Psalms

Psalms 43: God leads His people to joy

Begin in prayer

Before we ask God to change what troubles us, let us seek His light and truth to guide our hearts. Pray that He would bring us to Jesus and teach us to find our joy in Him.

Many nations will go and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;

Micah 4:2

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word, and help us to see Christ. Show us that God leads His people by His light and truth and is Himself their exceeding joy. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The singer asks God to vindicate him and plead his cause against an ungodly nation and deceitful men. He calls God his strength while asking why he seems rejected and must mourn under enemy oppression. His plea then asks for God's light and truth to lead him to the holy hill and God's dwelling. He longs to come to the altar, where God Himself is his exceeding joy, and praise Him with the harp. He closes by telling his troubled soul to hope in God, whom he will yet praise as his Savior and helper.

As you read Psalms 43, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God sends His light and truth to lead His troubled people to Himself, their exceeding joy.

The plea for vindication brings a contested cause before God, asking Him to defend the wronged singer against deceit. Calling God his strength keeps trust alive within the question about rejection and continued mourning. Light and truth are pictured as guides sent by God, bringing the worshipper toward the place where He has set His presence. The holy hill is Zion, the place of the altar and gathered worship toward which the prayer reaches. The altar is the way toward the greater delight of meeting God, whom the singer calls his exceeding joy. Harp and praise express the worship he expects to offer when God brings him near. The refrain repeats the call heard in the previous psalm, joining honest distress to the command to hope. He still addresses the God he expects to praise, leaving his cause and his way back to worship in God's hands.

How does Psalm 43 show us that God sends His light and truth to lead His troubled people to Himself, their exceeding joy?

God can defend His people against deceit.

The singer brings his cause to the God he calls his strength. Enemy oppression still leaves him mourning and asking why he seems rejected. His plea trusts the Lord to judge and defend him.

God's light and truth lead His people to joy.

The singer asks God to send the guides that can bring him to the holy hill. His desire reaches through the altar to God Himself as his exceeding joy. That expected praise gives him reason to tell his troubled soul to hope.

Memorise

Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, To your tents.

Psalm 43:3

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what sorrow do I need to bring to Jesus so He can lead me?

The singer prays, “send out your light and your truth.” He wants them to lead him toward the God he calls his exceeding joy. His sorrow becomes a plea for God's guidance and a command to hope.

Our sin has turned us away from that holy joy. At the cross Jesus carried the judgment owed by His people, giving His own life in their place. God raised Him to life. The work Christ completed supplies everything needed for His people's welcome before the Father, giving troubled hearts a lasting reason for hope.

Turn from sin and trust Jesus. God gives forgiveness through His Son to every sinner who seeks Him in faith. Bring Him the sorrow or deceit that has disturbed your heart, and ask Him to guide you in His truth. God Himself remains the joy of His people in Christ, giving them hope for renewed praise.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God leads His people by His light and truth and is Himself their exceeding joy. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for sending His light and truth to lead His people to joy in Him. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

John 14:9

God of light and truth, please guide our troubled hearts toward You. Lead us to trust Jesus for forgiveness through His completed saving work. Defend those harmed by deceit, and teach us to speak truth. Renew the joy of Your people, and help us hope in You while we wait to praise. Amen.