October 17, 2004 Psalm 27
Of David.
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 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.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: 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 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 tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. 8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Whether he wanted it or not, David was a man at war throughout most of his career. As he grew older some referred to him as a man of blood. In many ways, however, that blood was not something he sought to shed. If you remember the history of David - his own King - Saul - for no reason hated David and wanted him dead. Saul personally chased David throughout the countryside of Israel trying to kill him. David’s own son Absalom also forced David from his own palace in an attempt to take over his own father’s kingdom. Yet being a king of Israel also carried with it the responsibility of being an aggressor. God called on Israel to completely annihilate all of the heathen nations in Israel. David was called to fight and make war against Israel’s enemies. So when David mentions “false witnesses and enemies who surround me”, he wasn’t speaking in platitudes. He was speaking from personal experience.
When God calls you and makes you into a Christian, you can’t be a neutral party. You have to be willing to put on your spiritual helmet, shield, and sword so that you can fight. Like David, Abraham, Daniel, and the other patriarchs - it isn’t that we necessarily seek it. More often than not, war comes to us. Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. On top of that, we live in a world of people who are possessed by Satan and being led by their own sinful flesh. You can’t expect to live in a sinful world WITHOUT a fight.
One of the greatest sins that we are committing as a Christian community is that we are afraid of this war. For instance, how many of you are too embarrassed to say a prayer before your meal at school, work, or in a restaurant? How many of you refrain from getting in “religious discussions” with friends and keep silent because you are too afraid of how your co-worker will respond? How many of you are too afraid that you will turn off your neighbor by inviting him or her to church or calling him or her to repentance. If the truth is to be told, a majority of American Christians are embarrassing God with their fear. Our God is the only true God. If we had even a smidgeon of the courage and commitment to our God as the Muslims or the Mormons have to their false gods, we wouldn’t be a religion in decline. The problem is that we are afraid of a fight. We want peace. So we don’t know what it’s like to risk our necks to come to worship or to honestly have our lives threatened for our confession of faith.
David did. He may not have sought these fights, but he didn’t back down from them either. Yet in spite of all of these attacks on his life and his position from his king and his own children, when David writes this Psalm, we don’t get a sense of fear or intimidation. We get a sense of confidence. As we look at this confidence and read it, I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit would lead us also to change from lives of fear so that we can -
LIVE IN CONFIDENCE!
When you watch reality television shows like the Apprentice or Survivor - you can see people that are full of confidence. In the recent presidential debates you can tell that neither George Bush or John Kerry are lacking confidence. There’s lots of confident people in the world. The difference between the Donald Trumps and the Davids is easy to see however. Donald Trump seems to be confident in his ability and his decision making ability. But David’s confidence had a completely different source. 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? No matter what foe David had faced in his life, the wild animals in the open field, the seven foot giant named Goliath, the king chosen and anointed by God named Saul, or even his own flesh and blood, the LORD had come to his rescue. Jesse must have taught David from little on how the LORD had promised great things for the Israelites - most importantly that the LORD had promised a Savior to come through the offspring of Abraham - and David was in fact a forerunner of the Savior. When David was anointed by Nathan, God’s Word says that the Holy Spirit came upon David in power. So with this gift of the Holy Spirit - David knew that his sins would be paid for. David knew that God was on his side - and that God had promised to be with the Israelites and protect them through the battles for the promised land. Whenever David was in trouble, he could turn to the LORD, and HE would deliver in His own way and His own time. David’s faith in God’s Word enabled him to look at life as if he were walking through life with the most Powerful Being in the Universe in his corner. There was no reason for him to be afraid. His confidence was in the LORD.
That kind of an attitude and confidence won’t come to you until you learn how to climb into God’s promises and make Him your shelter - especially when you are entering into a situation that is scaring you to death. There was once a Christian man who was going into a major bypass surgery. Any number of things could have gone wrong. When he started to think about how weak he already was, he was almost sure he would die on the table. He started to get anxious and honestly scared, wondering what would happen to his wife and children - who weren’t very old. It was easy to trust in God with good health, but this was a different situation. So as he lay wide awake tossing and turning, he opened up his Bible to Romans 8 which told him, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ro 8:38-39) When he climbed into this promise, he was reassured that God loved him and that he was headed to heaven no matter what happened. He then remembered the story of Jesus healing the Ten Lepers, and was quickly reminded that no health problem is too impossible for Jesus to cure. He also remembered that if God could take care of him and his family up to this point, then the same God could provide for his family without him.
This example reflects just what David did. He stopped focusing on what HE could do and what the STATISTICS said, and simply focused on GOD and His PROMISES. These promises are like a little spiritual shelter that God wants us to climb into and find refuge in. In Isaiah 59 God says, Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Several days ago my daughter was standing on her bed - when she tumbled and started to fall. I tried to reach out to her, but it was too late. She literally when head first over the bed and flipped over on her back. Miraculously she came out unscathed. If anything would have happened to her I would have felt terrible that I didn’t reach her in time. My arms were too short. But God’s aren’t. Nothing is impossible with God. When you really climb into that fact, there is no need to fear.
When David was IN THE LORD and focusing on God as his light and salvation - it brought a tremendous peace and confidence in his life. It must have been such a contrast to the period where he lived hiding his sins of adultery and murder - feeling guilt and shame for so long. David never wanted to live that way again. Therefore, he had a singular purpose in life. One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: 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 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 tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. David’s singular purpose was to dwell in the house of the LORD all his days. That was the place he felt safest - most secure - most confident - was in the house of worship. David enjoyed seeing those animals be sacrificed - because they reminded him that His Savior was coming to die for his sins. He enjoyed the songs of worship - the choirs - the Word of God that was spoken daily at the temple. He also looked forward the Day that he would not just see the symbols and representations of the Heavenly Building - but would dwell there face to face. That was David’s main goal - to go where he felt best - in the house of the LORD.
As you sit in the pew this morning, do you feel peaceful and confident about your life? I have a feeling that many people don’t look at church as a peaceful place to go. They face it more like a deadline - you know - saying “I have to get my kids ready, get out of bed, get to church, and then try to sit through church for an hour and get my kids to sit through church.” Some people come more out of obligation to their parents or children than anything else. Many Christians seem to be living their lives scared and out of control. So when David talks about seeking to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life for confidence - this seems like a foreign concept.
Last week I had a rare insight into the view of the parishioner. There were hectic things to deal with. My kids were crawling around. When it came time to stand up, I had several of them on my lap. I wanted to make sure they followed along and read along with the liturgy and sang the songs. It was hectic. On top of all that, I was kind of tired. In spite of all that stuff though, I still found great peace and confidence. The Psalm that Pastor Plitzuweit preached on - talking about all of creation worshiping the Lord - was an uplifting thing. Thinking about the concept of “how much is God worth to you?”, really brought out the great value we have in our forgiving God and in our Christian education. It was good for me to be reminded about how much God is worth - more than all the riches of the world! So even though it wore me down physically, it lifted me up spiritually. When I got home my children were able to tell me exactly what the Sunday School lesson was about. That was uplifting too! I felt confident that because of the LORD we will be saved. That’s what church - getting in the LORD - is supposed to do.
David wanted that feeling - that assurance - all his days. So he sought to dwell in the house of the LORD all his days. Obviously, David didn’t spend every minute at the temple as Anna did. He was still called to run a kingdom and fight wars. He had to live in a palace - until He entered the Heavenly one. But wherever David went, he brought those promises with him. This is the next best thing that we can do. God doesn’t want us to live so fearful of lives. He doesn’t want us being so timid. The only reason we are is because we aren’t in the LORD like we could or should be. Imagine the great comfort you could get if you would just read your Bible every night. You’d see promises you’d never seen before. You’d read God’s wonderful history of working with mankind - and get insights into God’s providence you never realized. You’d realize that if God could work out Joseph’s slavery for good, then He can work with you as well. If you could take those promises into the world with you - in the face of your deadlines and temptations - it would be as if the LORD were living right with you. Then you’d be confident. You wouldn’t let the loss of a job or a friendship scare you . So David is saying, if you can’t go to worship every second, take His Word with you. Dwell with Him all the days of your life - so that you can find confidence in his shelter.
I don’t want to draw a false picture of a Christian for you here. David was showing strength in this Psalm. There are other Psalms where he doesn’t show such confidence - more like despair. It wasn’t that David didn’t have sleepless nights and didn’t have concerns. However, this Psalm correctly reflects what to do with those concerns. Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. 8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. When David started getting stressed out, the first thing he did was to pray - confidently knowing that God would help him. After he did this, he had one final thing to say. 13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. He reminded himself that he was going to the land of the living. So he said to wait for the LORD - take heart that LORD was coming to the rescue.
If you find yourself becoming despondent, wondering if everything will work out - chances are you aren’t praying about it. In our world today we are taught to rely on ourselves - to try and find a cure to every disease - to make inventions to try and make life easy. We’ve been spoiled into thinking that we can cure anything and do anything. We live in a society of people who think that they have to be busy and doing something all the time if they really want to be important. The cell phone makes people think that they are more important or they can get more done by talking on the road and doing business on the fly. We look at other countries where people tend to sit around as being lazy and no good. This kind of a mind set has really made us arrogant. When things don’t happen when we want or how we want, we easily become despondent or upset. It becomes devastating to someone who has earned his own wage his whole life to rely on welfare or a nurse in a nursing home. It makes him or her feel worthless and helpless. If you get to feeling that way, David says to do two things. Pray and wait.
These two things are impossible for normal humans to do, but not for those who have the Holy Spirit. When you go back to the promises of the LORD - that HE is in charge and working all things out for good - that’s what encourages PRAYER and PATIENCE. When Mary and Martha were hosting the LORD, who was it the LORD commended? The one who was hectically trying to get everything done, or the one who was listening to the LORD, not stressing out about all the duties? I’m pretty sure that when Luther had a full plate on his desk of things to do, often more than he could handle - he would start out by praying for a couple hours. Human work righteousness would say that is counter productive. Why pray when there is work to do? But according to David - that is the most important thing you can do. If you leave it in the Lord’s hands - then you know that HIS will will be done. Then you can be confident no matter what happens to you - even if you’re going to be fired or lose your health - because you know who is really in charge. That’s what a confident faith does.
After looking at this 27th Psalm, are you a confident Christian or a worry wart Christian? No matter what you are, thankfully we’re all saved through faith in Christ, whether we’re weak or strong Christians - the same blood of Christ covers all of us from head to toe. Yet still, as we examine this Psalm, it would be good to ask yourself these questions - do you pray a lot? Are you patient? Do you enjoy worship? Or would you rather be working? Do you find yourself reading the Bible and looking for comfort? Or do you rather seek comfort in a bottle of beer or a shopping spree or a bowl of ice cream? Do you have room for improvement? The fact of the matter is that faith is an easy thing. It requires no work on our part. However, living by that faith - in that faith - is a totally different matter. It means to dwell on God’s promises and trust in them, no matter what the situation brings - even death. It means to seek God first instead of trying to solve all of your problems. It means praying and being patient. These are not easy things. But when they are done, the rewards are tremendous. As you concentrate on who God is - a shelter, a light, a stronghold - a salvation - it can’t help but give you confidence. When you concentrate on what the LORD promises you - you can’t help but be ready to fight a war - no matter who is bringing it. That’s what happens when you live in the LORD. You become a confident Christian - like David was in this Psalm. God grant it to all of us - that we would LIVE IN CONFIDENCE. Amen.
