Psalm 27

Of David.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold [refuge] of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

I feel like these rhetorical questions should also have an exclamation point following them. This strikes me as an exuberant shout in the face of overwhelming odds. He’ll go on to describe the enemies who want to devour him, camping right up next to his position, but he shouts back his fears with this declaration. There are three metaphors for the LORD here, each of them important in the field of battle. First, the LORD is David’s light. Light was more difficult to come by in times past. You needed to light a lamp which required fuel and a source of ignition. You couldn’t just pop open your phone or a flashlight and light things up. When darkness was all around him, David couldn’t flip on a switch to light the place and allay his fears. He had to trust in the LORD as his light -- to illuminate that which he could not see, to give him night vision in a sense. Second, the LORD is David’s salvation. He is the one who sweeps in to rescue when it seems that all hope is lost. He is Legolas with a bow, Aragorn with his strength and his blade. He is Gimli and his axe. Imagine a battle where it seems that all hope is lost, and then an unbeatable champion enters the fray. This is the LORD our salvation. Third, the LORD is David’s stronghold, the refuge of his life. The LORD himself is David’s place of rest and refuge. The walls of this fortress will blunt any attack by arrow or fire. The gate is secure, the walls are thick, the enemy can besiege, but this stronghold will not fall. Whatever attack of the enemy you might be facing today, know that the LORD will light your way in the darkness. He will sweep in to save you in your moment of greatest need, and He will be a place you can rest in the midst of the conflict. 

2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, Yet [in this] I will be confident.

David proceeds to describe a worse-case scenario where he might be tempted to fear. First, there may be evildoers, adversaries and foes who attack him, attempting to devour his flesh. This is hyperbole of course, and while the metaphor of cannibalism is revolting it is accurate. This is what sin does to others -- it consumes them as if there were commodities, not immortal beings created in the image of God. Sin dehumanizes others and in this case, David is about to be the victim of someone else’s sin. But as they attack him, right at the moment where they’re about to sink their teeth into him, it is they who stumble and fall. The second threat comes from an even larger group of people -- an army camped against him. This now feels like David is totally outnumbered as he is still speaking of himself in the singular (an army is encamped against “me” not “us”). David is suggesting that even if he is completely alone and all the world is against him, his heart will not fear, and in this thing he will be confident. That thing is in the verses that immediately follow - he will dwell in the God’s house all the days of his life, sheltered, concealed and joyful. It is a vision of God’s presence and protection that sustains him in the midst of overwhelming odds and personal fear. The defiance of these verses is striking as David speaks truth forcefully to himself. This is exactly what we need to do when faced with any type of fear or anxiety. Speak truth forcefully. Lean into reality. Sin and death will not devour us. The very real forces of evil in heavenly realms will not win. The LORD is our light, our salvation, and our refuge. We will not fear. 

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire [meditate] in his temple.

There are few verses in all of the psalms that are more striking and memorable than this one. David expresses a singular desire to dwell in the house of the LORD every day of his life and while there to gaze on his beauty and seek him in his temple. David could be speaking here of the literal tabernacle, the house of God on earth, but I sense from the rest of the psalm that David is not in the tabernacle, he is on the battlefield, and it is from there that he declares his deepest desire. I think, like the 23rd psalm, this metaphor of “dwelling in the house of the LORD” is a way of experiencing the presence of God in daily life. This is a reference to the hospitality and protection that was afforded to travelers in the ancient near east. David came under YHWH’s protection when he was dwelling in his house. That protection is alluded to in the following verse. David is seemingly asking permission to live with God every day. This is not in the future tense, but in the present and then forever. And while living in God’s house, what is David’s primary activity? Gazing on the beauty of the LORD. He is not doing, he is being. He is contemplating and worshiping. This might seem like a royal waste of time, but David’s language suggests that it is the primary activity of his existence. Looking intently into something takes time and focus. Like a Where’s Waldo picture, taking in every subtle detail, this is what it is to contemplate God. And with that contemplation comes a seeking, an inquiring, a questioning, a conversation. The psalms are just snippets of conversations with God. How much of your daily life is spent in conversation with God, seeking him wherever you are, for God is everywhere and therefore his temple presence is as well? To what extent are you gazing on his beauty, considering the wonder of his creation and his deeds for humanity? These activities compel us to worship and while it may seem like a royal waste of time to an outsider, it is life to the believer. 

5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

David seems to move from the tabernacle worship setting back to the battlefield setting in these verses. He expresses confidence that YHWH will hide him in his shelter and conceal him under the cover of his tent. David spent seven years on the run from Saul (from the time he was anointed to the time of Saul’s death). For some of that time he was simply hiding in various places, going to sleep each night wondering if he would be awakened with a sword at his throat. Staying hidden was the goal, living long enough to see the death of Saul was the goal. But then there are also times when David comes out of hiding and surveys the land. Here the LORD lifts him high upon a rock, his head lifted up above his enemies all around him. This is similar to Psalm 3:1,2 where YHWH is his glory and the lifter of his head. From a practical perspective this allows David to do some reconnaissance, knowing where his enemy is located keeps him at an advantage. But there is also something about being high on a rock that gives you a sense of freedom and power. David needed this for his soul’s health. The setting then returns back to the tent of worship as David declares that he will offer sacrifices in the LORD’s tent with shouts of joy, singing and making melody to the LORD (Ephesians 5:19). Offering sacrifices as thank offerings was prescribed in the law, but singing was not. It’s interesting that this “unauthorized” activity was practiced by David and encouraged in the psalms. Perhaps there’s more flexibility to the law when it comes to worship than we might assume. It seems that the central teaching on worship is that the position of the heart is what is most critical, not the form of the offering. (What about Cain and Abel -- was it the type of offering or the heart?) At any rate David so frequently responds with singing that I’m going to go out on a limb and say that singing is far more common that cultic sacrifices in the psalms. Singing is universal. Anyone can do it (even if it’s just “in the heart”). It can be done individually or corporately, and new songs can continually enter the canon. David’s response to God’s salvation is a model for us. We need to be a singing people, regardless of the circumstance. 

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!

8 You have said, “[All ya’ll] Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” [meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain]

David has already declared that there is one thing that he is seeking (vs 4) -- that is that he dwells in the house of the Lord, inquire of the LORD in his temple and gaze upon his beauty. Here he elaborates on that idea. He notes that the LORD has commanded us to seek his face. To seek one’s face means to desire their presence, to long to look into the countenance of a beloved. For me I recall how I felt when my wife and I were first dating. We had to talk every day and arrange some opportunity to see one another, even when it was not convenient. Our desire for knowing one another compelling us to devote time to connecting face to face or by phone. In our first summer of dating we were separated by an ocean for ten weeks and the desire to know one another grew even stronger. We made two phone calls and wrote letters and postcards every week. She was always on my mind, every day, even when I was a world apart. That’s not a bad analogy of what it means to seek the face of God, where the desire to communicate, connect, and be present with the creator of the universe is a daily obsession. The Hebrew text is uncertain, but the translation is consistent with other psalms, notably Psalm 24:6 - “who seek the face of the God of Jacob”. Brother Lawrence wrote a classic book, The Practice of the Presence of God, where this concept of living in the constant awareness of the presence of God, where communion with Him becomes integrated in every minute of one’s life, from washing the dishes to mowing the lawn. After so many years of knowing God, it becomes easy to take that relationship for granted and stop listening and seeking to know Him better. Renew my passion for knowing the LORD. 

9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!

10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.

David has just declared that he is actively seeking the face of God, so now he asks that the LORD not hide his face from him. God has commanded us to seek him, so why would he hide from us? This is just another way of saying the same thing. “LORD I want to find you in all of my seeking.” And when David find God in the midst of his crisis, he asks that the LORD not turn him away in anger. The LORD has been his help, and so he asks that in this moment, the LORD be his salvation once more and not cast him off. It’s difficult to imagine in light of all the scriptures say about the steadfast love of the LORD that He would abandon David in his moment of distress, but we all know that it can certainly feel that way at times. This is the frequent frustration of the psalmist. “How do I reconcile what I know to be true about God with what I know to be true about my circumstances?” It is a fundamental question in the psalms and in the human condition. It is the question of theodicy. David in his request is suggesting that he has the potential of being forsaken by God as he has in the past (consider Psalm 22:1). Even as he makes his request he reminds God of his help and his salvation in the past. There’s no evidence that David’s father and mother turned against him. That seems highly unlikely, so we assume that this is a hypothetical, “even if my father and mother forsake me…” To be abandoned by one’s parents may be one of the deepest wounds one can experience. The people who made you, brought you into the world and were charged with guiding you into adulthood when you were utterly helpless -- if they neglect you, what does that do to your identity? I have to think this is what many children of divorce wrestle with. The primary role of parents is to stick together and raise children. While being sympathetic to adults who are in broken marriages, my heart goes out more for the children who didn’t choose to be caught in the middle. Every day in this country parents have that hard conversation with their children (“mommy and daddy are getting divorced”), and those children feel that their parents have forsaken them, regardless of their parent’s intent. This psalm tells those children that God will never forsake them, never abandon them, never choose another person over them.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.

David returns to the theme of the 25th psalm as he prays for God’s guidance and leadership particularly as he navigates a world with enemies. His enemies are maliciously attempting to bring him down, spreading false information and threatening violence. This is typical for the guy at the top. Someone is always trying to knock him off. Because of the nature of my work and perhaps because of my conflict-avoiding personality, it’s been rare in my life to have other human beings whom I would consider my enemies. While the possibility of being a victim of crime is always there, it’s not something that I’ve experienced in any kind of traumatic way. Our nation has had enemies, communism and the cold war while I was growing up, soon replaced with the threat of terrorism for the last three decades. Even in my jobs and ministries I’ve never had anyone out to get me, although I know this happens even in the church. So for some believers, texts like these that speak of enemies immediately bring faces and names to mind. They do not for me. For me to apply these texts I have to think of my spiritual enemies and even myself as my own worst enemy. This is true for everyone. So teach me your way, O LORD. Let me learn from Jesus each day how I should live, how I should treat those closest to me and care for those different than me. Lead me on a level path, a way that is aligned with your ways and not the roundabout, uphill climb that I might select doing things my way. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. There is a tempter who will stop at nothing to draw me off the path, striking when I am most vulnerable. This is the enemy that would use words to destroy me, false witnesses (lies), and rationales for compromising that would bring me down. The ultimate enemy that David is describing here and elsewhere is personal. While we don’t fully understand how he operates, it’s clear that Jesus encountered him as we do. He is able to speak temptation to us, and we must resist the way that David does in this psalm, by seeking the presence of God as the primary ordering mechanism of our lives. 

13 I believe that I shall look [Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look] upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!

14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

While David is alive he is confident that he will see evidence of the goodness of the LORD. Even in the midst of his current trial, enemies and armies rallied against him, the outcome anything but certain, David is confident in the ultimate victory of God and he is able to rest and patiently wait for the deliverance of God. The question of this text is whether verse 14 is spoken to the listeners or to the psalmist himself. Is this an example of self-talk? Is David telling himself to wait, be strong, and be courageous because he will see the goodness of God in this situation? Or is it instructional? Is he asking all who would read or pray this psalm to take this entire prayer to heart and arrive at a position of patient trust? Perhaps it’s possible for both of those to be true. David’s words are echoes of the words of Moses to Joshua as the staff of leadership was passed to him. Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do. Maybe that’s why David tells us to do this twice. Maybe we need to tell ourselves this over and over. Every time we are tempted to quit, to give up the fight and to stop resisting the lies of the enemy, may these words come to mind. Be strong. Speak truth forcefully to yourself and speak right back to the enemy. And realize that God is eternal and so his perspective on time is much different than ours. We are impatient by nature because we are bound by time. We only have so much of it so we value it, and we’re frustrated when it is wasted, but with God a thousand years is like a day and a day like a thousand years. And sometime we will join him in a timeless eternity and the waiting will be over.