“Psalm 27: The Song of Hopeful Faith” (Part One)

Hope and faith are very big words—words that we need to understand. This brings us to a fascinating song of Israel, Psalm 27, which gives understanding to these powerful ideas of faith and hope. One of the main features of this psalm is that the Lord’s house comes into view. At the time of David’s writing the Temple had not been built, but the place of worship (the tabernacle) was still regarded as a symbol of the presence of God among His people. This concept causes the psalmist to desire…

• to flee to the place of worship as a sanctuary of safety and protection from his enemies, and,
• to come face to face with God in the place of worship.

To communicate this, David uses several profound themes. Now, this psalm is often identified with David’s flight from Absalom (cp. v.10 to 2 Samuel 22:2-4). That may explain why his recurring themes are…

• The Lord’s protection
• The joy of the Lord’s house
• An unswerving commitment to loyalty by the singer

That is why David went to the place of worship, and his hopeful faith is energized by the power and presence of the God of heaven. It begins as the psalmist is confronted by…

The Light of the Lord (vv.1-3)

A. Clarity- “Light” (v.1) is a figure for all that is good and pure. It refers to all that is positive (truth, goodness, joy, etc.), and here it is even moreso, for it is God’s response to our fears. Fear is a destroyer of the soul, and is often experienced most intensely in times and places of darkness. This is but one of the reasons that we are called be lovers of the Light—NOT the things of darkness.

John’s Gospel is a treatise on the conflict of light versus darkness, with the battle lines drawn clearly by the declaration of Christ that in fact, He is “the Light of the world!” (cp. John 1:7-9; 12:35-36,46; 1 John 1:5). The psalmist’s response to this light?

B. Confidence- “Whom shall I fear?” is a declaration of total confidence in the Lord! Why? Because He is the “defense”—the very strength of my life. My protection is in Him, and He protects me like a stronghold! The NT parallel is found in Rom. 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” It is a confidence born out of trust in the saving love and power of God (cp. Rom. 8:31-39).

C. Contrast- Notice (vv.2-3) the complete and comprehensive nature of the enemy attacks, yet all of that is taken in the Light and strength of the Savior. God removes the need of fear! He replaces our frail fears with His great confidence, so that we need no longer be terrified by the world and its attacks. Paul put it, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7).

• Surrounded by darkness, the singer turns to the light.
• Surrounded by fear, he finds the confidence of God that consumes those fears.

The psalmist is enabled to face the enemies of life with the confidence that comes from the protective care of the mighty God. We’ll continue our look at Psalm 27 tomorrow.