Pentecost Season · Proper 26 · Year A
Psalm 43
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth
November 1, 2026

Overview & Insights
“Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain.” (Psalm 43:3)
Psalms 42 and 43 are distinct psalms in the Hebrew (MT), Greek (LXX), Syriac, and Vulgate, which suggests that they were separate compositions. Yet the seamless relationship of the two poems is indicated by these factors: (1) they share a refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5); (2) Psalm 43 has no title (Ps. 71 is the only other exception in Book 2); (3) both psalms share the lament meter of 3+2; and (4) they share a similar subject.1 The psalm is an individual lament, stating the reason for the lament, which is the psalmist’s inability to visit the Jerusalem sanctuary (42:1, 4, 6; 43:3–4) and the mockery of his compatriots (42:3, 9; 43:2), evidently because of his religious devotion (43:1). There is no resolution to his dilemma, except in hope that God will in time resolve it.
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Commentary
Commentary on Psalm 43 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on the appointed psalm by a named seminary scholar.
Psalm 43 - Hope in God amid Distress Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the plea for vindication and the hope in God.
Psalm 43:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the prayer for light and truth.
Background & Word Study
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What is Psalm 43 about?
A prayer of one who feels rejected and cast down, asking God’s light and truth to lead him back to the altar, with the recurring refrain, “Why, my soul, are you downcast?… Put your hope in God.”
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