Psalm Photos - 138 - Holy Path
Psalm 138
I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.
On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.
All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
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What I tried to capture in this image was a sense of the holiness that I saw in the first verse about bowing down in the temple and then the mixture of feelings later on about walking in the midst of trouble. Over the last several years, I have started to use candles a lot in my prayer life. I have this beautiful plate in my office that I often will light a few tea candles on as a part of my prayer time or when I am meeting with individuals for study or prayer. There is something of a holiness that comes in that for me. But what I love about this picture is that there are lit candles here, but there’s also a path of unlit ones - different paths that we can choose - the path of light, or the path of darkness. Or, looking at it another way, we may feel like we are stuck on the path of darkness, yet the light of God continues to surround us.