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? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident . . . 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. 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. Hear my voice when I call O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me . . . I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27: 1-3, 5-7, 13, 14, NIV.
Holy God, it is our privilege to come and bow in Your presence as we listen to Your voice through the study of Your Word. Help us not to be merely hearers but also doers of Your will. This we pray in the blessed name of Jesus the Christ! Amen.
Today we will continue our study on selected portions of Psalm 27 – a psalm of David. So far, the psalmist has been expressing his faith in what God represents in his experience. Today we will continue along that line of thought and then we will follow him as he proceeds to describe how it applies in practical, everyday, terms. The last metaphorical application we looked at in our study yesterday was that of a stronghold. Some synonyms for stronghold are fortress and garrison. Both are places of refuge, especially in times of war. The Christian is constantly engaged in cosmic warfare, and as we found out in our study yesterday, a stronghold is a place of survival. The psalmist says, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” He could afford to be confident! He had no need to be afraid! The psalmist saw the temple of the LORD as his safe place! He looked forward to seeing God’s face when He visited the temple. It would be absolutely fabulous if people could say whenever they came to church, “I can hardly wait to see the face of God today, and learn more about Him!” Indeed, the temple of the LORD should be a safe place, and a place where we both see and hear from God!
We read in verse 4 of Psalm 27 (not included in our Scripture) the following: “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.” David realized that he needed only one thing! He felt that if He could dwell in God’s house as long as he lived, just to contemplate his inexpressible beauty and be in His temple; constantly seeking His face, no evil could ever befall him! Listen to what Jesus told Martha when she was anxious and busying herself with many things, “Martha, Martha . . . only one thing is needed.” The one thing that was needed was what Mary had chosen “[that would] not be taken away from her” (Luke 10: 41, 42). What did Mary do? After she met Jesus, all she wanted to do whenever He visited their home, was to sit at His feet and look into His peaceful face, and learn of Him! No wonder she was anxious for nothing! The things we learn of, and from, the LORD, while sitting in His presence, are life-producing and nerve-calming. Not even death, will be able to take them away from us! Therefore, Mary had no need to be anxious. For this reason, the psalmist had no need to fear! They both knew “this one thing,” that “Jesus never fails!”
We will continue this conversation!