Expositions of Holy Scripture: PsalmsMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Psalms
Maclaren, Alexander
Bible. Psalms -- Commentaries
But as I said about life, so I say about light. The material or
intellectual aspects of the word are not the main ones here. The
reference is to the spiritual gift which belongs to the men 'who put
their trust beneath the shadow of Thy wings.' In communion with Him who
is the Light as well as the Life of men, we see a whole universe of
glories, realities, and brightnesses. Where other eyes see only
darkness, we behold 'the King in His beauty, and the land that is very
far off.' Where other men see only cloudland and mists, our vision will
pierce into the unseen, and there behold 'the things which are,' the
only real things, of which all that the eye of sense sees are only the
fleeting shadows, seen as in a dream, while these are the true, and the
sight of them is sight indeed. They who see by the light of God, and see
light therein, have a vision which is more than imagination, more than
opinion, more than belief. It is certitude. Communication with God does
not bring with it superior intellectual perspicuity, but it does bring a
perception of spiritual realities and relations, which, in respect of
clearness and certainty, may be called sight. Many of us walk in
darkness, who, if we were but in communion with God, would see the lone
hillside blazing with chariots and horses of fire. Many of us grope in
perplexity, who, if we were but hiding under the shadow of God's wings,
would see the truth and walk at liberty in the light, which is knowledge
and purity and joy.
In communication with God, we see light upon all the paths of duty. It
is wonderful how, when a man lives near God, he gets to know what he
ought to do. That great Light, which is Christ, is like the star that
hung over the Magi, blazing in the heavens, and yet stooping to the
lowly task of guiding three wayfaring men along a muddy road upon earth.
So the highest Light of God comes down to be 'a lantern for our paths
and a light for our feet.'
And in the same communion with God, we get light in all seasons of
darkness and of sorrow. 'To the upright there ariseth light in the
darkness'; and the darkest hours of earthly fortune will be like a
Greenland summer night, when the sun scarcely dips below the horizon,
and even when it is absent, all the heaven is aglow with a calm
twilight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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