Psalm 27:1-14 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?… This psalm is an instance of what an old divine has called "confidence in God the best succour in the worst seasons." I. THE OCCASION OF THIS CONFIDENCE. In David's case we find this confidence — 1. In times of peril. The true children of God are oft in peril, and at such times nothing can stand them in such stead as this assured confidence. Luther felt it at Worms. Armed with it, the Christian may ever look even death calmly in the face. Man without it is in time of peril like a ship without anchor in the fury of the storm. 2. In times of privation. Apparently David was (ver. 4) in exile, and deprived of the privileges of worship in the house of God. But he found his great support in his confidence in God. 3. In times of desertion. When he needed friends most, the ranks were thinnest, his standard most deserted. But he had a Friend who would never forsake him. Happy the man who, amidst general unfaithfulness, has found the great treasure of a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 4. In times of calumny. A bitter element in David's cup were false witnesses and slanderers. II. SOME OF THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS CONFIDENCE RESTS. 1. The nature of God Himself in His personal relation to us: "My Light, my Salvation... the Strength of my life." It is not what we are, but what God is, that affords a solid ground of confidence in time of trouble. There is an emphasis on that pronoun my which speaks of an eternal covenant, an appropriating faith, a mystical union. 2. Previous interpositions of God for our help. Ver. 2 evidently refers to a period in the psalmist's past history when he was delivered from great danger. As the child of God looks back on the way by which the Lord has led him, and sees how Divine strength has been made manifest in his weakness, confident is he that the grace which has brought him thus far will lead him safely home. 3. The religious experiences he has enjoyed (ver. 8). 4. The promises of God received and rested on by faith. III. THE FRUITS OF THIS CONFIDENCE. 1. Complete deliverance from all fear (ver. 1). Fear is unworthy one to whom Jehovah stands in such relations. 2. A positive sense of security from all harm. Jehovah, the Captain of our salvation, takes the timid soul into His own royal tent. 3. A well-spring of happiness. The Christian life has its hosannahs as well as its misereres — its notes of joyous triumph as well as its plaintive "songs in the night." (T. H. Witherspoon, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: {A Psalm of David.} The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? |
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