Meditations from the Psalms.
Oh send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Thy holy hill,
And to Thy dwelling places.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And upon the lyre I shall praise Thee, O God, my God.
Ps 43:3-4
Years ago I was in a church where this was used as a song. Sometimes when you sing something over and over you lose sight of what the words really mean. So I decided to take some time to meditate on it.
I realize how much I love these verses.
I love the way His light and truth are to be the guiding forces of our lives, the things that draw us closer to the Father and into His presence.
Reflections on His Light.
Light illuminates. In my bedroom I have a wonky light that I’ve not fixed for a long time. It’s blue. When I turn it on, it is pretty useless. If it is completely dark in the room, I can see enough to not hit furniture. But I certainly can’t find anything or see clearly. God’s light is not like that. His light is like those daylight light bulbs. You turn one on and it’s like WOWZA! Just like being in the sunshine. When God illumines, He enables us to see everything, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Another thing that is so precious to me about God’s light is that it shines specifically. When He shines His light in my heart, it is more like a laser than a floodlight. He points it specifically on what I need to see. It is clear and accurate and very very pointed. I don’t become overwhelmed with everything else in the room. But I see the issue He is illuminating. I can deal with it, by His grace and tenderness.
His light guides me; it points the way to be closer, to live more intimately connected to Him. What a blessed gift His light is to us!
Re-learning new insights from old truths.
Truth. Such a controversial topic in today’s culture. Many reject that there are absolute truths. This breaks my heart because I see how desperately this ideology deceives and destroys. Knowing, seeking and following God’s truth has set me free, over and over and over again in my life.
- By it, I’ve sidestepped disaster and sin.
- Listening to it has given me wings to see myself as God sees me.
- Standing on it has, more times than I can count, lifted my heart heavenward.
God’s truth draws me to the True God; keeps me from following after foolishness and builds a deeper connection to Him than I could ever have imagined.
He woos my soul.
That He sends this dynamic duo, light and truth, out to draw us to Himself and give us the means to follow Him is so exciting to me! This is another picture of Him as the One who pursues us, who reaches out to us and draws us in. I see the Lover aspect of God in these verses, the One who woos us and calls us to be His own.
He is the heart of us and He IS our joy. This joy is not just being happy that things went our way today, but it’s deeper than we can see, hear or feel on the surface. It goes down to the very fabric of our souls and fills us from the inside out.
Praise is our response.
And just like anyone who is courted, we are called to respond to Him. Our response is to be one of praise –
- praise on the lyre
- praise in worship
- praise with the recognition that He is the core of who we are
- praise for the knowledge of who He is and who He calls us to be
- praise for the fullness of His love
- praise for the transformation of our souls
These 2 verses are sandwiched in between verses of oppression – but the hope that comes from them is so enormous and so freeing that my spirit soars at the thought.
I love the imagery of the scriptures, particularly the Psalms. I tend to think in pictures and the beauty of this picture gives me such joy and floods my heart with the freedom that He called us for and extends to us in our journey of faith, hand-in-hand, with Him.
Yes, He is the heart of us and He IS our joy!!
What is your response to His light and truth?
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