Psalms 27

Psalm 27

The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

 ¹The LORD is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold^[a] of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid?

 ²When evildoers assail me
   to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
   it is they who stumble and fall.

 ³ Though an army encamp against me,
   my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
   yet^[b] I will be confident.

 ⁴ 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^[c] in his temple.

 ⁵For 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.

 ⁶And 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.

 ⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
   be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸You have said, "Seek^[d] my face."My heart says to you,
   "Your face, LORD, do I seek."<sup>[e]

 9</sup> 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!
¹⁰For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
   but the LORD will take me in.

 ¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD,
   and lead me on a level path
   because of my enemies.
¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
   for false witnesses have risen against me,
   and they breathe out violence.

 ¹³I believe^[f] that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
   in the land of the living!
¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the LORD!

I think that Psalm 27 is pretty jam packed. David is calling out to God and asking Him to never leave him. When God is with David, he is fearless and without any doubt. When David's enemies come to attack, God will protect him and cause his enemies to and stumble. In verse 3, he speaks of the calm God give him. "Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet^[b] I will be confident." When his enemies come near, he is without fear for he knows that his God will keep him safe. The Message translation says in the second part of verse 3, "When all hell breaks loose, I am collected and cool."

David says that he asks for only one thing, that God will keep him in His house and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord forever. For this is the only place, David says, where he feels safe and where he can find silence in a noisy world. In verse 6, David is shouting and singing songs of praise. Songs that say how God has lifted him above his enemies. David is heading to God singing anthems of praise to Him and making music to God.

From verses 7 to 14, he is asking God to never leave him or discard him. I love the words David uses in verse 10, "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in." The Message says, "My father and mother have walked out and left me, but God took me in." This is so applicable and relatable! I see that so often with kids at my church. Maybe their parents are still there but they don't feel like they are there. The parents have given up on these kids, or maybe they have even failed them. So in the best cases, they come looking for a God to take them in and give them the security that they have always longed for. 

David asks God to keep him in the light and well lit path. And while on that path David knows he will see God's goodness on the earth. And his last words seem to be a call of encouragement, "Stay with God! Take heart and don't quit. I will say it again: stay with God." So keep strong and don't give up. Because God's goodness moves the mountains. And He will always be there to pick you up when you can't do it on your own, which is a great deal of the time.

Since i already started i will start with psalm 7

 This is the Message translation. I like to go back and forth between the Message and English Standard Version. The comparison is interesting and brings things to my mind that i may have missed.

Psalm 7

A David Psalm

 ^1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life; the chase is wild. 
   If they catch me, I'm finished: 
      ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions, 
      dragged into the forest and left 
      unlooked for, unremembered. 

 ^3-5 God, if I've done what they say— 
      betrayed my friends, 
      ripped off my enemies— 
   If my hands are really that dirty, 
      let them get me, walk all over me, 
      leave me flat on my face in the dirt. 

 ^6-8 Stand up, God; pit your holy fury 
      against my furious enemies. 
   Wake up, God. My accusers have packed 
      the courtroom; it's judgment time. 
   Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel, 
      throw out the false charges against me. 
   I'm ready, confident in your verdict: 
      "Innocent." 

 ^9-11 Close the book on Evil, God, 
      but publish your mandate for us. 
   You get us ready for life: 
      you probe for our soft spots, 
      you knock off our rough edges. 
   And I'm feeling so fit, so safe: 
      made right, kept right. 
   God in solemn honor does things right, 
      but his nerves are sandpapered raw. 

 ^11-13 Nobody gets by with anything. 
      God is already in action— 
   Sword honed on his whetstone, 
      bow strung, arrow on the string, 
   Lethal weapons in hand, 
      each arrow a flaming missile. 

 ¹⁴ Look at that guy! 
      He had sex with sin, 
      he's pregnant with evil. 
   Oh, look! He's having 
      the baby—a Lie-Baby! 

 ^15-16 See that man shoveling day after day, 
      digging, then concealing, his man-trap 
      down that lonely stretch of road? 
   Go back and look again—you'll see him in it headfirst, 
      legs waving in the breeze. 
   That's what happens: 
      mischief backfires; 
      violence boomerangs. 

 ¹⁷ I'm thanking God, who makes things right. 
   I'm singing the fame of heaven-high God.


This is a Psalm by David, or sometimes it is thought that it might be a close associate of David writing about him. But anyway, he is panicking! "God! God! i am running to you for dear life!" He is afraid. David is running to God and running away from evil and sin. His sin is like lions that want to rip him to pieces and leave nothing but a dead carcass. it is interesting because David admits to God that he has sinned, "I've done what they say- betrayed my friends and ripped off my enemies. If my hands are really that dirty, let them get me, walk all over me, leave me flat on my face in the dirt." He confesses to God and says that if God chooses to hand him over to his enemies He will be absolutely justified in his judgement. 


From verse 6, it picks up with David saying to God, "Ok now God, stand up and destroy my enemies! My accusers have packed the courtroom and they are waiting to see Your verdict for me. And I am ready and confident that I will be proclaimed innocent." (paraphrased to say the least.) David knows that he is innocent in God's eyes and God will protect him.


It takes a bit of a shift in verses 11-14, he talks about how nobody gets away with their sin. God knows and is already in action. I find 14 really amusing, especially in this translation, "Look at that guy! He had sex with sin, he's pregnant with evil! Oh, look! He's having the baby- a Lie-Baby!" Its just so absurd! We can become "knocked up" by sin, if we let it. It can conceive in us and grow into a hideous grotesque being that will consume our entire life. I would have never thought about it like that before, and now my mind is just blown!


David's closing thoughts are this, "I'm thanking God, who makes things right. I'm singing the fame of heaven-high God." God is to be praised and David says that clear as day. He had blessed David so immensely and he knew it. So David would write these beautiful songs and prayers that we sing and read. We get a glimpse into the heart of this man we have heard about since we were little kids. I feel like it is getting to know more of your grandpa after he has passed. When your a kid, you don't know much about him. But as you get older, you hear stories and it really makes you appreciate him and his heart.

Steve the aspiring Psalmist

So i am taking a class that is taking through all of the Psalms. I am really stoked about it and i am having a great time digging into the prayers of our biblical role models. The psalms are really just prayers of people who are broken just like you and me. There are a few authors of the psalms and David is one of my favorite so far. This guy had it all, he was in God's good grace and he was serving God with his fullest. But he blew it. He became overcome by sin and had an affair and committed murder. in the psalms, we see him for who he really is and that is a broken hearted sinner. Accepting just judgement but pleading with God to forgive him of his sin. I am trying to read a psalm everyday and just think and pray about it. I will try and keep my blog update with each Psalm. So here we go.

Word,
Steve