Psalm 27: 1-6 are a testimony expressing trust in God that allows him to face the future calmly. The words came from an experience of hard struggle, but also experiencing the help of God. The statement of confidence comes out of a mature walk of faith. Verses 1-3 are an affirmation of faith in God. The Psalmist takes a stand on religious experience. 1 The Lord is my light, a phrase unique to this passage,[1] having the sense of a beacon to safety, and my salvation, found much more frequently in the OT (especially in the Psalter and the book of Isaiah). Although the word salvation has strong theological overtones to modern hearers, the root meaning is simply “help” (as the JPS translation renders the possessive form here, “my helper”). Whom shall I fear? The writer challenges us to make a choice between faith and fear. We do not have to go far to find something to fear. We know we are vulnerable to physical illnesses, emotional distresses, relational breakdowns, economic stresses and spiritual crises. The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? This opening verse sums up the personal experience that enables the psalmist to face new dangers. The Lord means everything to him, so he is free of dependence on the purely human. Evildoers who attack him stumble. Even if an army surrounds him, he will not fear. When we choose faith over fear, we receive the assurance of God’s power and presence through all the challenges of life. We then have a portion of the psalm that, if not from David, is inspired by the folklore of David. 2When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. The psalmist tacitly admits that fear is the natural response to such realities as "evildoers," "adversaries," "enemies," "war" and adding in verse 12 "false witnesses." Such things would strike fear in the hearts of most mortals -- except those for whom God is one's "light," "salvation" and "stronghold." Verses 4-6 express the desire of the psalmist to live in communion with God. 4 One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. This could refer to heaven, although a reference to the Temple is natural. He seeks to behold the beauty of the Lord. This may refer to beholding such beauty after his death. [2] The decisions we make regarding truth will find expression in the way we live our lives. The way we live our lives is a statement of what we think of as the good life. To recognize, however, that what we truly desire is beauty suggests a deeper reflection. Beauty has a way of subtly attracting us and gaining our attention. Beauty calls us out of ourselves and invites reflection simply for itself. Allow me to suggest that our lives are full of struggle and even ugliness. In the end, we want to believe that human life is more than the vast expanse of the universe in which life is so rare. The desire to see the beauty of the Lord looks beyond the evidence our lives present to us. Granted, if we have eyes to see, beauty is present all along our lives. Beauty is present every day. Yet, we must also admit that much falsity, evil, and ugliness are present as well. The longing to see the beauty of the Lord is a longing for an end that affirms the best of human life. He also seeks to inquire in his temple. He is probably using the technical term for seeking a priestly or prophetic oracle. We know that oracular divination was standard practice in the religions of the ancient Near East, including Israel’s, and that such devices as the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; I Samuel 28:6) were used alongside other forms of seeking the divine will, such as dreams and prophetic utterance. He wants worship that centers upon the Lord. The gentleness, charm, and lifelike character of these words make the psalmist a hero of the faith, among the greatest in history.[3] The Lord has become the purpose of his life in a new way. Much of human life is a matter of wrestling with a reliable basis for our lives. Such wrestling generates a certain degree of anxiety just beneath the surface of our lives. Occasionally, the anxiety shouts at us. The reliable basis of life and the decision we make regarding it is our struggle with truth. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent. The shelter and cover refer to the sanctuary in Jerusalem. He will set me high on a rock, a military reference. 6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, a military reference, an ancient sign of renewed vigor or confidence (Psalm 24:7), and I will offer in his tent sacrifices of thanksgiving, a standard part of the sacrificial system, with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord. He vows to give his entire life to the Lord in anticipation of answered prayer. The references to the “tent” of the deity are unusual in the context and not altogether a smooth transition to a new thought. Prior to Solomon’s construction of the Jerusalem temple, the earthly dwelling place of the Lord for Israel was the tabernacle, a portable tent-like structure from the days of Israel’s wilderness experience. But the tabernacle did not continue in service after the construction of the temple — the “holy of holies” replaced it — which suggests that the tent being referred to here is military rather than sacral.
Psalm 27: 7-14 suggest the external circumstances and the poet's inward attitude are so different from verses 1-6 that they must have different authors. His enemies and the family deserting him, he sees the Lord as his only help. He expresses simple and sincere honesty. The prayer is out of a contrite heart. The personal attitude of the psalmist comes through clearly, different from most laments. Verses 7-8 are the invocation. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! The petition for a hearing is customary, but the inclusion of an invocation of the mercy of the Lord implies guilt that leads him to searching self-criticism, surrendering himself to the grace of God. The affliction torments him, in that he brought it on himself, but he seeks God in prayer anyway. Our experience of guilt is our recognition that we have fallen short of what we believe to be goodness. The psalmist had the Torah to teach him what is good. However, people without Torah, without knowledge of revelation from the God of Israel and the Father of Jesus of Nazareth, also experience guilt. It reflects the presence of conscience that involves our personal sense of right and wrong. 8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek. He has remembered the word, "seek ye my face" in Ex 23:17, 34:23, Amos 5:4, Dt, Jer, Zech, Ps 50. 9Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. The language is highly anthropomorphic and is drawing from royal ideology, in which the sovereign granted initial royal favor merely by directing the royal visage in the supplicant’s general direction. This appears to be the underlying image in the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6:24-26 (“the Lord make his face to shine upon you … the Lord lift up his countenance upon you”). It is uncertain to what extent solar imagery may lie even further in the background of such language. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! Guilt marks his entreaties. He faces the righteousness and power of God, which put great pressure on him. He turns to God in spite of his sin, for there can be no help apart from God. 10 If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. False witnesses have risen against him. Others forsake the poet, even parents, because they believe his present affliction is from God. However, the poet believes the Lord lift him up. Verses 11-14 are a prayer for guidance and protection. 11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. The poet knows from his personal experience that human nature will relapse into error and sin. Thus, he prays for the Lord to teach him the way. The way is not well lit. He has affirmed his faith that the Lord is his light, but for the Lord to become such in our way of life requires a process. We need to be taught and led on a level path. The way of a human life is full of dark passages, corners around which we cannot see, and places where we easily stumble. To ask the Lord to teach us is to recognize that the Lord has loved us enough to turn toward us and teach us. The Lord will teach us in what the good human life consists. Our responsibility is to obey, even when our desire conflicts with what the Lord teaches. 12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses, which may refer to slander,have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. Only after this self-examination does the poet have the inner freedom to ask the Lord for protection against the violence and lies of his oppressors. Now he can speak of the greed and violence of others. Deception and violence are far too prevalent in human societies. 13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. The poet regains the strength that is the fruit of faith. The goal of faith is to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. The Psalms constantly extol the kindness and faithfulness of the Lord together. We have to do here with the identity and consistency of the eternal God in the divine turning in love to the creatures God has made.[4] Observing the cruelty and moral evil of life, we justly wonder about the good in life. Yet, most of us have some view of goodness that we want to see in our lives and in our world. Confidence in such goodness is a matter of faith. It involves taking a step beyond what we can observe in our experience. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! The poet confronts himself and encourages himself to hope in God. He overcomes his inward and outward afflictions. Human life is full of such moments of encounter and confrontation. Learning the virtue of waiting is difficult. Since learning is a process, it will require patience. Learning that making demands of life for immediate gratification is not the path to happiness is an important virtue to learn. Further, it does take courage to lead a human life. Most of us have phases in our lives when it took great courage to simply get up in the morning and continue our day. It takes the development of internal strength to live a human life. We learn the disciplines of such a life, some of us more slowly than others do.
[1] Although light is frequently ascribed to the deity (e.g., Numbers 6:25; Job 37:15; Psalms 4:6; 44:3; 89:15; 90:8 — all using the expression “the light of your countenance”; Isaiah 2:5; and especially Psalm 50:2, “God shines forth”).
[2] Dahood
[3] Weiser
[4]
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