PSALM 27
“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?” (Verse 1)
The first line of the first verse opens up with a personal confession. That ‘GOD is my light’ means that I can never be in darkness – He is always there for me, illuminating me, showing me the way, giving me divine directions, ordering my steps aright. No matter how small the light is, once it is present in a dark place, it makes a difference. Therefore, with GOD being my light, He makes a difference in my life! The second assurance – that the Lord is also my salvation – means that I am saved, I am assured of going to heaven, I am sure of being a winner, coming out on top in any situation or circumstance. I am assured that I belong to JESUS; He will claim me as His own. I know where my home is. I have certainty. I have a future that is assured, that is blessed, that is bright and glorious. PRAISE GOD!
“Whom shall I fear” – is it any principality or power, or rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, household wickedness, witches, wizards, flying, crawling creeping creatures? NO! I fear none of them. The Lord is my light and my salvation!
“The Lord is the strength of my life” Wow! It means that I am anchored to the Rock of Ages, the powerful Father, Almighty God, the One that gives me life and power. I am plugged to the greatest power in the entire world. The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the One that says it and does it, the One that has not failed before - never! With this reassurance, the Psalmist was right in saying, “of whom shall I be afraid.” God is the greatest power in heaven and on earth. Therefore, if I am connected to him, He supplies my strength, He gives strength to my life and I cannot be afraid of anything. God is greater than anything. Everything was created at His word. He ordered it and it was created. Therefore, I cannot be afraid because the one that created all these things is my power and my strength. PRAISE THE LORD!
“When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.” (Verse 2)
Because we are connected and draw our strength from GOD Almighty, any power or principality, any foe or enemy that wants to oppress or harass us will fail. Since I do not rely on my own strength but on the strength of GOD Almighty, He will bring his strength to bear against all those wicked enemies or foes that want to eat me up as meat. Note these are not just enemies or foes but are full of wickedness. They are vile, have no mercy and their intention is steal, kill and destroy. [John 10 v. 10] Notice however that even when they make the attempt to destroy because they cannot withstand the power of GOD Almighty who is my strength, they all stumble and fall. [Praise GOD!] And because GOD has given me the power to thread on serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy, I thread on their heads! Halleluiah!
“Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war should rise up against me, in this will I be confident” (Verse 3)
The word “host” means there is a troop of soldiers or a military force. It implies that there are a lot of enemies. Other groupings that we can use a host to describe include “ a host of angels, a host of soldiers. Therefore, when one is surrounded by a host of something, it conjures up the image that the host of whatever e.g. enemies, angels is more than the person surrounded. The Psalmist in fact did not use the word ‘surround”. He used the word “ encamped”. To encamp means to settle round about someone or something or a place. It means that they have set up their camps round about the person and are waiting for an opportunity to attack him. The word “encamp” is a military term and so an attack is imminent or inevitable. The purpose of encamping around someone is to surround him round about so that he cannot escape and then attack him. Yet the Psalmist says that even if a host (multitude) should encamp around him, his heart will not fear. So when a host encamps around us, we should not be afraid. Our light and salvation is there to give us courage. We shall not be afraid of anyone or anything that have surrounded us, waiting to attack us because we have a Father that is more than able to deliver us (See II Kings 6v.14-17) Where the King of Syria sent his soldiers to capture Elisha the Prophet.
“Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots and a great host, and they came by might, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of GOD was raised early and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city, both the horses and the chariots. And his servant said to him,” Alas, my Master, how shall we do. And he answered, “ Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (LORD, you are awesome).
Therefore, even as the Psalmist said, “though an host should encamp around us our heart shall not fear.” We should be reassured, just like Elisha and his servant that the hosts of heaven are also encamped around us, to deliver us and attack the hosts of our enemies (PRAISE THE LORD!)
Again, even though war should rise up against us, in this we will be confident. Imagine, not only an army of soldiers but also a battalion, legion (use any adjective to describe them) coming up to fight against one person. This is a very frightening and daunting prospect. However, because of our confidence in the LORD who is our light and salvation instead of being afraid, we shall be confident. Our confidence comes from the fact that we serve GOD that is Almighty in every sense of the word. He is Omnipotent, Omniscience and Omnipresent. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Great I AM, the one that was and is and is to come. He is a man of war, our very own war general who has never lost a battle or a war. He is always successful. See what he did to Pharaoh at the Red Sea. (Exodus 14- sees especially verse 14- “The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace). See also 1 Samuel 17 v.45-48“Then said David unto the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the GOD of the armies of Israel whom thou has defied… And the assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear “FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S and He will give you unto our hands.” (PRAISE THE LORD!)
Notice also that even though a host may encamp against us, the other host of heaven, which is there to fight for us, is headed by the LORD of hosts, the GOD of the armies of Israel. This is a battle won ab initio!
Verse 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.”
Here, the Psalmist asks for just one thing – and that is to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life. Many of us, if given the choice of just one thing in life will choose money, wealth, possessions, positions, honor, power, fame, health, children, glamour, popularity, etc. Yet the bible says in Matthew 16 v. 26
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange of his soul?”
We have read or heard of stories of some individuals, who, in an effort to get rich quick, approach magicians who give them ridiculous options. They sometimes tell them to bring a hen and spread some grains before it. The man is guaranteed abundant wealth but will only live for the number of years equivalent to the number of grains eaten by the hen. How ridiculous! Yet, this deadly option is fine by some people, all in an effort to get rich quick. Yet, it has been shown over and over again that money or wealth does not necessarily give joy or peace. Multi-millionaires have been known to commit suicide.
The Psalmist therefore chose the most important thing – it is his desire and it does not end with being merely a desire or a wish, he says that he will seek after it. So, merely hoping or wishing to get close to God or dwell in His house is not enough. We must actively seek after it; pursue it with all our might.
The desire and goal of the Psalmist is to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life. Now the question arises, if all Christians are to dwell in the house of the LORD how will they all fir in. Would there be enough space for all of them? The place will be crowded, bathrooms and other facilities will be over-stretched, etc. Again, if all Christians decide to do that, world economies will grind to a halt and eventually collapse. What the Psalmist meant is not to be present in a church or place of worship all the time. What he means is that he wants to be tuned to the things of GOD at all times. To do the will of GOD, to abide in Him, to offer Him praise, to meditate on His words daily, to live our lives according to His word, to dwell upon His promises, to make our bodies a living sacrifice, so that we may be worthy vessels of honor unto him. Remember that our bodies are “living temples of GOD” already, so what we can do is to be constantly in His presence. We should pray that GOD “prepares us to be a sanctuary pure and holy, tried and true.” When we attain this level, then we dwell in the houses of the LORD all the days of our lives. Note that this state is not to be enjoyed for just a certain period of our lives. For instance, I do not expect a teenager to say, I will wait till I am 60 years old before I desire to be in the presence of the LORD. No matter your age, it should be your desire and you should work towards it from now on.
The essence of being in the house of the LORD is to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple. The Psalmist himself said: “Oh worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness.”
To behold the beauty of the LORD is an awesome thing. The Bible records only one man who had a physical encounter with GOD. That was Moses and even though he did not see Him face-to-face, yet after that encounter, Moses’ face was as bright as the sun and he had to cover his face with a veil afterwards because the children of Israel could not look at him directly because the brightness of his countenance was so much. (See Exodus 34 vs. 5 - 10, vs. 29 - 35). So, if we cannot behold the face of the Lord physically, how do we behold the beauty of the LORD? We can do this in so many ways. We can see God’s beauty in the flowers, trees, God’s creations, animals, waterfalls, forests, etc.
The Psalmist also desires to enquire in the temple of God. To ‘enquire’ means to ask questions or to seek knowledge about something. So in effect, the Psalmist is saying that he wants to know more about God. Most people do not know the nature of God. You can know the nature of God in 2 ways:
1. Study His words in the Bible. This will give you knowledge of who He truly is.
2. Look at the nature of Christ and study His words and works. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and even as He himself said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen my Father.”
Why do we need to know about the nature of God? Because if you claim that God is also your Father, you need to know who He is and then model your life according to His ways.
Verse 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.”
A good example of who God truly is can be seen in the encounter He had with Moses in the mountain, when God showed Himself to Moses. See Exodus Chapter 34 vs.5 – 7.
“And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the Lord passed by before Him and proclaimed,’ The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sins and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
Notice that the Psalmist said “in the time of trouble.” Many Christians believe that once they become born-again, troubles will not come. However, Jesus has told us that troubles will come but that we should be of good cheer, because He has overcome.
In the time of trouble therefore, He shall hide me in His pavilion. That means that I have a father who will not abandon me when trouble comes, no matter the circumstances. Rather than leave me to face the storms of life alone and unprotected, buffeted by the storms of life, He will hide me in His pavilion. A pavilion is a canopy that forms a shade or protection. Therefore, when God hides me in His pavilion, I am divinely protected. Look at how God protected Moses when He appeared and His glory passed before Moses. Look at the loving nature of GOD as He protected Moses even from the awesome power of His glory. See Exodus 33 vs. 18 – 23.
“And He said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And He said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the LORD said, Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away mine hand and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shalt not be seen.”
Even as God kept Moses in “a clift of the rock” who is indeed a pavilion, He has promised to keep us all well hidden from the storms of life. To further show His love and concern, he promised to hide us “in the secret place of His tabernacle.” The same Psalmist declared in Psalm 91 v. 1.
“He that dwellest in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” A secret place is a place known only to one person or to a few persons. Therefore, when God promised to hide us in His secret place, His promise is to keep us securely in a place where the enemies cannot find us and harm us. Not only is the place a secret place, it is right in His tabernacle. This is the place where God Himself dwells, the Holy of Holies, a place where only a few anointed priests can visit and even then when they do not follow His precise instructions they can be struck down. That secret place that is reserved for only a handful is where God has promised to keep us safe and sound, a safe haven, away from the raging tempest of the world and from our strong enemies.
“He shall set me up upon a rock.” Now this appears to be a contradiction. When you try to keep something safe and hidden in a secret place, you do not go ahead and place it upon a rock. If you did, the enemy can attack because such a person is no longer hidden. However, our own case is different because we serve a mighty God. He hides us in the secret place of His tabernacle when the storms are raging. And then He will set us up upon a rock when the winds have died down and as a sign that He has given us victory! Notice also how in Exodus 33 v. 21
“Thou shalt stand upon a rock.”
Verse 6 – “And now shall mine name be lifted up above mine enemies round about me, therefore will I offer in His tabernacles, sacrifices of joy, I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord!”
The Psalmist continues in this verse with the victory God has given. Now that God has set me upon a rock, of course I am elevated high above mine enemies. With my head now lifted up above my enemies, it means that my enemies are lying down in the valley of the shadow of death, injured disoriented, paralyzed, and totally vanquished and dead! Because these wicked enemies who had earlier come to eat my flesh but have now stumbled and fallen, the armies of the living GOD have dealt them with fatal blows and all their powers have come to nought. Notice the way the enemies are “round about me.” Of course, this is because they have “encamped against” me, they surrounded me and so in their defeat, they all lie “round about me.” Since the enemies are all dead, the logical thing to do is to thank God who has given me victory and has caused my enemies to be defeated. “Therefore, I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, yea, I will sing.”
Brethren, we need to show our appreciation and gratitude to our God at all times. Many times, He gives us victory, but instead of offering Him “sacrifices of joy,” we are too busy moving on to the next assignment without thanking God. Imagine that you as a human being have managed to avert a major disaster in the life of a colleague at work. Maybe you saved his life, his job or even his marriage! And he never says a word of gratitude. He ignores you and even blames you for saving him from that disaster! How would you feel? What if that same person is faced with another disaster? Will you run quickly to his side and help him again without thinking of his past ingratitude? The answer, I am sure, is a resounding “No,” but that is exactly how we react to God’s mercies which we take for granted, never offering sacrifices of praise or joy. Yet, when another disaster looms near, we run to Him. Thank God however, for His mercies, because no matter how many times we forget to say, “Thank You,” He is still most gracious, and most merciful towards us. THANK YOU GOD.
Verse 7: Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, have mercy upon me, and answer me.”
Oftentimes, when we are faced with certain situations and we quickly run to God, we expect Him to give us an immediate answer or solution to that problem. However, when as it happens, the solution does not come as quickly as we expect it to come, we begin to think in our minds that God is slow, He will not answer or we are all alone. This is not true at all. He says in His word, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Again, in Jeremiah 33 verse 3, he says, “Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew thee great and marvelous things.” There is not a word that is uttered in prayer that does not get to God. However, some prayers may not get to Him on time. They could be swallowed by principalities and powers. They could be delayed and even God’s response to prayers can be delayed. See Daniel 10 vs. 12 – 13. “Then said he unto me, fear not Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days but lo, Micheal, one of the chief princes came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
Back to Psalm 27 therefore, the Psalmist asks God to hear when he cries, have mercy and answer. Notice that it is not just a plea for God to hear and answer. The expected answer is to be flavored with God’s mercy, that indispensable gift of God. Since our God is a God of mercy and grace, he gives these things are freely out of the abundance of His treasures.
Verse 8 – “When thou sayest, seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”
God our Father wants us to seek His face concerning our wants and needs, our plans, arrangements, our marriages, jobs, careers, etc. In fact, He wants us to rely on Him for all our needs. Yet, we do so many things without seeking His face. So when things go wrong, we now run to Him, asking Him to get us out of these troubles, whereas if we had asked Him for help in the first place, we would not have got into these problems. We should always plead and say “LORD, please make your way plain before my face.”
Psalm 32 verse 8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eyes.” Daniel 2 verse 22 says, “He revealeth the deep and secret things, He knoweth what is in darkness, and the light dwelleth in Him.”
Verse 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.”
When someone is hiding from another, it means that he does not want the other person to see him. It could be for so many reasons – perhaps, he is angry, he is disappointed, he does not want to be associated with him again, etc. When the person hiding his face is God, then that person is in deep trouble. When we annoy God or grieve the Holy Spirit, we feel a certain emptiness. It is as if all the goodness and peace and happiness are suddenly withdrawn. One dwells in a place of utter desolation and hopelessness. When one is conscious of a sin, you feel so alone, knowing that you have fallen out of favor with God Almighty. You begin to dread what can happen next because you know that you are far from mercy and grace. Therefore, when the Psalmist was uttering this particular verse, he knows what it is like to experience that state of desolation and utter hopelessness. To avoid being in that state, he therefore pleads that God should not hide Himself away from him.
To be put away in anger is another terrible state. It means that you do not even want to see that person again because you are totally fed up with him. The Psalmist reminds God that He has been his help in times past and he has no help but GOD. He then proceeds to plead with God not to leave him nor forsake him because He is the God of his salvation. Our reassurance that God will never leave us nor forsake us, no matter the circumstances, can be found in these words of comfort: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Our God of Salvation has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us! Thank God for the special gift of His son, JESUS CHRIST!
Verse 10 – “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” The love between a child and his parent is so great and it even extends beyond their lives. Thus, children continue to love their parents even when they are dead. The love between a mother and a baby is especially strong because she carried the baby in her body for nine months. Even the Bible acknowledges this bond by asking, “Can a woman’s tender love cease towards the child she bears?” Yet, the love that God has for us transcends human love. The same bible passage continues with these words: “ Yet she may forgetful be, yet will I remember thee.”
It is possible for parents to hate their children and vice versa. Therefore, it is easy and it does happen everyday, for a woman to forsake her child. We see and hear of abandoned babies everyday. In the United States of America, there have been cases of children taking their parents to court and asking the courts to order a decree of divorce between them and their parents. The reasons vary, but it could be as ridiculous as the child thinking that the parents impose too much discipline. Thank God however, that no matter the circumstances, even if our earthly parents reject or forsake us, our heavenly Father is there to take us up. Just as He has promised not to leave us nor forsake us, He will always be there to pick us up when we are broken and abandoned by those who claim to love us. In the words of that song, “You are not alone.”
Verse 11 – Teach me thy way O Lord and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.” Here, the Psalmist asks God Himself to teach him His ways. This is a very wise request because even as the Bible says, “My ways are not your ways.” Therefore, if a man does not walk in God’s ways, he will be doing something that is contrary to His will and His way. Therefore, asking GOD to teach you His ways is a wise request so that you may walk in His paths. Again, the Psalmist asks GOD to “lead him in the plain path because of his enemies.” The ‘plain’ or narrow path is the one that leads to life. “…wide is the gate…”
So therefore, when God leads in a plain path, it is not the turning and twisting paths or a walk in the “valley of the shadow of death.” It is a road that leads to the Lamb of God. When God leads one in a plain path, he is free from the torments of the world and from the evil wiles of the enemies.
Verse 12 – “Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breath out cruelty.”
This verse starts with an appeal by the Psalmist that God should not deliver him over unto the will of his enemies. Of course, the will of the enemy is always terrible, always wishing evil at all times. So even after asking God to lead him in a plain path because of his enemies, the Psalmist asks God not to let the will of the enemy to override his life.
John 10 verse 10 says, “The thief comes not but to steal and to kill and to destroy.” So this can be said to represent the will of the enemy. In other words, the Psalmist is praying that God will not allow the will of the enemy to prevail upon his life because if it does the effect is to kill, to steal and to destroy.
The Psalmist says that false witnesses have risen up against him. One of the Ten Commandments of God, that is, Number 9 says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” (Exodus 20 verse 16). Therefore, any false witness is already disobeying God’s commandments. The Psalmist describes them as “such as breathe out cruelty.” These are aggressive enemies, ready to tell lies against the Lord’s anointed, full of wickedness, deceit, etc.
Verse 13 – “I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
Here, the Psalmist expresses what could have happened to him if he did not have the expectation to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He would have fainted and such would have led to his death. However, thank God for his expectation and like the Bible assures us, “the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off.”
Verse 14 – “Wait on the Lord be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart, wait I say on the Lord.”
Here, in the last verse, the Psalmist encourages us to “wait on the Lord.” God is never too late; He is always on time. Therefore, we should never be in a hurry to do things that he has not approved or given us the ‘go-ahead’ to do. We should learn to wait on Him and trust Him all the time. Again, the Psalmist encourages us to “be of good courage.” This reminds us of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He said: “Be of good courage, for I have overcome the world.”
The Psalmist reassures us that GOD will surely strengthen our hearts and for emphasis, he says in the last line, “wait I say unto the Lord.” We must learn to trust God and wait for Him to honor His words in our lives. We should trust Him because He has promised and He cannot fail. He says in Jeremiah 32 verse 27, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me?” Praise the Lord for His never failing mercies, kindness and faithfulness. Blessed be the name of the Lord! AMEN.
