6037. 'After I have seen your face' means after the mercy has been discerned. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as discerning, dealt with above in 6032; and from the meaning of 'face', when used in reference to the Lord, as mercy, dealt with in 222, 223, 5585, 5816.

223. Since the Lord's face is mercy, peace, and all good, it is clear that He always looks with mercy on anybody, and never turns His face away from anybody. Instead it is man, when governed by evil, who turns away his face, as the Lord has said through Isaiah,

Your iniquities are what separate you from your God, and your sins what cause His face ¹ to hide from you. Isaiah 59:2.

Notas a pie de página: