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What It Is Like to See the Glory of God 159
in the light of this world. He brings sense to the world. He is sense. The
light that we have in the world does not shine on him and reveal his
truth. He is the light of the world, and in his light we see light.
“In Your Light Do We See Light”
Psalm 36:9 says, “With you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see
light.” What does it mean that in God’s light we see light? Consider the
context. The first four verses of the psalm describe the condition of those
who have “no fear of God” (v. 1). Instead, “transgression speaks to the
wicked deep in his heart” (v. 1). What does it say? He “flatters himself
. . . that his iniquity cannot be found out” (v. 2). The denial of God and
the power of sin put the man in a dream world of illusion. He thinks he
is self-sufficient and safe. So he gives himself over to words of deceit and
acts of evil (vv. 3–4). He is like an ant denying the existence of earth, or a
bird denying the existence of air, or a fish denying the existence of water.
Then the psalmist (David) puts the majesty of God over against this
illusion. “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your
faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of
God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O
Lord” (vv. 5–6). God-denying man and beasts who do not know God
are both sustained by the God they do not know. Mountains and great
deeps do not vanish because man and beast are blind to their glory.
But David knows how all-encompassing is the love of God holding
all things in being. He sings its preciousness: “How precious is your
steadfast love, O God!” (v. 7). Whether they see it or not, he confesses
that all mankind live in the sustaining care of God. They have their life
and breath and everything from God. “The children of mankind take
refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of
your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights”
(vv. 7–8). The people—the children of mankind—who “have no fear
of God” and who “flatter themselves” that they are self-sufficient and
safe apart from God—these very people live on the abundance of God’s
house without knowing it. They drink from his river of delights. They
are sustained by the God they deny.
How can this be? Verse 9 begins with “for” (Heb. kiy), which gives
the reason: “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we