Thoughts on Psalm 27
Psalm 27
Of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 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 I will be confident. 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 in his temple. 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. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! 8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 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. 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. 13 I believe that I shall 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!
Psalm 27 has always been one of my favorite Psalms. There is so much here with which we can relate! If you read anything about it, you will see that many are confused by the structure and how it might be two psalms in one. Dispensing with all of that discussion, I’m going to look at this psalm through three “C’s.” The first is the context in which David finds himself.
The context for David’s Psalm is something commonly found in the Psalms: trouble, difficulty and uncertainty. Notice his descriptions: “evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh” (v 2), “an army encamps against me” and there is “war against me” (v 3), “father and mother have forsaken me” (v 10), “false witnesses have arisen against me, and they breathe out violence” (v 12). Some of this could be the actual situation he finds himself in, some of it could be hypothetical, and some of it could be how he feels. And with all of this trouble and uncertainty, who would not be led into some fear and anxiety? Life around him seems to be falling apart. Enemies come from all directions, and even those closest to him have abandoned him. What is going to happen? How will this all work out? This could easily lead David into despair. And yet, he displays a confidence, our second “C.”
David’s confidence shows up right at the beginning of the psalm and saturates the whole. Though there is much to fear, he says, “Whom shall I fear?” and “Of whom shall I be afraid?” (v 1), and “my heart shall not fear… I will be confident” (v 3). There is a confidence that even though he has been abandoned, the “Lord will take him in” (v 10), and he trusts that he will “look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (v 13). We may read this and admire it, and wonder “how can he be so confident? Life is falling apart!” And this, I think, is the key to the whole Psalm, our final “C”: the Lord’s care.
David’s confidence doesn’t come from some irrational, optimistic platitude like, “It will all be ok.” No, no, no. That leaves us nowhere. His confidence comes from knowing the Lord, who he is, his promises, his strength, his care. He says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation… the stronghold of my life” (v 1), “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” (v 5), and “you have been my help… O God of my salvation!” (v 9). Notice that David’s circumstances have not changed. His confidence is that the Lord will care for him in the midst of his difficult circumstances and will ultimately deliver him. He knows who God has revealed himself to be: one who fulfills his promises, one who cares for his people, and provides for their every need.
How this relates to our situation is quite obvious, isn’t it? Our context is not that we are encompassed by a deadly army but by a deadly virus. We have been isolated in such a way that we may feel abandoned by the closest to us. We have so much trouble and uncertainty at this moment that we are probably all being attacked by various fears that come in all shapes and sizes. Life seems to be falling apart around us. And yet, David (and through him, the Holy Spirit) says to us, “Of whom shall you be afraid? Have no fear in your heart. Stay confident. Be strong. Take courage. Wait on the Lord.” And he would want us to know the care of the Lord! He is our stronghold, our fortress. He will hide us in himself and will lift us upon a rock (The imagery of the rock brings to mind a flood that is about to destroy us but he reaches down and plucks us out of the path of the raging river and sets us upon an immovable rock, high above the destruction below)! The Lord is not blind to our circumstances, but he is with us in the midst of them.
Our four year old is in a routine of not wanting to go to sleep alone (by the way, he’s not really alone, his brother is in the top bunk!). Each night, when we leave him I say, “I’ll come back and check on you.” Sometimes there is silence for a few minutes, (maybe even ten!) and we begin to think he’s asleep. And then the silence is broken with something just under a scream of, “When are you going to come check on me?” I chuckle and go back into his room and assure him again that I am in the next room and will come back again in a few minutes to check on him again. Usually, this only happens once, thankfully!
There are many ways that our care for our son is similar to the Lord’s care for us, but I want to highlight one way it is not the same. The Lord does not have to come back and check on us. He is watching over us every millisecond of our existence and though we may not see him, he promises to be with us all the time.
But let’s be clear about what this psalm is saying. This psalm does not promise that we will not contract COVID-19, that we will not die, or that some other great suffering will not befall us. It means that even if the worst this world has to throw at us comes upon us, the Lord is with us and, in the end, he will provide for every one of our needs. David is, of course, seeking deliverance from his particular situation (and we can pray for that!), but what comes through is that even if that deliverance doesn’t come in this life, he has the Lord, and since he has him, he has everything and the Lord will deliver him, ultimately. I have often prayed that the Lord would lead me into such contentment in him that I reach a point where I can say, “Even if everything is not ok, it is ok, because I have you.” In other words, may the Lord make It Is Well the honest cry of my heart.
One way to get at some of the this and see this psalm through the proper lens is to see it through the life of Jesus. This psalm was as true for him as it is for us. What was his context? He was surrounded by those trying to kill him (v 3). They made false accusations and spoke violence against him (v 12). He was abandoned by the closest to him (v 12). And yet, his confidence (let’s say “faith”) was always in his God, and he never wavered (unlike us!). Though it would seem that the world that had come against him had won the battle and that he was given over to his adversaries (v 12), his hope was in the promise of the Lord, namely, that he would “look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (v 13). That’s resurrection! He was promised resurrection! Though he would die, he would rise again in victory! Jesus was not spared death, but instead defeated it! And that promise of resurrection, which we already have a taste of since we have been raised to new life in Jesus (Romans 6), is ours as well because of our Savior. We have even more reason for confidence than David because we see the Lord’s great care for us in providing for us Jesus, who is our light and our salvation!
The clarity for all of this comes the same way it did for David: he sought the Lord and inquired in his temple (v 4). For us, that is seeking him in his word and prayer. So as the trouble and uncertainty that camps around us continues to try to lead us into fear, may the Lord work in our hearts that we may say with David, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom have I to fear?” and may we really mean it!
Here is a quick recording, using my iPhone, of God is My Strong Salvation (based on Psalm 27), which we have sung as a congregation. I have also linked the lead sheet for any that would like to sing/play it at home. May it be a blessing to us, though we cannot sing it together!