Happy last day of April! This has felt like an incredibly long month to me! I’m getting more and more anxious to actually be able to meet face to face! Today we’ll be looking at Psalm 27:
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 evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Take some time and read through this Psalm slowly. Meditate on the words and let them soak into your being. Some Christians I’ve talked to have struggled with the idea of meditation because it often brings to mind (at least in my mind!) various Eastern mystical poses where people have contorted their bodies into weird positions and they’re saying “hmmmmmmm” over and over and over. But Christian meditation is unlike any other form of meditation. Generally, people when they are meditating are told to try to empty their minds. Christians are called to fill their minds during mediation. Fill it with thoughts of God. Thoughts of His goodness. Thoughts of His holiness. Thoughts of His Words. So fill your mind with the words of this Psalm. I’ll give you a couple things to think about from this Psalm.
First, how does David describe God in the first verse? There are 3 words used to describe God: light, salvation, and stronghold. The first one: light is something we see throughout the Bible. Light brings things into focus. Light allows us to see. Light chases away darkness. Similarly, light exposes everything. God being light means nothing can be hidden from Him. The second one is salvation. God is our salvation, and in Him is the only place salvation can be found! He saves us from eternal separation from Him, from our own sin and depravity and provides a way for us to boldly approach Him. Lastly is the word stronghold. A stronghold is the best place to hide when you’re being attacked! I always think of that scene from The Two Towers in the battle at Helm’s Deep, when the odds are stacked against them, the orcs are too numerous to defeat so the heroes finally withdraw to the stronghold to await Gandalf’s final attack and ensuing victory. God Himself is our stronghold that allows us to endure in the midst of any persecution thrown at us! Even as I preached on last week, we can endure if our foundation is secure in Him!
Secondly, in verse 4 we see another good thing to meditate on: to dwell in His house forever. David’s son Solomon was asked by the Lord 1 thing that would be guaranteed. What would you do if God came to you and would give you 1 thing that you most desired? Would you ask for immeasurable wealth? A body that will never give out on you? David here reveals what He would ask: to be with God forever. Now imagine David writing this at a time where God would only be met with in His temple. In this new covenant era that we live in, we’re all called temples because God is with us all the time! I’m guessing David could hardly fathom such a thing! We get to dwell in God’s temple forever because we all are God’s temple! I’d encourage you to take some time today to pray through the rest of this Psalm! Remember to meditate on it and fill your mind with these words!
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Pastor Mike's Musings 