THE LORD OF LIGHT AND SALVATION
TEXT: Psalm 27:1-14
Psalms 27:1-14 KJV A Psalm of David. 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? [2] When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. [3] Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. [4] One thing have I desired 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 behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. [5] For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. [6] And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. [7] Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. [8] When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. [9] Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. [10] When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. [11] Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. [12] Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. [13] I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. [14] Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
I. INTRODUCTION—PSALM 27
-The psalms are true to life because they are drawn from life, from the stuff that life is made out of. Things like hope and fear, love and hate, jubilation and frustration, faith and anxiety, joy and despair. One moment the songs roll from the soul of the worshipper and the next he is trapped in the quicksand of doubt.
-These men who wrote the psalms knew what it was like to be shouting one minute and the next shaking. They knew what it was like to have faith that thrilled and then have the nastiness of fear to threaten them.
-This particular psalm has been rolling around in my heart and soul for a couple of weeks now. You can have hope in all of the Word of God but this psalm seems to be one of those that is forever lasting.
-Some scholars link Psalms 26, 27, and 28 together since they mention the temple in some form. Those are easily found when you read down through those Psalms because they are focused on David who is seeking the Lord in His temple.
-There are some who choose to put a larger fence about this segment of the Psalms. Harry Ironside grouped 15 psalms together running from Psalm 25 to Psalm 39. He divided them up:
• Psalms 25-29—The foundation of the worshipper’s confidence in God.
• Psalms 30-34—The worshipper’s having salvation in his heart.
• Psalms 35-39—The worshipper’s necessity of personal holiness.
-You can see the pattern: Confidence in God for the work of His salvation brings about a responsibility that we have to live godly and reverent lives that honor the Lord.
-Some of the psalms can be pinpointed to a particular event in the life of David but there is not a certain time that this particular psalm can be identified in his life. But we can be certain that David was facing some of his enemies and he was crying out to the Lord for help and relief.
II. PSALM 27—THE LORD OF LIGHT AND SALVATION
-I am using an outline given by James Montgomery Boice in his fine commentary on the Psalms. I trust that this outline will help to solidify this Psalm in your mind and heart.
A. The Soul’s Confidence—Psalm 27:1-3
Psalms 27:1-3 KJV A Psalm of David. 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? [2] When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. [3] Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
-We can see where David’s confidence sprang from in the first three verses of this passage. David rehearses the times in his life when the Lord has been there for him.
• He has been his light.
• He has been his salvation.
• He has been his stronghold.
-There is something to be said about the times that God deals with men on a personal basis. That is what David is bringing to us in this psalm. . . God speaks to him on a personal level. He is able to recall the times of God’s greatness, His gentleness, and His generosity.
-Those thoughts of God’s presence often have the capacity to help men in their darkest hours. We know that God is there despite what the surrounding circumstances may show to us.
1. Light
-When we think of light in the Bible there are various things that are clear when we see Him in this way:
• 1 Timothy 6:16—dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto. . .
• Job 38:19—God is in the way where light dwells. . .
• Psalms 104:2—God covers himself with light. . .
• 2 Samuel 22:29—Thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.
• Psalms 18:28—The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
• Psalms 36:9—For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
• John 1:5—And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
• John 1:9—That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
-But there is another passage that identifies God as light:
1 John 1:5 KJV This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
-This passage has to do with the sinless nature, purity, and holiness of God as opposed to the darkness of sinful behavior and the depraved nature of man. So when we find David speaking of light in Psalm 27 it is with the suggestion that God has illumination, purity, joy, life, and hope.
-Amidst all of the possibilities of David being attacked by his enemies, there is a God who will prevail and help him. At the threat of war, God will deliver. In the presence of fear, God has a light that can totally remove the darkness.
2. Salvation
-But the Lord isn’t just our light, He is our salvation.
-The Hebrew word for salvation can also be rendered as “deliverance.”
Psalms 3:8 KJV Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
Psalms 18:2 KJV The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
-When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh. . . when my enemies and my foes attack me. . . they will stumble and fall.
-There is a picture that David gives to us when he says that there are some enemies whose deep desire and hatred motivate them to attempt to destroy the flesh. These enemies are in such a category as wild animals who are predators and night stalkers.
-While most of us don’t have those kind of enemies seeking after us, we are involved in a spiritual battle.
1 Peter 5:8-9 KJV Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: [9] Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
Revelation 12:9 KJV And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
2 Timothy 4:17-18 KJV Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. [18] And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
-There is another matter that we can also see in addition to the spiritual battle is the one currently surrounding us. The kind of personal attacks of a verbal nature such as what false witnesses could make (cf. Psalm 27:12). They can attack with words that sully our reputation, tear down our witness, and feel like poisonous darts that sting us. The Aramaic phrase, ‘to eat the flesh’ means ‘to slander’ to which one translation renders it: uttering slanders against me.
-But whatever the oppression was, he was certain that God would intervene and that ultimately all of the attacks would literally come to nothing! Not only that God would assure that the enemies would stumble and fall.
3. Stronghold
-The Lord is the strength of my life! The picture the psalmist is painting here is one of protection. It is literally as if a fort has been built around them.
Marcus Lutrell, author of the book Lone Survivor, tells the story of his Special Forces team being the first one dropped into Afghanistan one month after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the US. They were primarily on a recon, spy mission when a teenage goat herder discovered him. There was great debate as to whether they should allow him to escape or not. In the end, the allowed him to leave but it would come with the high price of Lutrell losing the men who were on the Special Forces team. He was desperately injured in the battle and thought he also would die at the hands of the Taliban. However, he was taken into a safe house by some Afghan chieftains who were in the Northern Alliance and they were determined to protect him. He wrote that there were times that he could hear the voices of his enemies while he was hidden away in one of the homes in that village. He said that there were times he was concerned that in his feverish state that he was going to cry out in his delirium and be discovered. Almost two weeks after he had been placed in the safe house, some Army Rangers came in and rescued him and flew him out.
-There is nothing like having a stronghold to hide in when you are under the duress and pressure of the enemy of your soul. I also might add that when we come into this stronghold, we come on the conditions of the stronghold, not our own!
-We come to the Lord as he requires us to come! We do not attempt to change Him but rather He is in the work of changing and redeeming us.
• Whom shall I fear?
• Of whom shall I be afraid?!
-You can have great confidence in the Lord!
B. The Soul’s Desire—Psalm 27:4-6
Psalms 27:4-6 KJV One thing have I desired 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 behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. [5] For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. [6] And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
-The Psalmist next pours out the very desire of the soul which is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever! This kind of desire can only pour out of the heart of a worshipper! David was a man who modelled courage, leadership, and he was a conqueror but more than that he was a worshipper.
-Here was a man who had a passion for God and the things of God. If our generation can ever be touched by a passion and hunger for God, it is only then that we really become worshippers. Certain privileges come to those who are worshippers!
• Fellowship with a company of priests.
• The taste of bread from the table of showbread.
• The way made clear because of the illuminating light from the candlesticks.
• The scent of the incense that rises from the second altar.
• Access to the inner sanctuaries of the Tabernacle.
• Literally being in the presence of the Lord.
-That is what happens to worshippers. David did not attend the services of the Lord out of a sense of duty; he haunted the place because it was where his treasure was. Our heart has a unique way of showing where our treasures are at.
-That is why people who long for the house of the Lord often find great fellowship, encouragement, and spiritual strength.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock!
-David may have been far from the house of the Lord in a geographical sense but he was in the middle of this place of worship in his heart, soul, and spirit! The thought of God’s house controlled him. He desired it, he hungered for it.
-There is an outcome of what is taking place with David’s heart and that is going to be hidden by God.
-A true worshipper can count on being in the place that Paul wrote of:
Colossians 3:3 KJV For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
-There is the old hymn also. . . Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.
C. The Soul’s Prayer—Psalm 27:7-12
Psalms 27:7-12 KJV Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. [8] When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. [9] Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. [10] When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. [11] Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. [12] Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
¬-At this point in the psalm, things seem to change a bit. He was initially walking on the highlands of faith but now it appears that he is slipping into the lowlands of fear. We can never forget that fear often lives right next door to faith. It is almost as if we are on a roller coaster from faith to fear and from fear to faith.
-David cries out to the Lord and pleads with him to have mercy on him. More times than one, we are often at the very control of discouragement. We know that we shouldn’t be there but through various twists and turns of life, we don’t sense the presence of the Lord in our trials.
-There is nothing more fearful to us than when we feel those moments of rejection. One of the strongest psychological and spiritual needs that all of us have is that of acceptance by God and it is often amazing what we will go through to try to gain it.
-Here is where it really gets spiritual! The devil literally is looking for every opportunity he can to exploit that feeling of rejection. He will use it with lies. . .
• God has rejected you.
• The church has rejected you.
• Your family has rejected you.
• You are a misfit who has no business being around people who have their act together.
-You can see something that flows out of this prayer. David is looking for:
• He is seeking acceptance.
• He is seeking to be heard.
• He is seeking guidance.
• He is seeking protection.
-All of these factors are crucial in our spiritual life and the only way it can be filled is when the Lord becomes our light and our salvation.
D. The Soul’s Prescription—Psalm 27:13-14
Psalms 27:13-14 KJV I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. [14] Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
-David gives to us the prescription that we need. It may be a hard one to take early on but as time passes in your walk with God, you will see what is best.
-Wait on the Lord!
-The things that David prayed for and the things we pray for do not often come to us immediately. God has his own timings that he works on and they are not to be confused with the schedule we may have.
-You find great hope and comfort in waiting! We have the same confidence that a man who is waiting on the bus to come at the bus stop. We don’t know exactly when it will get there but we do know that it will!
III. CONCLUSION—THEY THAT WAIT ON THE LORD
Isaiah 40:28-31 KJV Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. [29] He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. [30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: [31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Philip Harrelson
January 12, 2014
