Psalms 27:1. 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?
A sort of trembling seems to have been creeping over him, so he argues thus with his own heart, «Why should I be dismayed? Am I afraid of coming darkness? ‘The Lord is my light.' Do dangers surround me? The Lord is my salvation. Do I expect stern labour or severe suffering? ‘The Lord is the strength of my life. Are there many enemies watching for my halting? Yet, ‘of whom shall I be afraid' since he is on my side?» Then he falls back upon his past experience:
Psalms 27:2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
«They were very fierce. Like cannibals, they meant to eat me right up. They would not have spared me. They ‘came upon me' in such a fashion that I was taken at a disadvantage. I seemed to be altogether in their power, but ‘they stumbled and fell.' I had not to lift a hand against them, but the mysterious power of God entirely overthrew them. They stumbled and fell then, so shall I be afraid of them now?»
Psalms 27:3. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
«God has not changed. My enemies are not more powerful than they were; and if they should become so, omnipotence will still overmatch them. I will therefore be confident, and calm, what may.»
Psalms 27:4. 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,
«That, wherever I am, I may be at home with God, that I may feel, in every place, that I am still in his house, never away from home, whether in the wilderness or in the city, still dwelling like a child at home with its parents.»
Psalms 27:4-5. To behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:
«Will not a father take care of his own children? Does not even the feeble hen cover her chickens with her wings, and will not God cover me with his feathers, and cause me to rest in safety under his wings? Ay, that he will.‘In the time of trouble he shall hide me' away from it, so that it shall not hurt me. I shall be hidden right away in his pavilion, in his royal tent, which is pitched in the very center of his army. Around me shall lie all the forces of divine providence to protect me, since I am the honoured guest of the Commander-in-chief himself. In the pavilion of his sovereignty shall he hide me.»
Psalms 27:5. In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me:
That is, in the holy of holies, into which no man might come. «There shall God hide me, in the tabernacle of sacrifice, behind the atonement of Christ.» Thus David had the two blessed protections of sovereignty and sacrifice.
Psalms 27:5. He shall set me up upon a rock.
«His lofty power shall lift me above the turmoil, and his immutable fidelity, like a rook that never moves, shall make me to stand fast.»
Psalms 27:6. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me:
«They may surround me, and threaten me, but they cannot hurt me, for I am living with my God, abiding like a child in my Father's house.»
Psalms 27:6-7. Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice:
He has not done praising before he begins to pray. We are scarcely out of one trouble before we enter into another. This is what keeps Christian people alive, because, escaping from one trial, they begin to praise, and falling into another, they begin to pray; and prayer and praise make up a Christian's life breath. May we abound in both!
Psalms 27:7-8. Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
«So I answered thee when thou didst speak. Now answer me, O Lord, when I speak to thee.» It sometimes happens that God speaks to us, and we make no reply to him, and for that reason he refuses to hear us when we speak to him. You must have an opened ear to God if you expect him to have an opened ear to you. Notice how David pleads: «Hear, O Lord when I cry. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.»
Psalms 27:9. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger:
David has a jealous fear lest he should have provoked the Lord to hide himself from him, so he prays as one who is dependent upon his Heavenly Father's smile, and cannot live without it. «Put not thy servant away in anger.»
Psalms 27:9. Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
That is sweet pleading; cannot you, who are cast down, use it as David did? «Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.» And then, as if to show that he does not pray this out of unbelief, but out of earnest and true faith he says:
Psalms 27:10. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
«The Lord never will forsake me. Though I pray, ‘Leave me not,' I know that he will not. Father and mother retain love for their child when that child has lost every earthly friend; but, Lord, if nature should change, and mothers should turn to monsters, still, when my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.'»
Psalms 27:11. Teach me thy way, O LORD,
This is a sweetly practical prayer. Our heart often says, «Lord, let me have my own way;» but when grace has done its work, it talks in another fashion, «'Teach me thy way, O Lord.' Only let me know what thou wouldst have me be, and do, and feel, and I submit myself to thee, joyfully.
But, Lord, I am so weak that, even if I am taught thy way, I fear I shall not go in it unless thou shalt do more than teach me.»
Psalms 27:11. And lead me
«Put thy finger out, as mothers do to tender infants: ‘Lead me'»
Psalms 27:11. In a plain path, because of mine enemies.
«Do not let it be a difficult way, in which I shall hardly know which it the right road; but let it be a very plain path. And, Lord, help me so to walk in my daily life that there may be no mistake about my being upright and honest before men: ‘Lead me in a plain path.'» Oh, there are some, even among professing Christians, who have many tricks, and shifts and schemes, and dodges, just like worldlings or foxes, but the sheep of Christ must take care to follow the Shepherd's plain footprints. There was no graft in Christ. In him was no guile; and if we are Israelites indeed, the same thing will be said of us. Oh, that we would each one cultivate a transparent character, and not have to live so that our life is one perpetual apology for an attempt to hide something! Wear your heart upon your sleeve, and let your soul show itself distinctly in your actions, not being afraid if all the world should see you.
Psalms 27:12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
It is their delight to be cruel, to say unkind, unjust, untruthful things which lacerate the heart; and the more some people can tear good men's reputations to pieces, the more pleased they are. I must say that it is hardly less than a miracle, that any true servant of God should for any length of time escape even from the vilest slander, so base is the tongue of men.
Psalms 27:13. I had fainted, unless I had believed
That is the smelling bottle for a fainting soul: «I had fainted unless I had believed.» You must do the one or the other; you must either believe or else faint, but if your faith is strong you cannot faint. O thou who art of feeble faith, it is little of a marvel that thou faintest! Would God that thy faith were stronger! Notice what David says, «Unless I had believed»-
Psalms 27:13. To see
Some say, «Seeing is believing,» but it is not: it is the very opposite of believing. Some people must see in order to believe, but the true followers of our Lord believe to see. If thou wilt believe it, thou shalt see it; but if thou wilt not believe it till thou hast seen it, then thou shalt never believe at all. «I had fainted, unless I had believed to see»
Psalms 27:13-14. The goodness of the LORD is the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Why did David put that little sentence in and say, «Wait, I say»? It is a repetition, but not a vain one, for it is his own personal testimony, as much as if he had said, «I have waited on the Lord, and I have found that he helps me, so, wait, I say, on the Lord.» Oh, but my brethren and sisters, we wait so much upon men, we wait so much upon ourselves, if we could get into that holy quietness in which God's voice could be heard within our souls, if the voice of man could be hushed, and we were content that the Lord should speak to us, how much more blessed would our lives become! Now hast thou any burden at this moment? Hast thou any ears? Hast thou a knot which thou canst not untie? Hast thou into a labyrinth of which thou canst not find the clue? «Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.»