Daily Devotion – March 1, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Psalm 27
27:1 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?
27:2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh– my adversaries and foes– they shall stumble and fall.
27:3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
27:4 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, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
27:5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
27:6 Now my head is 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.
27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
27:8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, LORD, do I seek.
27:9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
27:10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.
27:11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
27:12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
27:13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
This is a powerful psalm of faith in the Lord. The writer or poet is surely beset by people who want to do him harm. He has been hiding from the potential violence. But then he asks himself – whom shall I fear? The Lord is my light and my salvation.
And why is the Lord so faithful to this person? Probably because all the poet asks of God is that he might be able to live in the house of the Lord forever, to behold the Lord’s beauty, and to inquire in His temple. Instead of seeking only for his own well being or even victory over his enemies, the writer is seeking the face of the Lord.
The poet knows that people can forsake you. But God is ever faithful. The writer is pinning his hopes on that faithfulness. God’s faithfulness in turn makes the writer faithful – he is seeking only the Lord’s face, the Lord’s temple.
Our faith in this late-modern or post-modern world seems more complicated that the faith expressed in this psalm. But it needn’t be. How often do we seek the face of the Lord? Might we do so? Even every day? If we went looking for God in action in the world, if we prayed and opened ourselves up to the Lord today, as God is working in the world that God loves, we would see God at work. We might even see the very face of God. And then enemies would matter much less, and disappointments would be but trifles.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Truly nothing else matters. The peace of this Lord be with you.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us this psalm about waiting for God, about seeking the face of the Lord. We, like the writer, can know that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Amen.
