The Lord is My Light

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)

The Lord is my light; then why should I fear?
By day and by night his presence is near.
He is my salvation from sorrow and sin;
This blessed assurance the spirit doth bring.
(“The Lord is My Light”, hymn #89)

As I have read through Isaiah I have been amazed at all the phrases that are taken from the scriptures and used as the theme for a hymn.

I love the hymns. One can’t help but feel beauty flow over you when a hymn is being sung, or prelude music is quietly playing in the background. Nothing brings the spirit in more abundance beautiful music, and especially hymns. At church the other day, while singing a hymn, I felt that I was receiving revelation. I can’t describe what it was, only that I was being given a great gift through the song.

My favorite memories of singing hymns have been from the two temple dedications I was privileged to attend. When they sang “The Spirit of God” my heart was on fire. I couldn’t even sing because I was crying so hard. The emotion and feeling I received just filled my heart and soul and overflowed. It was the most joyous occasion.

A few weeks ago at church they did the musical sacrament meeting where the talks were given about the importance of music in worship and several musical numbers were performed. One speaker talked about the importance of music, but then the remainder of his talk consisted of quoting hymns. It was one of the most inspirational talks I have heard. I used to be really good at teaching my children they hymns and for a couple of years we would pick a hymn and study it. We would read it through first discussing the meaning. Then we would look up the scriptures that go along with it. We would talk about the principles found in the hymn and corresponding scriptures, and we also learn to conduct it. I don’t know why we stopped, but after the musical sacrament meeting I felt inspired to make the learning of hymns a priority again.

Verse 2 says “I will trust, and not be afraid.” What causes someone to trust another? The footnote for “trust” lead to Psalm 36:7 “How excellent is they lovingkindess, O God!”

Mosiah 4:6 lists several virtues: goodness, matchless power, wisdom, patience, longsuffering, the atonement.

Helaman 12:1 says the Lord blesses and prospers those who put their trust in him.

Following the Lord is not blind faith; it is believing in him because of the virtues he possesses. The more virtue and integrity a person possesses, the more trust is bestowed.

Before I began my scripture study (being consistent that is) I was not very happy. My children fought a lot and I was constantly criticizing them and myself. I knew that I needed to change, but lacked the will to do so. We have been told over and over that if we study our scriptures daily, we will be blessed with peace. As I began to be more consistent in my study I began to see a difference. Oh—my home is not perfect, not by a long shot, I have three teenagers for heaven’s sake! But the feeling in my home is different. Disputes blow over more quickly and grudges don’t last near as long. I’m still very critical of myself, but am trying to be less so. Life is a process and things take time, but the blessings I have received have given me the ability to trust that the Lord will give me strength to overcome.

Speaking of strength, how does the Lord impart it to us? The footnote for “strength” references Power of Priesthood in the Topical Guide. I take the priesthood for granted and completely under use it. How many times have I needed strength and not asked for a blessing? In the JST-Genesis 14:25-40 there is a long description of Melchezedik and a description of the priesthood which was named for him. It says “that everyone being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command…”

Wow. That’s power.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

The Lord is my light; He is my joy and my song.
By day and by night He leads, he leads me along.