Single lesson
Psalm 43: Send Out Your Light
Psalms 43:1–5
This lesson helps children trace Psalm 43 as a prayer that moves from trouble to hope. They will notice who is speaking, what the poet asks God to do, and how the ending answers the sadness at the start.
Before you teach
Psalm 43 is a prayer spoken to God. The speaker asks God to judge fairly, rescue him from deceitful and wicked people, and lead him with light and truth. The prayer includes mourning, a desire to come to God’s holy hill and altar, and a final call to hope in God.
Students will be able to identify the speaker’s problem, the images of light and truth, and the movement from grief to praise in Psalm 43:1–5.
Welcome: What kind of words are in this prayer?
4 minBegin by telling the group that Psalm 43 is a prayer to God. Ask children to listen for words that sound sad, needy, and hopeful. Introduce three key ideas they will listen for: the speaker’s trouble, the request for God’s light and truth, and the promise to praise God.
Psalms 43:1, Psalms 43:3, Psalms 43:5
Read and explain: From trouble to asking for help
8 minRead verses 1 to 3 aloud slowly. Point out that the speaker asks God to vindicate him, plead his cause, and deliver him from deceitful and wicked men. In verse 2 he says God is his strength, yet he feels rejected and goes mourning. In verse 3 he asks for God’s light and truth to lead him.
Psalms 43:1, Psalms 43:2, Psalms 43:3
Discuss: Where does the prayer want to go?
6 minTalk about the direction of the prayer. The speaker wants God’s light and truth to bring him to God’s holy hill and tents. Then he says he will go to the altar of God, call God his exceeding joy, and praise God on the harp. Help children see that the prayer looks toward worship and joy.
Psalms 43:3, Psalms 43:4
Make and respond: Light and truth prayer card
8 minChildren make a simple card with two sides. On one side they draw or write words from the hard part of the psalm, such as mourning or despair. On the other side they draw light, write truth, and add a short prayer asking God to lead them. Share how the psalm moves toward praise.
Psalms 43:2, Psalms 43:3, Psalms 43:5
Closing: Speak hope to your soul
4 minRead verse 5 together twice. Explain that the speaker talks to his own soul, asking why it is in despair and then telling it to hope in God. End by inviting children to say one phrase from the psalm that shows trust, such as ‘Hope in God’ or ‘I shall still praise him’.
Psalms 43:5
Questions to explore
What words in the psalm show the speaker is in trouble at the beginning?
Look for the requests in verse 1 and the sadness in verse 2, including ‘deliver me’, ‘mourning’, and ‘oppression of the enemy’.
Psalms 43:1, Psalms 43:2
What does the speaker ask God to send out, and what are those meant to do?
Verse 3 says ‘light’ and ‘truth’, and it explains that they will lead him and bring him to God’s holy hill and tents.
Psalms 43:3
How does verse 5 answer the sadness earlier in the psalm?
Compare the words ‘despair’ and ‘disturbed’ with the command ‘Hope in God’ and the promise ‘I shall still praise him’.
Psalms 43:5
Make, think or respond
Light and Truth Image Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils or textas
- crayons or coloured pencils
- Bible
Try it together
- Fold a piece of paper in half.
- On the first half, write or draw words from the sad parts of the psalm, such as mourning, despair, or enemy.
- On the second half, draw light and write the words ‘light’, ‘truth’, and ‘Hope in God’.
- Add one sentence prayer asking God to lead you.
- Invite volunteers to show how their card reflects the movement of the psalm.
This activity helps children picture the movement in Psalm 43 from grief and trouble toward God’s leading, hope, and praise.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, pre-write key words from the psalm for them to trace or circle: mourning, light, truth, hope, praise.
- For older or confident readers, ask them to explain how verse 4 grows out of verse 3 by using the words lead, bring, go, and praise.
An optional closing prayer
You might pray: ‘God, when we feel sad or troubled, please send your light and your truth to lead us. Help us hope in you and still praise you. Amen.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 43
1 Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
2 For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, to your tents.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.