A psalm of David
27
📚The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength
of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
27:1 It was a time of danger and slander (v 12). David needed light so as to know what to do, and protection from enemies. He never dreamed he could make a light for himself out of the kindling of his own imagination, or ever thought his salvation was in his own strength or goodness. He always acknowledged God as the source of everything good. On “light” see Ps 18:28. On “fear” see Ps 23:4.⚜
2 📚When the wicked, my enemies
and my foes,
came against me
to eat up my flesh,
they stumbled and fell.
27:2 Rom 8:37; Eph 6:10-11. Believers now should have the same confidence in God against spiritual foes as David had against human foes.⚜
3 📚Though an army encamp
against me,
my heart will not fear.
Though war rise against me,
in this I will be confident.
4 📚One thing I have asked
from the LORD;
I will seek for this:
that I may dwell in the house
of the LORD all the days
of my life,
to see the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.
27:4 The Hebrew word translated “beauty” also means pleasantness, delightfulness. See also Ps 90:17. There was no form of God in His place of worship, no idol, no image that men might think beautiful. David is speaking of the spiritual beauty that can be seen only with the eyes of faith.⚜
5 📚For in the time of trouble
he will hide me
in his pavilion;
he will hide me
in the secret place
of his tabernacle;
he will set me high
on a rock.
27:5 If God keeps us, hides us in His shelter, and sets us on the rock (Himself – Deut 32:4), then we are safe indeed, and will have cause for shouts of joy and happy singing to His name.⚜
6 📚And now my head will be
lifted up above
my enemies around me.
Therefore I will offer
sacrifices of joy
in his tabernacle.
I will sing, yes,
I will sing praises
to the LORD.
27:4-6 David was frequently away from God’s place of worship, in battle, in hiding from enemies, in other lands. He longed for the house of God, quiet meditation and worship in a place of peace and safety, the music and gladness of the tabernacle.⚜
7 📚Hear, O LORD, when
I cry out with my voice,
and have mercy on me,
and answer me.
8 📚When you said,
“Seek my face”,
my heart said to you,
“Your face, LORD, I will seek”.
27:8 The importance of seeking God’s face is everywhere emphasized in the Bible (Ps 105:4; Isa 45:19; 55:6-7; Hos 10:12; Amos 5:6; Zeph 2:3; Matt 7:7; Heb 11:6). God tells us to seek Him because He wants to reveal Himself to those who seek, and He wants them to know that He is the source of all good.⚜
9 📚Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant
away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not leave me or forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 📚When my father and
my mother forsake me,
then the Lord will receive me.
11 📚Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me in a straight 📖 path,
because of my enemies.
12 📚Do not hand me
over to the will of my
enemies;
for false witnesses have
risen up against me,
and those who breathe
out violence.
13 📚I would have fainted,
unless I had believed that
I would see the goodness
of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 📚Wait on the LORD.
Be courageous,
and he will strengthen your heart.
Wait, I say, on the LORD.
27:12-14 What should a believer do when he is the object of lies and slander? Pray (v 12), trust God (v 13), and hope in God for the future (v 14). If we do not we will be anxious and troubled.⚜