This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
The generation of them that seek - i:e., that seek to be among the true sons of Jacob, a seeker after God, and so a representative head of the Church. As to the "face" of Jacob, whom true Israelites look up to as a spiritual father, cf. Isaiah 29:22. But the parallelism of "seek Him" and "seek thy face, O Jacob," would hardly be theologically correct. For seeking Jacob, a man, though representing Church, cannot stand, on a similar footing with seeking God. Rather, 'This is the generation of them that reverence, Him; they that seek thy face, (O God, are) Jacob' - i:e., wrestling suppliants before Gods "face" (Genesis 32:30; Hosea 12:4). The Hebrew for the former "seek" is not the same as that for the latter. The first ( daarash (H1875)) means to diligently regard or reverence; the latter ( baaqash (H1245)) is to "seek." Others may be descendants of Jacob after the flesh; they alone are his true sons who, like him, are reverent seekers after God's face in the way of holiness (Romans 2:28). Margin, ellipsis is harsh, 'that seek thy face, (O God of) Jacob:' though 2 MSS. of Kennicott and the Syriac support it. The Arabic, Ethiopic, and the Septuagint read, 'that seek the face of the God of Jacob.' The English version may be retained with slight change-`This is the generation of them that reverently seek Him, that seek thy face (being the true) Jacob.' The sudden address to God, "that seek thy face," gives emphasis to the sentiment as declared before God Himself.