Trusting in the Lord

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. The one thing I ask of the Lord; the thing I seek most; is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple. For He will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At His sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music. Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, ‘come and talk with Me.’

And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’ Do not turn Your back on me. Do not reject Your servant in anger. You have always been my Helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me, O God of my salvation! Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me. Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence. Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (Psalm 27) (Genesis 15:1-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35) Our psalmist was no stranger to fear. He knew about fear firsthand and he begins his psalm with a declaration of confidence. But beneath that confidence lie his deep fears and uncertainties.

We know that the psalmist was familiar with war because he often used military images. The writer may have been David, who was describing his own experiences in battle. The writer acknowledges his fear when at times he had been surrounded by a large host; an army. He longs for the assurance of YAHVEH in the presence of this enemy force. For the psalmist, his enemies may have been military armies. But you and I know something about being surrounded by a host, don’t we? We have had our own armies or enemies that have stalked us. This host may take various forms. Sometime the host around us is physical. Sometimes we meet this enemy in the army of viruses that infect our bodies. We know this enemy too well in suffering, pain, accidents, aging, grief and death. On other occasions, this host may take a psychological form. They march upon us and we are plagued by depression, loneliness and anxiety. Sometimes the army takes a social form. There are relationships with others that have broken down.

I.) We like the psalmist, have had our moral lapses. Isn’t that what the phrase, “stumble and fall” implies? We have stumbled. We have fallen into sin or given in to temptation. But the psalmist turns the phrase around and asserts that his enemies “stumble and fall.” The tables have been turned. YAHVEH has given His victory. Our fears; the enemy or host; have been overcome. The psalmist speaks with great assurance. “The Lord is my light and salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the refuge of my life.” He hurls three great metaphors at us to tell us about his confidence in YAHVEH. YAHVEH is light and when the light of YAHVEH comes into our lives, it dispels darkness. When you light a match in a dark room, that small light shatters the darkness and chases it away. When the light of His presence is cast on our pathway, we can face any darkness. YAHVEH is also our salvation. The word literally means “deliverer.” YAHVEH is the one who frees us from the armies and hosts of enemies around us, whatever shape and form they take. He delivers us from the perils around us or within us that would crush us and destroy us. He is the King YAHVEH of the Exodus; the great deliverer.

II.) The psalmist cries, “YAHVEH is my Refuge. He is that Rock upon which I can stand as the enemies are all around me.” Here is another military image. The outward fortress was a sign of inner strength. Among the interesting things I noted as I travelled through England, Ireland and Scotland, were the many great fortresses, a lot of them castles that had been built through the centuries. In the city of Edinburgh, there is a huge castle; fortress that sits on a hill above the city. This is akin to the symbolism that the psalmist is describing here: “My YAHVEH has put me on a fortress. I have strength in His presence to face whatever comes before me.” Note also his personal assurance. “Adonai is my light, my salvation, the stronghold of my life.” This is his personal testimony. Luther has stated that “the essence of real religion is found in its personal pronouns.” This psalmist writes in a way similar to that of the author of the twenty-third psalm: “My Adonai is my shepherd. I shall not want.” “One thing I ask for,” he says. “The one desire I want in my life is that I may be able to dwell in the house of my Adonai all my days and gaze on Him and His beauty.” This he asserts is the central purpose of his life. Is this a longing to go back to the temple or his tent - tabernacle where he might worship YAHVEH again to be in YAHVEH’s presence? Scholars are not sure. If so, he certainly had enthusiasm about doing it. I personally think that there is far more meant here than just going back to a place for worship or a desire for a monastic retreat. I think that the one longing the psalmist had in his life “to be in the house of Adonai all his life” was a prayer for unbroken communion with YAHVEH. The psalmist’s chief desire was that in everything he did he might have the sense of the presence and power of YAHVEH.

III.) The psalmist seems to change his refrain in the seventh verse. Here he seems to begin with a new voice altogether. Some scholars believe this is another psalm. Some feel that there is a contradiction between verse 3, for example, where the psalmist notes with assurance that YAHVEH will protect him from the army encamped around him and verse 10, where he cries, “do not cast me off or forsake me, O God.” Some feel that the difference is so dramatic that there are two psalms. I think this psalm is realistic, because nobody walks on a level plane in his or her trust. Sometimes we are up and sometimes we are down. This section begins with a cry of anguish. “Hear me O Lord, when I cry with my voice” (verse 7). And immediately he begins a dialogue with YAHVEH. “YAHVEH, You told me to seek Your face. Why are You then hiding from me? I have done what You asked.” To seek God’s face literally means “to come into God’s presence.” Do you remember the words of Tennyson in his poem “Crossing the Bar”? “I hope to see my pilot ‘face - to - face’ when I have crossed the bar.” The writer then experiences a troubled spirit (verses 9-10). If this psalm was written by David, maybe he was in the midst of his persecution by King Saul. His family and most of his friends had also forsaken him. During this time he felt completely isolated and abandoned. Had even YAHVEH deserted him? Did his enemies seem more real and threatening now? Were they nearby? Was he a fugitive? Remember the words of our Adonai as He hung on the cross, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (“My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?”) Are there not times when all of us have that sense of being in some wilderness or deep valley? The psalmist’s feelings are often our own.

With confidence the psalmist asks, “Lead me to a level path, O YAHVEH. I would have fainted if I had not seen the goodness of my Adonai in the land of the living.” Fainting is the last act that a person commits when filled with terror. He passes out. The psalmist is saying, “I would have fainted; I would have passed out, but I know that You are trustworthy, O YAHVEH.” Here the psalmist returns to his sense of confidence. He believes that he would see this goodness again “in the land of the living.” Sometimes, when we are deep in our valleys of depression and isolation, we are figuratively acting as dead persons. YAHVEH comes into our lives and raises us up to a new life. Then the psalmist hears his answer: “Wait for Adonai.” Now his answer is not to wait for an answer. Wait in expectancy. Wait in the assurance that YAHVEH is going to do for you what He has promised. Wait with patience. Remember that you and I see only a part of the universe; YAHVEH sees the whole of it. Wait with confidence, knowing that we, like children, can lean upon our YAHVEH whom we can trust. He will give us inner peace.