The Lord Gives Light…

10 You who love the LORD, hate evil!

He preserves the souls of His saints;

He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is sown for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.—Psalm 97:10-12

There is so much in these few short verses!  

The upright in heart love God and obey Him. Their lives are devoted to doing His will and living for His glory.  Loving God means hating evil because our God is holy.  In God we rejoice and to God we give thanks. Our God protects us, preserves us and delivers us out of the hand of the wicked.  

Verse 11 is where my heart focused this morning.  The Lord gives us light for our path and puts gladness in our hearts.  My spirit testifies with the psalmist here. No matter what might be happening in the world or in the microcosm of my life, my heart can still rejoice and give thanks to His holy name.  My Beloved has accepted me. I belong to Him and Him to me.  My true home is in heaven with Him. 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.—Romans 8:18

As I read verse 11 these three verses came to mind. 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.—Ephesians 2:10

18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun,

That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;

They do not know what makes them stumble.—Proverbs 4:18

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.—Psalm 119:105

Warren Wiersbe says that the image in verse 11 is that of the sower. The Lord plants light like seeds so that His people will not always walk in darkness. Moreover, what He plants will eventually bear fruit.   

Beloved, the Light of Life shines on the believer’s path. He goes before us and is with us. His joy is our companion as we obey Him and walk in those works that He prepared beforehand. He will show us the path of life.  In His presence is fullness of joy and at His  right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"

Even the night shall be light about me;—Psalm 139:7-11