Psalm 27 is a psalm, or song, of David that speaks to my heart in a powerful way.
King David was a unique and interesting figure in the Old Testament. He's unique and interesting because he was a deeply flawed person who made some epic mistakes, and yet he also was inclined to giving particular attention to matters of the spiritual life, something that may have been quite uncommon during his lifetime.
He suffered greatly at the hands of others, he made some terrible blunders himself and did some awful things in his life, but I guess the key to understanding David is that he was truly teachable, he had this soft heart; he was highly reflective, genuinely humble, and he was radically honest with himself, and also quick to want to correct his behaviours; and he valued and paid attention to what was going on in his inner life.
He paid attention to his conscience; he wanted to live a connected life, he wanted to live justly, he wanted to live connected to God.
David had all kinds of problems. When we see him first in the Bible, he is a simple Shepherd.
But later on he is pronounced King, he is pursued by enemies including the person who was still technically king who had lost his mind. His life story that we find in 1 and 2 Samuel in the OT.
It tells the story of a man who had all kinds of reasons to be afraid. And so this psalm speaks to us today. Here’s the first verse from this beautiful psalm.
Psalm 27 1 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?
When he was hiding from his enemies in caves like this one, David would talk to himself. And he would write poems, songs. How many of us like to write down our thoughts?
It's true that sometimes we don't really know how we feel until we write down what we’re thinking on paper and then read them.
And the conversation David had with himself was one that he shared with God. In the conversation, David would process who God was to him.
There are many negative ways of looking at God, some of which we have been taught in our childhood by people who did not know any better. [Pause]
Sometimes we look at God as harsh, we look at God as being very judgy, we look at God as being very distant. I was raised to believe that God just doesn’t exist, period.
But here David says: “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?"
David understands God as his light. The one who functions in his life as enlightener, who brightens his path.
Who lights his day and lights his way. When he was in hiding from that guy that wanted him dead, David spent a lot of time hiding in caves.
Dark, dank miserable caves; In those isolated places David experiences in God, light, illumination, understanding, clarity of thought and purpose. And he said so.
David also understands God as the One Who could step in an rescue him, to save him. If David was going to be saved from any one of the perilous situations he found himself in, and if he was going to rely upon someone to save him,
he was going to rely on one he personally knew to be crazy strong and beautifully faithful - God.
He says that God is the stronghold of his life. A stronghold is a defensive structure: Psalms 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
So because the Lord is David's light and salvation, because the Lord is the stronghold of his life, he asks himself “Who Shall I Fear?” It's a rhetorical question, a question that answers itself,
because since David is protected by the one who is the greatest and most powerful, he does not need to live in fear. Rather, he chooses to live connected and in loving
relationship with God and at peace with himself as a result.
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
David's confidence in God is so great that he anticipates that even when he has a target on his back, when his enemies actively want to destroy him, he anticipates that they, rather than him, will stumble and fall.
And notice that he doesn't present this as a question. He presents it as a fact. David has developed his relationship with God to the point that he has that kind of profound, anchoring confidence and complete confidence.
David did that over time, as a deeply flawed man. We can do that over time as well.
4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
I think this is one reason that people look to David as being someone we can learn from as we grow spiritually. Again, he was a very imperfect man who did some really not great things in his life, but those mistakes, those sins did not define his life, they did not define who he was. He wasn't defined by his mistakes, and he wasn't defined by what anybody else did to him or how anybody else thought of him.
The thing that defined David is expressed well in verse 4 and 5. David didn't ask for Stuff. He didn't ask for a new car or a new house. He didn't view God as some kind of tool or a cosmic candy dispenser.
Rather, he respected God as being truly beautiful, precious, holy, and worthy of his whole life's devotion.
David says “One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to Gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his Temple.
David was keen to be close to God. He wanted to dwell in God's home. He had such an understanding of the goodness of God that he wanted to Simply gaze upon, appreciate, God's Beauty.
God was David’s highest ideal, and in giving attention to God, David lifted himself up.
And notice David's reference to the house of the Lord and the temple.
David understood that God reveals himself to a people group, and not just individuals. So within the understanding of the Old Testament law, and how they were taught to approach God as a people, David sought to approach God as well.
So there’s something very beautiful about David’s connection with God. Something wonderful came out of his moments of reflection.
So wonderful that 3000 years later, we are reading his thoughts and can be encouraged by his journey with God.
That's all we have time for right now, but I do encourage you to read over Psalm 27 slowly and carefully. It’s easily available online. If you’d like a Bible of your own, please just ask me and I’m happy to give you one.
And I also encourage you to write down your thoughts in response to what you’re reading. That’s a great way to connect with our spiritual side and with God.
