The Meaning of Psalms 43:3 Explained

Psalms 43:3

KJV: O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

YLT: Send forth Thy light and Thy truth, They -- they lead me, they bring me in, Unto Thy holy hill, and unto Thy tabernacles.

Darby: Send out thy light and thy truth: they shall lead me, they shall bring me to thy holy mount, and unto thy habitations.

ASV: Oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me: Let them bring me unto thy holy hill, And to thy tabernacles.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

O send out  thy light  and thy truth:  let them lead  me; let them bring  me unto thy holy  hill,  and to thy tabernacles. 

What does Psalms 43:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God"s light is the revelation of His will that brings understanding and life. His truth rests in His Word that reveals that will. The psalmist prayed for God"s guidance through His Word that would bring him back to Mt. Zion, the place where David"s tabernacle stood.

Context Summary

Psalms 43:1-5 - "the Help Of My Countenance"
The exiled king still pours out his soul to God. Already David has addressed Him as God of my life; here God appeals to David as God of my strength, Psalms 43:2, and God, the gladness of my joy, Psalms 43:4, r.v., margin. Speak well of thy God, even though His back seems turned on thee!
Thy light and thy truth, Psalms 43:3, may refer to the Urim and Thummim. Or we may think of them as two white-vestured angels sent from God's presence-chamber to guide the exile's steps back to his home. "Send them forth, commissioned to find me in this lone land and bring me to thine altar." There seem to be four steps in the approach. Unto thy holy hill-this was Mount Zion. To thy tabernacles, the earthly Presence-chamber. Unto the altar of God. Here is a step in advance. Our altar is the Cross where Jesus died, Hebrews 13:10. But God's altar is not enough; we need Him. So we still press on unto God my exceeding joy. Then the hue of health appears on our faces! See Psalms 43:5. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 43

1  David, praying to be restored to the temple, promises to serve God joyfully
5  He encourages his soul to trust in God

What do the individual words in Psalms 43:3 mean?

Oh send out Your light and Your truth them let lead me let them bring me to hill Your holy and to Your tabernacle
שְׁלַח־ אוֹרְךָ֣ וַ֭אֲמִתְּךָ הֵ֣מָּה יַנְח֑וּנִי יְבִיא֥וּנִי אֶל־ הַֽר־ קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ וְאֶל־ מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶֽיךָ

שְׁלַח־  Oh  send  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
אוֹרְךָ֣  Your  light 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
וַ֭אֲמִתְּךָ  and  Your  truth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
יַנְח֑וּנִי  let  lead  me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: נָחָה  
Sense: to lead, guide.
יְבִיא֥וּנִי  let  them  bring  me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַֽר־  hill 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗  Your  holy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
וְאֶל־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶֽיךָ  Your  tabernacle 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁכָּן  
Sense: dwelling place, tabernacle.