Bright light in a dark world

An old, old hymn goes, "Sun of my soul! Thou Savior dear, It is not night if thou be near; O may no earthborn cloud arise To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes."

Another old hymn: "There's sunshine in my soul today, More glorious and bright Than glows in any earthly skies, For Jesus is my light."

Song of Solomon 5:10 reads, "My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest of ten thousand."

Bible expositor Cora MacIlravey (circa 1916) explains, "As the bride continues her search, the flame of her zeal burns brighter; the faster she hastens through the streets to find Him, the more wonderful He appears to her soul. In her marvelous description of her Beloved, she mentions, first of all, the combined, though contrasted colors, 'white and red.' To a superficial reader, this might signify only beauty and health.

"Let us continually bear in mind that the daughters of Jerusalem did not ask for a description of her Beloved. They inquired in what He differed from, or was more than another beloved. They asked concerning the distinguishing features that belong to Him alone, and by which they may recognize Him, even in a multitude . . . These two colors, which the bride mentions first, make her Beloved different from, and more than every other beloved. They have the first place, and well they may when we know their meaning, for they are the most important of all.

"The meaning of the word 'white,' is dazzling, bright, illuminated by the sun, sunny.' Dazzling white, as the brightest sunlight. The meaning of the word, 'ruddy,' is 'red; to show blood.' "

*****

In Matthew 17, when Jesus Christ was glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration, it’s said the light shone out of Him.

“When the light shines down and bounces out to you, that’s reflected light," says Jordan. "The moon’s reflected light. The sun—that’s self-generated. That light comes from within it.

“In heaven, you and I literally are going to have inside of us, in who we are, the light of the glory of God shining out through us. It’s not going to be reflected off of us, it’s going to be who we are.

“But isn’t that who we are now? He’s given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and deposited that in earthen vessels. And right now, we have it in that veiled form because of our lack of completion of our salvation. Out there in heaven, it’s going to be finished and that’s what God called you for.”

Here's yet another hymn, this one entitled "Sunlight" (circa 1897):
I wandered in the shades of night,

1. Till Jesus came to me,
   And with the sunlight of His love
   Bid all my darkness flee.
   • Refrain:
     Sunlight, sunlight in my soul today,
     Sunlight, sunlight all along the way;
     Since the Savior found me, took away my sin,
     I have had the sunlight of His love within.
2. Though clouds may gather in the sky,
   And billows ’round me roll,
   However dark the world may be
   I’ve sunlight in my soul.
3. While walking in the light of God,
   I sweet communion find;
   I press with holy vigor on
   And leave the world behind.
4. I cross the wide, extended fields,
   I journey o’er the plain,
   And in the sunlight of His love
   I reap the golden grain.
5. Soon I shall see Him as He is,
   The Light that came to me;
   Behold the brightness of His face,
   Throughout eternity.

(new article tomorrow)