Summer Psalms - Psalm 27

We're into, I think it's week five of our series in the Psalms, and we've been working through this series called Summer Psalms. And over the next few weeks, we're gonna continue looking at these psalms and seeing what it is that God would say to us through them. And so if you've missed any of the previous weeks, we've done a couple of the Psalms now. They're all available online, and so you can listen to them, you can listen to them on podcasts, lots of different ways you can catch up, and I encourage you to do that because I'm sure they'll be encouraging to you. Today we're in Psalm 27, and so if you've got your Bibles with you, you can turn there, otherwise the words will be on the screen.

Psalm 27, which you'll see when you open it up, is a bit longer than the brief Psalm 3 that we looked at last week. And so we're actually gonna read the psalm in two parts this morning and we'll work through it and we'll ask God to speak to us. So let's do that now as we pray our God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this psalm, Father. We pray that it speaks to us this morning, make us receptive and open to you that Holy Spirit, you would bring these words alive in our hearts, that they would shape us and transform us in Jesus name.

Amen. So Psalm 27, let's get into it says this in verse one. 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 one thing that 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 as the first half of Psalm 27. And unfortunately, this week we don't have what we had last week, where we had a really nice sentence of context, like at the start of Psalm 3, where it tells us that David wrote this about the time he was fleeing for his son Absalom. In this psalm, we don't really have that at the start, but we do have in those opening verses an idea that this is written by David at a period of challenge in his life. Now, if you know much about the story of David, you know that this was not a one off occurrence for him.

He didn't have one tough moment and then everything else was smooth sailing. In fact, he had many of these periods in his life. And so perhaps it was during one of these periods where things were tough, one of the messy times in life, that David penned this psalm. And it gives us some ideas about what's happening. Because in verse two, he speaks of evil people.

He speaks of his enemies who come to devour him, literally translated to rip him apart. And in verse three, he then speaks of mighty armies that surround him. But across these opening six verses, I wonder if you notice there's a bit of a different tone to what we had last week. Across these opening six verses, there's almost a tone of praise. There's a confidence in the way that David writes, in the way that he speaks about the way that he's thinking about his challenges, and the way that he's thinking about God.

And he starts with this rhetorical question. He says, because the Lord is my light and my salvation, why should I be afraid? Why should I be afraid? The word he uses here for God, for the Lord, is a word that we see in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, it's Yahweh. And we've spoken about this word before.

We've spoken about. He says, yahweh is my light and my salvation. But this name for God wasn't just a title for God. It was a name that held deep secrets, significance for them. Because when David declares Yahweh is my salvation, what he's saying is that he's saying that the God whose power is eternal, God, who has an eternal nature, has a covenantal relationship with his people.

He's talking about Yahweh, who isn't a distant deity. He was the one who had revealed himself to Israel, who had delivered them, who they could depend on for protection, for guidance and deliverance. And David says that because Yahweh is my God, I can have confidence. I know, as he says, that my enemies will stumble and they'll fall. And so because of this, David, in the midst of enemies who are seeking to rip him apart in the midst of a time where Armies are gathering around him.

David doesn't cower in fear. Instead, he writes this. The one thing I ask of the Lord in verse four, the thing I seek the 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. I get this picture of David as he writes, and I wonder if you have that picture of him too, that there's a gratitude in the way that he writes. There's a joy and a gratitude in the way that God has carried him through his challenges.

He says, God, you are my light, you are my salvation. You are my fortress, you are my protector. David's confidence in God has been built through his experience of God. And now he's filled with gratitude for God's faithfulness. And he expresses that his longing is simply to be in God's pres.

Presence. And he says that I just want to be in your house every day. What a declaration that is. David knows the peace that comes in God's presence. And he says that in your presence, God, I can lift my head high.

I might have thousands of enemies, but my head is lifted above them. I can sing and praise because in his presence everything changes. And in this place I can have joy. I can sing, I can praise God because his presence brings clarity and it brings peace. Isn't it incredible that David says, armies are surrounding me?

My enemies literally want to tear me apart, but my heart is full of praise for you, God, I don't know about you, but if I had people who literally wanted to rip me apart, if I. I looked out my window in the morning and all my enemies were gathered on my front lawn, I don't think my response would be, God, I just want to praise you. I just want to sing for joy. I might be yelling, but I wouldn't be yelling praises to God. But David knows that in God's presence he is safe, he's secure, and he's assured of God's goodness even in the midst of the mess. And then in the second half of the Psalm from verse 7, David says this.

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'm here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. I wonder if in that second half of the psalm, you noticed any change in the tone of David's words. Because in the start there's this sense of praise and of joy. But here we. We kind of.

We could easily, in those first seven verses, get the idea that David kind of sails through life. The challenges just wash off him. But then perhaps in the second set of verses that we've looked at today, we see something that's similar to Psalm 3 last week. And I'll be honest, when I opened up this psalm to write this message, I thought, how can we have a sermon on practically the same thing two weeks in a row? Like, people are going to be sitting there going, hang on a minute, I feel like I've heard this one before.

And I had this epiphany. It's very simple. It will probably reveal to you just how simple I am. But, you know, this was the epiphany for my week is that we see this repetition across Scripture. It's not just the Psalms, but the Psalms are a good example of it.

We see this repetition, and particularly in the Psalms, and particularly the Psalms of David, we see this pattern where he speaks about his challenges, and then he turns to God and he finds comfort in him. And it's very easy, I think, for me and maybe for you to think, God, why can't I have that kind of faith? Like, David presents his challenges to you, and then he's just like, oh, it's all good, God. You've got it. It's all fine.

It seems like it doesn't affect him anymore. But the encouraging thing, and this was my epiphany, is that you turn the next page in the Psalms and. And you see the same thing again, a different moment in David's life, the same prayer, the same cry to God. I think so few of us face just one tricky moment in life. You've probably in your life had multiple tricky moments, and maybe you're living in the midst of one now.

And I think we run the risk of those challenges kind of really wearing us down. Like, we get to the point where we think, I actually just Think this is beyond my ability to bear. Like, this is crazy. Just the stuff that I've had to go through. And it's very easy for us to think, God, why am I not like those people of faith in Scripture who just trust you in everything, who just in the mess of life think, oh, it's all good.

God's got it. Why can I not be like that? And we see this image of David, who almost feels like that, this great figure of faith who Scripture tells us is a man after God's own heart, a man who knew what it was to trust God and see God bring comfort and rescue. And yet we see in David, in each and every challenge, in each battle, he has to remind himself of God's goodness. He has to remind himself that God is sovereign, that God has got it.

It's like David, as he writes these songs, he's preaching to himself. He's saying, come on, David, come on, David. Put your trust in God. God has rescued you before. Remember that God has been faithful to you.

He has been your defender. So now trust him again. Now. Trust him again now. And we see this pattern where David, faith wasn't easy for him either.

Trust wasn't easy for him either. The battles weren't easy for him. But what he does is he keeps preaching to himself the things that he knows are true about God. And then we turn the page of our Bibles and we see the same thing again. And then we turn the page and we see the same thing again.

That it's a process. It is a process that he went through. It's a process that he had to remind himself. And every testimony he had of God's faithfulness was just courage for the next challenge and church. I'd encourage you today that maybe for some of you, you could stop listening now, because that's the word that you need to hear today, is that each challenge, each battle, God has got it.

But just because you worry, you have doubts, the challenges affect you, doesn't mean that you're some substandard Christian. It just means that you need to keep reminding yourself of God's goodness and of his faithfulness. And that's what we see here in Psalm 27, in verse 7. Here in the midst of challenges, there's this cry of desperation for David. He says, hear me, Lord, when I cry out to you.

Hear me, Lord, when I cry out to you. I don't think David doubted that God could hear him. He knew that God could hear him. But in the midst of his circumstance, in the midst of his challenge. Perhaps he felt that God was distant or that God wasn't hearing him immediately, that there was kind of a lag, like between me and that TV out there, that there's this space between David crying out and him feeling like God could hear him.

And so he cries out, God, hear me when I cry to you. He says, God, don't turn your back on me. Don't forsake me. Don't reject me. And then he points to the character of God.

He says, God, you have always been my helper, so continue to be the one who rescues me. Continue to be my salvation. At the start of the psalm, David gave us these vivid examples of physical enemies, of threats to his physical body. He speaks of armies and enemies who want to tear him apart. But here in verse 10, he gives us another example.

And it's not a threat to his body, it's a threat to his heart. He says, even if my mother and my father abandoned me, the Lord will hold me close.

You might be thinking, I don't remember that Bible story about David's parents abandoning him. Like, what's going on here? And there's a good reason for that, because it's probably, probably is David being poetic here? There's a story over in 1st Samuel 22 where David actually sends his parents off to safety in Moab. And some people suggest, oh, maybe that's, you know, cause they left for safety.

Maybe that's when he felt abandoned. But I think it's probably just poetic illustration. David is making it clear that God is faithful and comforting not just in our physical distress, but in our emotional distress. He's saying, God, if the threat to my life isn't physical, even if it's the emotional turmoil that comes from those who should be closest to us. And he uses the example my mother and my father, even if it comes from them abandoning us, even then, you will hold me close.

Now, I know this morning that for some of you, and through no fault of your own, your relationship with one or perhaps both of your parents has been really difficult. For a number of reasons it could be. And for some, the significance of that has meant that for whatever reason, you feel like you've been abandoned by them. And the damage that that can cause to a heart is really deep. You know, I think perhaps for some of us, we connect more with this because the idea of armies surrounding and camping outside our house is, you know, a bit abstract perhaps.

But some of us have experienced, whether it's parents or whether it's another significant person in our Life. We've experienced the hurt and the pain that comes through that abandonment through someone who's left us, or from parents who just should have been better parents than they were.

And David doesn't downplay that this morning. I hope you're encouraged by the fact that he doesn't say, just get over it or just have more faith. He doesn't say, you know, get a bit of perspective, it could be worse. Instead he says, in those times, God, you are close to me, you are consistent, you are faithful, you don't abandon me, you hold me close and you bring me comfort. What an encouraging word that is from here is that David doesn't just speak of the physical harm and the physical hurt that the messes of this life can cause us.

He speaks about the heart hurt that the mess of this life can cause us. And then he says in verse 11 that even in those great times of challenge, that we need more than just God's comfort, we also need his guidance. You know, it's one thing to call out to God and ask him for his comfort, but it's another thing to really trust his guidance in the midst of a messy moment. And what David says to us here is, God, I need your comfort, but just as much I need your guidance. Give me faith to walk in step with your ways.

And it's not something he just knows in theory. Cause verse 12 highlights that this is David's reality. There are people after him, but the most important thing to him is that he walks in God's plans and ways for his life. And in doing so, he finds confidence that God will protect him. And then he declares this verse 13.

It's one of my favorite verses from all of the Psalms. He says, yet I am confident that I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. What I love about it is that there is so much faith in this statement. Even though he faces enemies and he's facing trials, he is confident that he's going to see God's goodness here and now. It's not just something that he hopes for in the future, although he knows that God has that sorted as well and that that's going to be an excellent hope to have.

But. But he actually says, I'm hoping for your goodness. I'm going to experience your goodness in the here and now. And that's something I'd remind you of this morning. That we should have this hope of eternity, this incredible future that we have waiting for us with God.

But we can also experience God's goodness now.

And then he finishes with these words, encouraging us to be patient. Now, this comes up a lot in Scripture. I'm not a patient person. I suspect many of us. I don't think it's naturally wired within us to be patient.

So if you're a patient person, please let me know and I'll ask for some tips. But David says at the end, he says, wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. What do we need as we wait? We need to be courageous, trusting in God.

See, David's confidence in God's goodness didn't mean that the struggles were gonna be over immediately. But what it meant was that he could endure them knowing that God was faithful. He isn't talking about a passive waiting here either. He's talking about an intentional waiting, a waiting that is active, that is courageous. A waiting with hope, a waiting that says, even if I can't see, I know with confidence that God hears my prayers, that he will bring comfort, that I will see his goodness.

I don't think it's any accident that that's where the psalm finishes. He said, God, I'm gonna see your goodness, but give me patience. Give me patience while I wait. Last week, as we looked at Psalm 3, we talked about four steps out of fear. This week, I've got another four steps for you, but it's a strategy.

It's a strategy for dealing with life's challenges. I think some of you, particularly if you work in the public service or you work in project management, you've probably got all these methodologies that you're trained in. How do you manage a project if something's going wrong? How do you deal with the problems? What are the steps you take?

But I wonder if we've got that kind of thinking when we face a challenge in our lives, whether we've got an intentional kind of mindset that we take on that says, hey, I'm facing something that's really hard here. I'm facing a messy moment, but what's my thinking going to be like? How am I intentionally going to view this challenge? And David suggests for us four things in this psalm, and we're going to work through them pretty quickly. The first one is that in the midst of a challenge, we should focus on God.

I told you I was a simple guy. So you're gonna get four simple points. First, one, focus on God. David starts the psalm with an honest acknowledgement of his problems, but he also reminds himself of who God has been and who God is in his life. Do you Notice he doesn't dwell on his problems.

He spends far more time talking about his God. And he says, God, you have been my fortress. You have been my rescue and my salvation. And I wonder how often when we face challenges in our lives that we actually stop and we intentionally remind ourselves, hey, this might be my challenge, but this is my God. This might be the struggle that I'm going through, but here are the testimonies of God's goodness in my life.

These are the things that I know to be true about God's character and his nature, because it would make such a difference in our lives if we did. Number two, embrace God's presence. You know, David says, my one desire is to be in the house of the Lord. And I can imagine David looking to the tabernacle, this earthly place that represented God's presence amongst the nation of Israel. And I can imagine him looking towards it and desiring to just be there.

Now, it was a tent, a nice tent, but it was still a tent. And David, in a palace, in these royal lodgings, says, I just want to be there. I just want to be there. Look, I'm not a camper. Like, I've had to become a camper.

I've been forced into it by my family. And so I don't get excited about being in a tent. Like, literally a tent. You lose all of the luxuries of a house, and you make everything you have to do twice as hard. If you go camping with me, you get to hear this rant often, like, why is washing up so hard?

But David there looks at this tent and he says, that is where I want to be. I would love to spend every day there in God's presence because I know the peace that comes with it. And I want to remind you this morning that we don't have to look to this pretty ugly school hall. We don't have to look here and say, I just want to spend all week, every week here. You'll be surrounded by noisy kids because you and I have the incredible blessing of the Holy Spirit, God's presence in us, that as we come to know Christ, that he fills us with his presence.

And I wonder how aware we are of that in the midst of our challenges. How often do we stop, whether it's at home, in the car, at your desk, at work, and say, oh, God, I'm so grateful for your presence in my life. I'm so grateful for your Holy Spirit in me. That brings me peace, that brings me courage, that keeps me on the right track.

Number three. Turn to God in prayer. David cries out boldly to God. And we see here that prayer is not just something that brings comfort. It's actually a powerful weapon in the face of trials.

Because as we pray, we invite God into our circumstances. We say, God, I need you to come and have your way in this. I can't manage this on my own. Would you lead me and would you guide me? Would you bring a breakthrough?

And as David prays, as he prays and he cries out to God, he sees God do those things. And fourth, live with expectation.

David expresses this unshakable confidence that he's going to see the goodness of the Lord. And he refuses to allow the challenges that he's facing to shape his reality now. He refuses to let them define his reality. He refuses to let the messes and the challenges he faces shape what he believes and knows to be true about God. And so he declares, my hope is in the goodness of God.

And it's his hope that sustains him through what he faces. I encourage you, church. We too can look ahead in hope. I mean, that hope of eternity is an incredible hope. But we can look ahead in hope now, trusting that we're going to see God's goodness in our lives today.

As we finish this morning, there's this incredible moment over in 2 Kings 6. And don't worry about turning there, but it's this moment where Elisha, one of God's prophets, this great prophet of God, is out staying with one of his asce, one of his servants. And the enemy king is angry at Elisha. You might know the story. Elisha keeps ruining his plans.

God keeps speaking to Elisha and Elisha's speaking to the rulers. And they're able to thwart the plans of the enemy king. And so the enemy king gets really angry with Elisha. And he brings this big army, chariots and soldiers to come and capture Elisha and to kill him. And one morning, Elisha's servant comes out of the tent and he looks out there and just surrounding them is this incredible army.

And he responds the way I said I would if I did the same thing out of my house one morning. He says, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? There's this army here, we're surrounded. And I love Elisha's response.

Cause he says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. There's more on our side than there is on theirs. There's more on our side than there is on theirs. And then Elisha prays this prayer.

He says, oh, Lord, open his eyes and let him see. And we read that suddenly the servant's eyes were opened and he saw these great heavenly armies of chariots, of fire and soldiers that surrounded the enemy.

And I think that should be our prayer too. In life's challenges and messes, maybe we should pray, oh, Lord, open my eyes and let me see.

Wake me up to the reality that you are greater than my challenges, that those that are on my side are greater than those of the enemy.

Because what an incredible thing it would be if God gave us that glimpse. Because for that servant who faced that moment, afraid, what did it do? It filled him with courage. He saw how big his God was, and it gave him the strength to face what he had to face. And so, church, let's pray together this morning.

And let's. And let's ask that God would do that for us. Oh, God, we come to you this morning, all of us having had our various weeks, Lord, all of us coming with our own stories and our own past and our own challenges that we're facing right now, even today. Lord, we thank you for this psalm of David, that it gives us these essential reminders of how we can find comfort, find guidance, find courage in you. And so, God, we just pray this morning that you would open our eyes and let us see how great you are, that you would open our eyes and that we would understand, Lord, that there is so much strength and so much power in you, Lord, that you speak and even the wind and the waves obey you, Lord, that you speak and the earth comes into motion.

And Lord, we take in that, this courage, that there is nothing that we can face that is too great for you. And so we ask you this morning, God, open our eyes, let us see how great you are, that we would find confidence and direction in you. We pray. Amen.