“A PSALM OF TRUST”

Psalm 27

God created man with a wide range of emotions. Under various circumstances we express these emotions. Some are stronger and more pronounced than others. One of the stronger emotions is fear! In fact, fear is the first emotion expressed by man following his fall into sin (Genesis 3:10).

Fear is good if it is the right kind of fear. Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

Fear is a natural human emotion - the natural response to human tragedy. We experience fear in a state of uncertainty about certain things. We experience fear when we come to grips with our inability to cope with present or potential problems. Just facing life itself often brings fear.

If we put all of these into a boiling pot, they would boil down to one thing: Fear results when our personal preservation or the preservation of loved ones is threatened! Fear comes in the wake of life’s threats. The key is, what do you do with it? Do you live with it - or do you turn those threats and fears into a challenge - a challenge to trust God? “What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee”(Psalm 56:3a).

A STANZA OF CONFIDENCE (Psalm 27:1-3)

In Ecclesiastes 4:12 we see the basis for David’s confidence - “A threefold cord is not easily broken”. It is a three-fold cord of God’s grace that holds David in the grip of stability.

“The Lord is my Light” - first strand

• The Lord becomes the personal and present need of His people (I John 1:5).

• The first thing God said was “let there be light” Genesis 1:3. Light is our essential need. There has to be light as a basis for any kind of meaningful existence.

• For a Christian to exist in a world of hatred, darkness and confusion, we have to have God’s mind, God’s perception of life. We have to have God’s illumination in our own personal affairs (I Corinthians 1:30, 2:16, James 1:5).

“The Lord is My Salvation” - second strand

• Salvation - “deliverance, safety, health” (Webster’s Dictionary). In the context, David’s salvation took the form of deliverance from danger. David was being delivered from danger all his life.

• Salvation for the believer is a package. Christ is our salvation from eternal danger (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Christ is our salvation from present danger (I Corinthians 1:18).

• There is a sense in which the believer is experiencing God’s deliverance throughout the entirety of his life. Deliverance from self doubts, fear, uncontrolled emotion, internal conflict. These things are more devastating than human enemies could ever be.

“The Lord is the Strength of My Life” - third strand

• Cities of refuge were places of safety or protection in the Old Testament (Numbers 35:65). Our “city of refuge” is found in Proverbs 18:10 & 11 and II Corinthians 10:5.

• The Lord is the believer’s defense from a vicious, unseen enemy (Ephesians 6:10-17).

Beloved, what is the basis of our confidence? Where do we put our trust?

Love to you all.