Mar 17 2019 - Psalm 27 – The Lord my light and salvation

This is a beautiful Psalm with its wonderful opening affirmation:

The LORD is my light and my salvation –
    whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life –
    of whom shall I be afraid?

We can readily identify with the words of David. The light of God's presence and glory has shone into our hearts in the Lord Jesus. He has saved us through his death and resurrection – the Lord is our light and our salvation. We are more than conquerors in Christ who loved us." The Lord is the stronghold in which we have taken refuge; we need fear nothing.

David expresses his confidence that God will keep him safe in time of trouble. This psalm may have been written when he was being pursued by King Saul, or when he had to flee from Jerusalem because of the rebellion of his son, Absalom (see 2 Samuel 15:25-26). In the face of such troubles, David expresses a single-minded longing in v.4, a longing that should be echoed in the heart of every Christian.

One thing I ask from the LORD,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
    and to seek him in his temple.

David longs to live in God's house all the days of his life. David longs to live in close fellowship with God himself, to live consciously in God's presence and under his Fatherly care day by day.

He longs to gaze on the beauty of the Lord – longs to see more of the beauty of God's character; he wants to know God – to appreciate more of the beauty of who he is. He wants to see more of the beauty of God's holiness, the beauty of his faithfulness, mercy and love. He wants to know God better and to love him more.

The beauty of God's character is revealed supremely in the Lord Jesus Christ – the one who is the image of the invisible God. He is the one in whom God has revealed his glory and shown us the depth of his mercy and love. So surely, we want to gaze upon the beauty of God's character displayed in Christ and to bask in the light of the glory of God that has appeared in the face of Christ Jesus. We want to know him more and to love him more fully.

David longs to seek the Lord in his temple, that is, he longs to know God's will and to walk in it.

This single-minded desire with its threefold expression provides a wonderful picture of the desires that should shape the Christian life. And they are something that David seeks from the LORD. They are gifts of God, which we nevertheless are to seek from him with all our heart and energy. The diligence of our seeking is an expression of the measure and reality of our desire for God.

Father God, as you have shown us the glory of your grace in the Lord Jesus, so we seek you in him. We want to know him better, to love him more and to follow him more closely and constantly. Help us by your Spirit to live in close fellowship with you daily, enjoying the blessings of your protection and care. May the Lord Jesus be the central object of our desires and at the heart of our conversations, that others also may come to seek you through him and find in him their light and their salvation.

Peter Misselbrook