Seeing in the Darkness

 November 6, 2021

“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; 

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 

Your righteousness is like the great mountains; 

Your judgments are a great deep; 

O Lord, You preserve man and beast.”

—Psalm 36:5-6 

In the opening verses of this psalm, David speaks of the wickedness of men in contrast to the virtues of God beginning in the fifth verse to the end. In the fifth and sixth verses, there is an interesting and subtle shift in his thinking as he moves from the heights of God’’s mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness to the depth of his judgments. If we’re looking for them, it’s not hard to find God’s mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness. These blessings overshadow everything God does, and are plain to see for those who will see. 

The next phrase however, is a bit harder to swallow—“his judgments are like a great deep,” often incomprehensible, dark, and unyielding to our understanding, impenetrable to our searching. Sometimes, the only way we make it through the depths through which we cannot see is by trusting in the blessings we have seen, and in the God who gave them. 

I wish I knew why so many of my prayers remain unanswered—“his judgments are a great deep.” But there are so many blessings I have seen that I know to trust God in the times I cannot see. This is what David expressed in verses 7-9:

“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.”

I know that the day will come when the light of Christ will enlighten those dark places where I cannot see, but until then, I’m still in the trusting stage. I’m OK with that, because I know that day of enlightenment is coming. “Come, Lord Jesus, Come.”