Psalm 50:2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Or "shall shine" {p}; the past for the future, as Kimchi observes; or "the perfection of the beauty of God hath shined out of Zion" {q}; that is, Christ; he is the perfection of beauty; he is fairer than the children of men; he is more glorious than the angels in heaven: as Mediator, he is full of grace and truth, which makes him very lovely and amiable to his people: he is the express image of his Father's person; and the glory of all the divine perfections is conspicuous in his work of salvation, as well as in himself: now as he was to come out of Zion,
Psalms 14:7; that is, not from the fort of Zion, or city of Jerusalem; for he was to be born at Bethlehem; only he was to be of the Jews, and spring from them; so he shone out, or his appearance and manifestation in Israel was like the rising sun; see Malachi 4:2; and the love and kindness of God in the mission and gift of him appeared and shone out in like manner, Titus 3:4; or else the Gospel may be meant, which has a beauty in it: it is a glorious Gospel, and holds forth the beauty and glory of Christ. All truth is lovely and amiable, especially evangelical truth: it has a divine beauty on it; it comes from God, and bears his impress; yea, it is a perfection of beauty: it contains a perfect plan of truth, and is able to make the man of God perfect; and this was to come out of Zion, Isaiah 2:3; and which great light first arose in Judea, and from thence shone out in the Gentile world, like the sun in all its lustre and glory, Titus 2:11; or, according to our version, "God hath shined out of Zion"; which, as Ben Melech on the text observes, is the perfection of beauty; see Lamentations 2:15; by which is meant the church under the Gospel dispensation, Hebrews 12:22; which, as in Gospel order, is exceeding beautiful; and as its members are adorned with the graces of the Spirit, by which they are all glorious within; and especially as they are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and so are perfectly comely through the comeliness he hath put upon them and here it is that Christ, who is the great God, and our Saviour, shines forth upon his people, grants his gracious presence, and manifests himself in his ordinances, to their great joy and pleasure.
{p} eymwh "emicabit", Tigurine version; "vel effulgebit", Vatablus; "illucescet", Amama, Grotius.
{q} So De Dieu.