Rev. Alan J. Meenan
I encourage you to open your Bible to Psalm 27. It’s a great Psalm. Ponder with me some of the incredible thoughts that the Psalmist wants to share with us. They are words of encouragement and words of hope, words of great confidence and great joy—the kind of words that speak to the heart that droops. We need these words because life is hard some of the time or most of the time—hopefully, not all of the time.
This past week I had a friend who lost his daughter in a tragic accident. The week before, one of my dear friends lost his job and his income. My own daughter struggles with health problems. Life is precarious when security is threatened, when your witness and ministry is overwhelmed, when a relationship is compromised, when you feel intensely alone.
I’m aware that some of you sitting in this room this morning are feeling some of those emotions. This is a special word to you today because life is such an insecure thing. Achievements vanish over night. Applause fades. Friends become foe. Sometimes we wonder if anyone really cares at all.
That’s what drives me back again and again to Psalms—these are really songs of our lives. They encapsulate in so many ways every human emotion: songs of praise and songs of lament, songs of consolation, songs of encouragement, songs of celebration.
In Psalm 27, the Psalmist has evidently been attacked by enemies (verse 2), is living under the threat of eminent war, (verse 3), excommunicated from the community of faith (verse 4), in trouble (verse 5), rejection (verse 9), his family disowns him (verse 10), and he is subject to slander (verse 12).
Ironically, this is a song of hope—of cheerful comfort and joy—written long ago for such a day as ours. This was written for those who suffer, are sad and struggling. It begins with this incredible confidence exuding from the mouth of the Psalmist right from the beginning in verse 1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?” There is absolute certainty that seems to banish fear—no matter how great the threat happens to be.
Will you notice on whom the Psalmist places his confidence? It’s not in himself. Rather, he says, “the Lord is these things to me. The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
The Apostle John exuberantly writes, “in Him is life,” referring to Jesus, “and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4–5)
The Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation. Salvation finds us in the darkness but does not leave us there. The Psalmist is using light and salvation synonymously. Will you notice that he doesn’t say, “the Lord gives me light. The Lord gives me salvation.” This is what we might tend to think. He says, “the Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation.” If the Lord is your light and your salvation, whom shall you fear?
“The powers of darkness,” Paul says in writing to the Ephesians, “is that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities.” He uses this terminology: “against rulers and authorities” and “against the powers of this dark world.”
Martin Luther wrote in his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress:
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim—we tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.
One little word shall fell him.”
The Lord is my life and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Regardless of how big the problem, when David focused upon the greatness of God, he realized danger was insignificant. He placed his confidence in the real power of the omnipotent “I am,” the creator God, the redeemer God. The Lord is my strength and the stronghold of my life, a place of safety, a light to guide, a stronghold to protect. That’s pretty neat.
What I suggest to you is that you are pretty well covered: life, guide and protection. So he says a second time, “the Lord is my life and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Even if life itself is threatened, this holy boldness propels him through life’s turbulent waters, no matter what may come.
Look at verses 2 and 3: “When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and 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.”
I do not need to tell you that there are situations in life that are difficult. There are times we know when people can be mean-spirited. You know that there are circumstances that are grossly unfair. It seems the Psalmist is echoing that thought in verse 2, that his enemies at times want to destroy him completely. He also has that great confidence that says they are going to fall flat on their face. Do you have that confidence in Jesus Christ?
The secret is to keep focused; keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Those who overcome are people who have their lives anchored in God. That’s easy to say and to appreciate, but sometimes it’s not so easy to live like that. I encourage you not to be so easily distracted by the cold shoulders, the criticism, the insults, the anger, and the hatred that you encounter from time to time. Remember that you are a child of the King. He is your light to guide you. He is your salvation to save you. He is your stronghold to protect you.
Verse 4 is an incredible affirmation. It seems that the Psalmist craves only the protection and fellowship of God. His is not a divided loyalty, nor is he fragmented in his priorities. This is perhaps the most single-minded statement in the entire Bible. Mark it well. “One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek…” One thing! If there is only one thing, then you will be rescued from all other kinds of distractions, from weakness, and from disappointment. What is the one thing? Yearning to experience more of the weightiness of God. The one thing is the desire to enjoy the constant presence of God for the rest of one’s life. With singleness of purpose, the priority within is to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek. “…to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in His temple.” This is the essence of worship: indeed, the essence of discipleship.
It is important that we become preoccupied with God. Are you preoccupied with God? Does he consume every waking moment? When you have a moment to think, do you think of him? The Psalmist does.
I’ve seen enough young people in love to know that is possible. I hear older folks saying it’s not possible to be consumed in love. If you have forgotten, go back and ask a young person in love, “Do you ever stop thinking about Joe or Jill?” “I can’t think of anything else. My life is complete. I’m in love!” Oh I remember those days. Some of us are still privileged to still feel that way.
The Psalmist is in love with God. God consumes his every moment, his very being. Is that not our desire? “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…and to seek.”
Do not glimpses of Jesus Christ ravish your heart? Do you not find him altogether lovely? Do you not find in him one who is chief among 10,000? Does Jesus ravish your heart?
John writes, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
To echo the words of the hymnist:
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
He’s just the same as his lovely name.
That’s the reason why I love him so.
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
Now let us consider the context of the Psalm and the pain the Psalmist has to bear: the enemies that surround him, the war that surrounds him, the excommunication from the community of faith, the trouble, the rejection, the turning away by his own family, the slander that he has experienced. Of course one can trace painful circumstances several times in David’s life. I suspect he is in the wilderness, being pursued by Saul. You might expect in such painful circumstances that David would be self-absorbed. When trouble comes into your life, you tend to be self-absorbed.
Yet, here is a picture of a man who set his heart on the pearl of greatness. He senses security in the presence of another. When trouble comes—and trouble will come—your heavenly Father will give you the best of shelter in the worst of danger. David understands that the foe may be all around him, but he is hidden. It’s an amazing concept. I wish we had the time to get into it even deeper.
Let me tell you one quick story of Bishop James Hannington, a martyr to Jesus Christ. James Hannington was a Bishop in Eastern Equatorial Africa and an Englishman to boot! He wrote his last entry in his diary: “I felt they were coming upon me to murder me, but I sang Safe in the Arms of Jesus and laughed at the agony of my situation.” James Hannington knew that he was hidden in the bosom of Jesus Christ, who once said, “Don’t be afraid of those who can kill the body because that’s all they can do. If you must be afraid, be afraid of him whom can send your soul to hell.”
It’s a great Psalm. By the time you get to verse 6 he says, “I will sing and make music to the Lord.” The Lord is my life and my salvation. Who is there to be afraid of? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Don’t be afraid.
I encourage you to open your Bible to Psalm 27. It’s a great Psalm. Ponder with me some of the incredible thoughts that the Psalmist wants to share with us. They are words of encouragement and words of hope, words of great confidence and great joy—the kind of words that speak to the heart that droops. We need these words because life is hard some of the time or most of the time—hopefully, not all of the time.
This past week I had a friend who lost his daughter in a tragic accident. The week before, one of my dear friends lost his job and his income. My own daughter struggles with health problems. Life is precarious when security is threatened, when your witness and ministry is overwhelmed, when a relationship is compromised, when you feel intensely alone.
I’m aware that some of you sitting in this room this morning are feeling some of those emotions. This is a special word to you today because life is such an insecure thing. Achievements vanish over night. Applause fades. Friends become foe. Sometimes we wonder if anyone really cares at all.
That’s what drives me back again and again to Psalms—these are really songs of our lives. They encapsulate in so many ways every human emotion: songs of praise and songs of lament, songs of consolation, songs of encouragement, songs of celebration.
In Psalm 27, the Psalmist has evidently been attacked by enemies (verse 2), is living under the threat of eminent war, (verse 3), excommunicated from the community of faith (verse 4), in trouble (verse 5), rejection (verse 9), his family disowns him (verse 10), and he is subject to slander (verse 12).
Ironically, this is a song of hope—of cheerful comfort and joy—written long ago for such a day as ours. This was written for those who suffer, are sad and struggling. It begins with this incredible confidence exuding from the mouth of the Psalmist right from the beginning in verse 1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?” There is absolute certainty that seems to banish fear—no matter how great the threat happens to be.
Will you notice on whom the Psalmist places his confidence? It’s not in himself. Rather, he says, “the Lord is these things to me. The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
The Apostle John exuberantly writes, “in Him is life,” referring to Jesus, “and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4–5)
The Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation. Salvation finds us in the darkness but does not leave us there. The Psalmist is using light and salvation synonymously. Will you notice that he doesn’t say, “the Lord gives me light. The Lord gives me salvation.” This is what we might tend to think. He says, “the Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation.” If the Lord is your light and your salvation, whom shall you fear?
“The powers of darkness,” Paul says in writing to the Ephesians, “is that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities.” He uses this terminology: “against rulers and authorities” and “against the powers of this dark world.”
Martin Luther wrote in his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress:
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim—we tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.
One little word shall fell him.”
The Lord is my life and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Regardless of how big the problem, when David focused upon the greatness of God, he realized danger was insignificant. He placed his confidence in the real power of the omnipotent “I am,” the creator God, the redeemer God. The Lord is my strength and the stronghold of my life, a place of safety, a light to guide, a stronghold to protect. That’s pretty neat.
What I suggest to you is that you are pretty well covered: life, guide and protection. So he says a second time, “the Lord is my life and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Even if life itself is threatened, this holy boldness propels him through life’s turbulent waters, no matter what may come.
Look at verses 2 and 3: “When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and 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.”
I do not need to tell you that there are situations in life that are difficult. There are times we know when people can be mean-spirited. You know that there are circumstances that are grossly unfair. It seems the Psalmist is echoing that thought in verse 2, that his enemies at times want to destroy him completely. He also has that great confidence that says they are going to fall flat on their face. Do you have that confidence in Jesus Christ?
The secret is to keep focused; keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Those who overcome are people who have their lives anchored in God. That’s easy to say and to appreciate, but sometimes it’s not so easy to live like that. I encourage you not to be so easily distracted by the cold shoulders, the criticism, the insults, the anger, and the hatred that you encounter from time to time. Remember that you are a child of the King. He is your light to guide you. He is your salvation to save you. He is your stronghold to protect you.
Verse 4 is an incredible affirmation. It seems that the Psalmist craves only the protection and fellowship of God. His is not a divided loyalty, nor is he fragmented in his priorities. This is perhaps the most single-minded statement in the entire Bible. Mark it well. “One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek…” One thing! If there is only one thing, then you will be rescued from all other kinds of distractions, from weakness, and from disappointment. What is the one thing? Yearning to experience more of the weightiness of God. The one thing is the desire to enjoy the constant presence of God for the rest of one’s life. With singleness of purpose, the priority within is to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek. “…to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in His temple.” This is the essence of worship: indeed, the essence of discipleship.
It is important that we become preoccupied with God. Are you preoccupied with God? Does he consume every waking moment? When you have a moment to think, do you think of him? The Psalmist does.
I’ve seen enough young people in love to know that is possible. I hear older folks saying it’s not possible to be consumed in love. If you have forgotten, go back and ask a young person in love, “Do you ever stop thinking about Joe or Jill?” “I can’t think of anything else. My life is complete. I’m in love!” Oh I remember those days. Some of us are still privileged to still feel that way.
The Psalmist is in love with God. God consumes his every moment, his very being. Is that not our desire? “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…and to seek.”
Do not glimpses of Jesus Christ ravish your heart? Do you not find him altogether lovely? Do you not find in him one who is chief among 10,000? Does Jesus ravish your heart?
John writes, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
To echo the words of the hymnist:
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
He’s just the same as his lovely name.
That’s the reason why I love him so.
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
Now let us consider the context of the Psalm and the pain the Psalmist has to bear: the enemies that surround him, the war that surrounds him, the excommunication from the community of faith, the trouble, the rejection, the turning away by his own family, the slander that he has experienced. Of course one can trace painful circumstances several times in David’s life. I suspect he is in the wilderness, being pursued by Saul. You might expect in such painful circumstances that David would be self-absorbed. When trouble comes into your life, you tend to be self-absorbed.
Yet, here is a picture of a man who set his heart on the pearl of greatness. He senses security in the presence of another. When trouble comes—and trouble will come—your heavenly Father will give you the best of shelter in the worst of danger. David understands that the foe may be all around him, but he is hidden. It’s an amazing concept. I wish we had the time to get into it even deeper.
Let me tell you one quick story of Bishop James Hannington, a martyr to Jesus Christ. James Hannington was a Bishop in Eastern Equatorial Africa and an Englishman to boot! He wrote his last entry in his diary: “I felt they were coming upon me to murder me, but I sang Safe in the Arms of Jesus and laughed at the agony of my situation.” James Hannington knew that he was hidden in the bosom of Jesus Christ, who once said, “Don’t be afraid of those who can kill the body because that’s all they can do. If you must be afraid, be afraid of him whom can send your soul to hell.”
It’s a great Psalm. By the time you get to verse 6 he says, “I will sing and make music to the Lord.” The Lord is my life and my salvation. Who is there to be afraid of? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Don’t be afraid.
