OUR BANNER AGAINST FEAR.
Psalm 27:1-14.
It is a wonderful and profound statement: “The LORD is my light and my salvation.” It is a challenging and liberating truth: “Of whom then shall I be afraid?” Yet we must be careful not to gloss over this personal message, nor to imagine that it is only for others, nor to take it for granted, nor to treat it with the contempt of familiarity.
1. We look first at the ground of David's confidence in this Psalm: “the LORD.”
When the moniker “the LORD” is used in English translations of the Old Testament, it is a device that stands for the unspoken name of the true and living God. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is; the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the Holy One who saved Israel from captivity in Egypt; and the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
In New Testament times we might also recognise in this symbol Jesus Himself, who is our light, whose name means salvation, and who is the strength and confidence of the people whom the LORD God His Father has given Him. David was fully aware of the plurality of the Godhead when he said in Psalm 110:1, “The LORD said to my Lord...” - a verse quoted by Jesus Himself (Luke 20:42), and by Peter (Acts 2:34).
David had also called the LORD “my shepherd” in Psalm 23:1, yet Jesus had no hesitation in declaring Himself the Good Shepherd under the Godly moniker “I am” which corresponds to “the LORD” (John 10:11). In another “I am” saying, Jesus declares: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). In fact, Jesus never shrank from nor denied the accusations that He was making Himself equal with God.
After all, there is but one God, yet there are three Persons in the Godhead, co-equal and co-eternal. It is this God in whom we must place our trust. This is the beginning of our faith.
2. Secondly, we may consider the particular attributes of the LORD which give rise to David's assurance: light, salvation, and strength.
The light of which David speaks is not created light, the light of the cosmos or the sun, moon and stars. It is uncreated, original light, found in God Himself. This is the foundational light of which the Apostle John speaks: “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
John elsewhere refers to Jesus as the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world (John 1:9). Again we have evidence of the plurality, and the oneness of the Godhead.
There is also such a thing as created light, which God brought into existence on the first day (Genesis 1:3-5). This was ahead of the sun, moon and stars - which only put in their appearance on day four (Genesis 1:14-19). God Himself is the source of all light.
In another of His “I am” sayings, Jesus claims to be “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). To substantiate this, He healed a man born blind whose testimony is echoed by all who have been saved from the blindness of ignorance and ungodliness: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
The salvation which David celebrated involved the same LORD who had delivered Israel out of captivity in Egypt, and brought them into the holy land under Joshua, whose name means “the LORD saves.”
Yet the name “Jesus” also speaks of salvation, “for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). God is able to save to the uttermost all that come to Him in this name (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus provides the only way for man to be spared from the slavery of the world, the flesh and the devil, and the corruptions which arise as a consequence of our rebellion against God. He has borne the penalty and punishment of our sin. There is no other name under heaven, given amongst men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Furthermore, having been saved, the LORD is seen as the strength of the believer's life. He makes us strong to fight the good fight of faith. In His name we overcome all the snares and traps of the devil and his cohorts. “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).
In this we can have confidence: that He who has begun a good work in us will carry it through to its completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). We are called to be holy, but we are not expected to accomplish holiness without the constant ministrations of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. In the meantime, be patient with me: God hasn't finished with me yet. My strength is in Him!
3. Let us take account, thirdly, of the personal nature of David's relationship with the LORD: “my” light, “my” salvation, and the strength of “my” life.
That God is light is not as remote a reality as it sounds. He is “my” light, says David. In Jesus is light, and that light is the light of men (John 1:4).
There are different degrees of light, but Jesus conveys His light not only to “all men” in a general sense, but also uniquely to His own people. This reaches its climax in heaven: “and there shall be no night there; and they shall need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light” (Revelation 22:5).
David also perceives the LORD to be his salvation. It is God who delivered the youth from the jaw of the lion and the bear, and the hands of the giant. The LORD also saved the man from the spear of the king on more than one occasion, and was with him in exile. When he became king himself, David recognised the LORD's intervention on his behalf against all his enemies.
As for his strength, David personally found the LORD to be a strong tower (Psalm 61:3). His hands were made ready for war as and when necessary. This is as true for his spiritual battles as for ours. “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side” - then surely we would have been swallowed up, and that right quick (Psalm 124:2-3)!
4. Fourthly, let us follow David's example and take reassurance ourselves in the combat against fear, the enemy of faith.
“Whom shall I fear?” asks David. “Of whom then shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
The Psalmist looks to his own experience. When the wicked rose up against him, they stumbled and fell (Psalm 27:2).
A host encamped against him would not arouse fear within him; a war declared against him left him with his confidence intact (Psalm 27:3).
David took confidence in God as his sanctuary (Psalm 27:4).
The king foresaw "the rock" of our salvation - Jesus (Psalm 27:5).
Like Paul and Silas after him, David praised the LORD in the midst of adversity (Psalm 27:6).
When we cry to the LORD in our distress, we find Him to be a merciful and prayer-answering God (Psalm 27:7).
When He calls, we should likewise answer (Psalm 27:8).
He who has been our help in the past will not forsake us. Just as surely as He has saved us in the past, He will deliver us from each new challenge and crisis (Psalm 27:9).
So that, even if our closest kin should break ties with us, yet we know the LORD's uplifting in the midst of every adverse circumstance (Psalm 27:10).
Our path should be the path of submission towards Him, and we should exercise a teachable spirit (Psalm 27:11).
Then we might appeal against the unreasonable and unkind (Psalm 27:12).
And in the midst of all this we can know, with David, that we shall see the goodness of the LORD – not pie in the sky when I die, but here and now, in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13)!
David leaves us with the exhortation to wait upon the LORD, our light, our strength and our salvation. David himself had waited patiently for the LORD, and He had answered, and brought deliverance (Psalm 40:1-2). When we wait upon the LORD, He renews our strength (Isaiah 40:31).
We are to be of good courage, a recurring exhortation in the career of Joshua and the people of his time.
Then we shall know the inner strength of God within us: “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
As in Philippians 4:4 concerning rejoicing, there is an echo: “Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).
When we are tempted to fear, we should remember that fear is the enemy of faith. It is also unreasonable to fear when Christ is on our side. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We are more than conquerors through Him who has loved us, and washed us from our sins (Romans 8:31-39).
