Send Out Your Light
Psalm 43 summary: what it means
Psalm 43 is a short plea from someone who feels wronged and cut off from worship. It opens like a court case, asking God to vindicate the writer and plead his cause against an ungodly nation and deceitful men. Verse 2 holds the tension. God is the God of his strength, yet the writer feels rejected and goes about mourning under the enemy's oppression.
The turn is a request for guidance. He asks God to send out light and truth to lead him back to the holy hill, the altar and God himself, his exceeding joy. The last verse is spoken to his own soul. It asks why the soul is in despair and tells it to hope in God, because he will still praise him.
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Psalm 43: Send Out Your Light
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-43
Psalm 43 commentary: explained verse by verse
Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation.Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
The psalm opens with legal language. Vindicate me and plead my cause ask God to act as judge and advocate at once, against an ungodly nation and against deceitful and wicked men.
Also read Proverbs 22:23, Proverbs 23:11, Psalm 71:4, Psalm 35:24
For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Here the writer sets what he believes beside what he feels. God is the God of his strength, yet he asks why he has been rejected and why he goes mourning under oppression.
Also read Zechariah 10:12, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 31:4, Psalm 42:9
Oh, send out your light and your truth.Let them lead me.Let them bring me to your holy hill,to your tents.
O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
The request is for light and truth to act as guides. They are sent out to lead him to God's holy hill and to his tents, the place of worship.
Also read Psalm 42:4, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 132:13-14, Proverbs 3:5-6
Then I will go to the altar of God,to God, my exceeding joy.I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.
Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
The destination comes in stages: the altar, then God himself, called my exceeding joy. The verse ends with a promise to praise him on the harp.
Also read Romans 5:11, Psalm 26:6, Habakkuk 3:17-18, 2 Samuel 6:5
Why are you in despair, my soul?Why are you disturbed within me?Hope in God!For I shall still praise him:my Savior, my helper, and my God.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
The writer now speaks to himself. He asks his soul why it is in despair and disturbed, then gives it an instruction: hope in God. The reason is a settled future, I shall still praise him, followed by three names for God: Savior, helper and God.
Also read Psalm 42:5, Psalm 42:11
A prayer from Psalm 43
God, vindicate me and plead my cause. Deliver me from deceitful and wicked people. You are the God of my strength, yet I feel rejected, and I go mourning because of the enemy. Send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me and bring me to your holy hill. Then I will go to your altar, to you, God, my exceeding joy, and I will praise you on the harp. Why am I in despair? Why am I disturbed within me? I will hope in you, for I shall still praise you, my Savior, my helper and my God. Amen.
Psalm 43 Bible study questions
- In verse 2, what two questions does the speaker put to God?
- In verse 3, what does the speaker ask God to send out, and where does he want to be led?
- In verse 4 the speaker calls God my exceeding joy while he is still mourning; what do you make of that?
- Verse 3 asks for light and truth to lead the way; what would it look like for them to lead you?
- Psalm 42:9 asks almost the same question as Psalm 43:2; what has the speaker changed in the second version?
Questions about Psalm 43
Who wrote Psalm 43?
The psalm does not name its author. It has no heading in the World English Bible or the King James Version.
What does Psalm 43 mean?
It is a prayer for vindication from someone who feels rejected and far from worship. It asks God to send light and truth to lead him back to the altar, and ends by telling his own soul to hope in God.
What does Psalm 43:1 mean?
It asks God to vindicate the writer and plead his cause against an ungodly nation, and to deliver him from deceitful and wicked men.
What does Psalm 43:4 mean?
It describes going to the altar of God and calls God my exceeding joy. The writer promises to praise him on the harp.
What does Psalm 43:5 say in the KJV?
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Psalm 43 KJV: the King James Version
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.1
For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?2
O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.3
Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.4
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.5
Psalm 43 in Hebrew
The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.
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1 שָׁפְטֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀ וְרִ֘יבָ֤ה רִיבִ֗י מִגּ֥וֹי לֹא־חָסִ֑יד מֵ֤אִישׁ־מִרְמָ֖ה וְעַוְלָ֣ה תְפַלְּטֵֽנִי׃
2 כִּֽי־אַתָּ֤ה ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י מָֽעוּזִּי֮ לָמָ֪ה זְנַ֫חְתָּ֥נִי לָֽמָּה־קֹדֵ֥ר אֶתְהַלֵּ֗ךְ בְּלַ֣חַץ אוֹיֵֽב׃
3 שְׁלַח־אוֹרְךָ֣ וַ֭אֲמִתְּךָ הֵ֣מָּה יַנְח֑וּנִי יְבִיא֥וּנִי אֶל־הַֽר־קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ וְאֶל־מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
4 וְאָב֤וֹאָה ׀ אֶל־מִזְבַּ֬ח אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֶל־אֵל֮ שִׂמְחַ֪ת גִּ֫ילִ֥י וְאוֹדְךָ֥ בְכִנּ֗וֹר אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֱלֹהָֽי׃
5 מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וּֽמַה־תֶּהֱמִ֪י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵֽ֭אלֹהִים כִּי־ע֣וֹד אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ יְשׁוּעֹ֥ת פָּ֝נַ֗י וֵֽאלֹהָֽי׃
Psalm 43 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 42 there.
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1 A psalm for David. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
2 For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?
3 Send forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles.
4 And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth.
5 To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?
6 Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.
Psalm 43 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 42.
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1 Psalmus David. Judica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me.
2 Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea: quare me repulisti? et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus?
3 Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam: ipsa me deduxerunt, et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernacula tua.
4 Et introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui lætificat juventutem meam. Confitebor tibi in cithara, Deus, Deus meus.
5 Quare tristis es, anima mea? et quare conturbas me? Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi, salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus.
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Psalm 43 at a glance
| Verses | 5 |
| Heading in the text | No heading |
| Attributed to | Not named in the text. Psalm 43 has no heading. |
| Type | Lament and Trust |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 42 |
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Psalm 43 in other translations
This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 43 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 43 belongs
How this page was made
The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.
Sources
- Text: World English Bible and King James Version, both public domain, from ebible.org source
- Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Douay-Rheims: Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Latin text: Clementine Vulgate, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Numbering: Greek and Latin psalm numbering, Wikipedia, Psalms source