Light Is Available for Seekers

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!...O you who love the Lord, hate evil!  He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to His holy name!” –Psalm 97: 1, 10-12 (ESV).

I like the editorial addition later on in the process of bringing these Psalms to us in written/printed form of finding verses with the end punctuation being an exclamation mark.  This, to me, even if a later addition from the time the Psalmist wrote it, shows, nevertheless, the exuberance and excitement of the declarations the psalm bears.  Psalm 97 is a hymn celebrating God’s kingship over all, and how His universal rule assures victory over idol worship.  Therefore, the “light sown for the righteous’ is therefore assumed to be available for all who seek that light.  It only takes a turning and coming to the light, seeking it, for it to become a reality in the life of the believer.  How evangelical and all-encompassing is this invitation!  It sounds more like a New Testament message following the birth of Christ when His coming was the signal for all nations to come to the Lord.  But tucked away here in a Psalm is a very clear and cogent invitation to come to the light of His truth! 

The image intended is that God’s “light” (that is, His guidance and invitation) are scattered along the pathways people travel in this life and the light thus “sown” is available for all who seek it.  Not only is the light available, but when people come to the light, they know immediate joy.  The light being sown is indicated by “fire (that) burns up His adversaries all around”(v. 97:3) and “lightnings that light up the world” (97:4).  Reechoing Psalm 50:6 and Isaiah 40:5 that read “The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge,” and Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork,” we see how all nature joins to proclaim God’s glory and lead His people to experience the light He has sown about us in so many ways and in so many places.

I read how one family was making a “Thanksgiving Tree” on a wall in their dining room.  Weeks before Thanksgiving Day, each member of the family was encouraged to write on a colored leaf a specific “thanks” or item of gratitude and attach it to the branches of a tree attached to the wall.  On Thanksgiving Day, the family would have a time of gratitude when they individually and corporately gave thanks for the light He had shed abroad in their lives during the past year.  This leaf-offering of gratitude was so well enjoyed and received by the family that they made it a yearly tradition in November, making the whole month a time of giving sincere thanks.  And in addition, they had made a beautifully decorated tree in brilliant fall colors, each leaf proclaiming God’s goodness to some member of the family.

Lord, As we enjoy the beauty of physical light from the sun, the moon and the stars, which You have created and ordained for our light, help us to be more grateful for the light shed abroad in our lives by the Lord Jesus Christ, whom to know is joy and light and life!  Amen.