David’s Rescuer and Ours – Psalm 27

A text – Psalm 27

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 devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I asked of the Lord; this I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold 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 set me high on a rock.

⁶ Now my head is 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 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
⁹  Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off; do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
¹² Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, & they are breathing out violence.

¹³ I believe that I shall see 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!

A reflection:

In this psalm David is utterly confident in the Lord. He is once again beset by enemies who David believes will be defeated by the Lord. He is eloquent in calling upon the Lord in the face of his enemies.

Do we, in our day, believe the Lord will rescue us? Have we been rescued by God in the past, some incident or time we can remember and describe? That might make us more likely to rely on God’s rescue and protection in the future. I can think of times in my life that the Lord has protected me. I of all people should have the confidence to praise the Lord and say all the words David has said here. But sometimes I forget about those times God has protected me. Why? I should be remembering, and gratefully.

If you have never experienced God coming to your rescue, what would you imagine that would be like? Has anyone ever “breathed out violence against you”? It would be hard to wait for the Lord and be strong. Sometimes, though, we feel we might be in danger, or at the very least, in a threatening time over which we seem to have no control. That is when we need someone bigger and more powerful whom we know will always be with us, guarding us. We need David’s faith in seeing the goodness of the Lord. David is witnessing to us, right here in his psalm. Wait for the Lord, he says. The Lord will not forsake you. Believe it, he says. Trust in God and God will prevail.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your protection of David, and for inspiring him to write psalms that survive to witness to us. Help us to remember David and his faith in you, so that when we need it, we can have faith too. Amen.