Led By Light and Truth

Oh, send out Your light and truth!
  Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
  And to Your tabernacle.
Then I will go to the altar of God
  To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
  O God, my God.

(Psalm 43:3-4)

The psalm writer was desperate for the joy of the Lord. So he cried out to God that he might be led by Light and Truth, all the way into the dwelling place of the LORD.

David said that in the presence of the LORD there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). In another place he said,

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
  And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
  In Your light we see light.

(Psalm 36:7-9)

So in Psalms 42 and 43, the psalm writer longed for the house of the Lord, the tabernacle of the Most High. He was unsatisfied and he wanted to be abundantly satisfied, so he cried out for Light and Truth.

This has “Jesus” written all over it. For He is the fountain of life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). He is the Light which gives light to every person coming into the world (John 1:9). This light shines in the midst of the darkness and the darkness can NEVER swallow it up (John1:5).

Jesus is also the Truth. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). You see, truth is first of all a person—the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31).

Get into relationship with the Truth. Let His words abide in you. Then you will find yourself coming into an intimate, experiential knowledge of and personal relationship with the Truth. And when you do, you will find that you have come into a place of freedom.

“Send out Your light and truth, let them lead me.” That is what the light and truth of God does. That is what Jesus does. He leads us, shepherds us along the way we should go. When we follow Him, He will lead us to the tabernacle of the Lord, for He is Himself the Lord’s tabernacle. Jesus is the fully divine Son of God forever clothed in humanity. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ are now also the tabernacle of the Lord, the dwelling place of God. We are living stones being built up as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). We are the dwelling place of joy, for the LORD is our exceedingly great joy, and in His presence is fullness of joy. In His presence are pleasures forevermore, and He gives us to drink for the river of His pleasures. Everything else pales in comparison.