Whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27v1-3
4th October 2024
Psalm 27v1-3
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?
When the wicked advance against me to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament completed in the second century before Christ, says this psalm is "David's before his anointing". That is, David wrote it before he was made king. We can't be certain, but it seems very likely that David wrote this psalm in the days when Saul was still king of Israel. David had served Saul well, and was commander of a section of Saul's army, but he was so successful in battle that the women of Israel sang, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands" (1 Samuel 18v7). Saul didn't like that. He was angry and jealous. For the rest of his life, he tried to kill David, and David had to hide in caves, deserts and forests, and even with the Philistines, to stay alive.
In the midst of all his trouble and all his grief, he begins this song by saying, "The Lord is my light and my salvation". His first thought is not about his difficult circumstances, but about the Lord. May you and I always acknowledge God first, whatever our circumstances.
The Lord is my Light
David acknowledges that the Lord is his light. God alone gave him spiritual understanding and insight. 2 Corinthians 4v6 says that "God… made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ". Why do you and I love Jesus when most people don't really care about Him? Why do you and I believe the Bible when most people don't? Why do you and I trust God? Why do we believe that we will spend eternity in glory with Him? Because God has mercifully shone His light in our hearts to show us the truth. The Lord is my light, and yours.
We're not better than other people. We're not wiser or cleverer. God has revealed Himself to us, and has revealed the Good News of Jesus Christ to us. You and I know that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. We didn't sit down one day with a pencil and a piece of paper and work that out. We didn't philosophise until we saw that it must be true, logically. God showed us that it's true. The Holy Spirit continues to assure us that it's true. God has given us confidence in the truth of the Bible, which reminds us that it's true. Our faith – which saves us – is a gift from God. It's not something from within ourselves; it's something He has given us. Amazing grace!
The Lord hasn't just given us light. He is light:
John 1v4 says of Jesus
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
In John 8v12, Jesus said
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but
will have the light of life."
The Lord is my Salvation
Although David didn't know or understand the Gospel of Christ, he was aware that the Lord is his salvation. David couldn't keep himself alive. He couldn't always evade Saul's army through his own wisdom. He knew God was protecting him, saving him. God keeps us alive, too, until the day He chooses to take us home to be with Him. And our eternal life depends entirely on God. Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins because there is no other way anybody can be saved. We cannot save ourselves. Only Jesus can pay the just penalty for our sins. The Lord is my salvation, and yours.
Acts 4v12
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
man by which we must be saved."
Romans 10v9
... if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" amd believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Whom shall I fear?
Knowing that God is our light and our salvation, David asks the rhetorical question, "Whom shall I fear?" If we truly trust God, we need fear nobody.
The Lord is my stronghold
David then asks a similar question, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?" David had enemies. He was on the run for his life. The Israelite army was searching for him. Informers were giving away his location. He was hopelessly outnumbered. No doubt he experienced difficult and uncomfortable circumstances, trials of various kinds, but God kept him safe. God had promised he would be king one day, and the prophet Samuel had anointed him in anticipation of that time. God kept him alive until he came into his inheritance.
To be a Christian is to have God as a fortress, a stronghold, an impregnable castle, around us. There may be humans trying to hurt us, or to silence us. We have spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6v12). We too will encounter difficulties, problems and trials of many kinds, but God will keep us safe. We have been promised eternal life. We have received the Holy Spirit. God will keep us safe in Christ until we come into our inheritance - eternal life in glory.
Romans 8v35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
If we really believe these things, why would we ever be afraid? Some Christians have been badly taught, and don't understand that our eternal salvation is assured. Also, I think the truth is that we're afraid of discomfort on earth, when we would be better advised to focus on the things of heaven:
Colossians 3v1-4
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in
glory.
Life on earth can be very difficult but, because God in infinitely loving, infinitely wise and infinitely powerful, we know that all of the trials that we encounter on earth are ultimately for our benefit:
Romans 8v28
... we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose.
2 Corinthians 4v17
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that
far outweighs them all.
My head and my heart
David then proclaims, "When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident". This is a marvellous statement of faith.
I find this all rather challenging. My head agrees but my heart may wobble when the wicked advance against me. I can't claim that I never get afraid. All I can say is that I know that my fear is irrational. I know on a theoretical level, on a theological level, that I need not be afraid. But my heart is not as sure as my head about these things. My emotions lag behind my understanding. The faith in my brain is stronger than the faith in my feelings. But I believe that, by the Holy Spirit, my heart is catching up. And I believe that meditating on the truth is the best way to become more convinced that it is, indeed, the truth. Reading this Psalm, and other scripture, does us good.
Understanding before emotion.