18
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Acts 16:14
Through
Psalms 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:19
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 6:26
may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
- Psalms 80:19
Through
Psalms 80:19Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:3
Restore us, O God, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 80:3
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).