1. 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?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
7 ¶ Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (KJV)
Adam Clark outlined it this way:
- Freedom from Fear with Confidence in God (1-3)
- Love to God and His ways (4-6)
- Prayer for Assistance & Support (7-13)
- Exhortation to Dependence on God (14)
That is as good an outline of the passage as any I’ve seen. If you want to snap a picture of that, feel free to do so. So let’s ponder this for a little bit this morning. And as I walk through this I encourage you to relax your mind and let it think on these good things.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army deploys against me, my heart will not be afraid; though a war breaks out against me, I will still be confident.
David was a warrior: one of the most valiant & successful warriors in the history of Israel. This Psalm is full of military terminology and perspective. Some scholars suppose that this Psalm was written by him after the events of 2 Samuel 21:15-22 where David was almost killed by the Philistine giant Ishbibenob. One of his men, Abishai, came to David’s aid and killed the giant before he could use his new sword with deadly effect. After this close call, David’s men said to him, “Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.” In other words, “David, you are our hope and inspiration. You are to be king. We cannot risk you being in such mortal danger again.” Some suppose that David then penned these words as part of his response or reaction to that sentiment. “The Lord is my light and my salvation. The Lord is the strength of my life, whom should I dread?” Whether or not this is the background of this Psalm, there is no way for us to know. But I pose the exclamatory questions to you today: “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – whom should I dread?”
Can you say emphatically in faith with the Psalmist that you are not afraid of evildoers? Can you state with confidence that your enemies will not prevail? Can you express assuredly that you are not afraid of even the armies arrayed against you – because you are not trusting in yourself but in the Lord? Too often we say with our mouths that we are trusting in the Lord, but we don’t really mean it. We mean that we are trusting in our own strength most of the time and today we feel good about it. Unfortunately, that is not the same thing. David is not saying “Today I feel like worshipping God so I am expressing my faith and praise. No. He is saying that in the toughest of times – in the fiercest battles when I should fear all is lost, I don’t fear. For I am not trusting in my own strength; I am trusting in the strength of the self-existent eternal Jehovah God! I am not resting behind hastily constructed defensive positions of shallow sand, sticks, and rock. I am taking refuge in the mighty stronghold of God.
When soldiers take up a defensive position from enemy fire, they are limited to whatever cover they can find in the immediate environment: whether it is a shallow ditch, a wall, a building, a tree, they will hug the ground and hunker down behind whatever they can. If they have a few moments of time they will scoop out a shallow hollow to help them get lower and hopefully out of the reach of enemy fire. This is what it is like if we trust in our own strength…it may get us through for a little bit, but it can’t last as a defensive position. For true defensive positions, walls are erected, barbed wire is strung, guard posts are elevated, gates are placed, barriers are spaced about, bunkers are dug, weapons are positioned at key locations with intersecting fields of fire, and a watch is set. It becomes a heavily fortified place of defense, refuge, and safety. This is the comparison David was making. “The eternal God is my light in the darkness and my salvation. He is not my foxhole – He is my stronghold: whom should I dread? Whatever comes – no matter how fierce the battle or how strong the enemy, I need not be afraid for I am safe in the hand of the Lord.”
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter in the day of adversity; he will hide me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be high above my enemies around me; I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to the Lord.
This section the passage is interesting to me. At first it seems David is now turning his thoughts away from battle and war and difficulty and instead focusing on worship and praise. But we quickly discover that is not the case. As he begins to talk of the beauty of the Lord, we discover that He is not contemplating an absence of adversity or imagining a life without enemies. Rather, he is expressing his reliance on God in spite of them. His is not an expectation of peace without struggle but rather a rest amid the battle that comes from utter trust in God. He wants to remain God’s presence continually, fixing his heart upon Him. He wants to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and rejoice in His glory. He wants to anchor every moment of living – even the battles – in eternity.
When the enemies surround, when trouble comes, when hardship besets him, he takes refuge in the tabernacle of God. God is his camouflage, his shelter, and his protection. He also continues his military terminology: “He will set me high on a rock” & “my head will be above my enemies around me.” For thousands of years, holding the high ground has been recognized as an important military tactic. The ancient strategist Sun Tzu advised military leaders to take the high ground and force enemies to attack from the lower position. Not only does it provide a superior position to observe and fire upon the enemy, it also forces large heavy armor whether elephants or tanks to stop because they cannot climb in steep terrain. It also forces cavalry to dismount and attack on foot whether in chariots or Strykers. What he is saying, is that “I will hold the high ground.” Strategically I will have the advantage over my enemies when I trust in the Lord.
Whether it be physical enemies, emotional enemies, or spiritual enemies, as believers, we must go to the high ground of faith, trust, and worship. When the battle is fiercest, then is when you need to run to the shelter of His arms. You see, when we are in the midst of the battle with its chaos and fear and destruction, Satan wants to separate us from our sanctuary. He wants to inhibit our prayers. He wants to interfere with our worship. He wants obstruct our faith. But in the middle of the fiercest battles, we need God more than ever. Ask Mr. Jesse sometime what it is like to radio for fire support and receive it! When under fire, infantry units will call for artillery fire or for close air support and in will come the Air Force or Navy pilots to support and suppress the attack of the enemy. We have the same option as believers in God. We can cry out to Him and call in that “air support.” Sadly, we too often do not. We rely on our strength. We sweat and struggle and stress and shout instead of taking refuge in Him and letting Him have control. Instead of letting Him hold the high ground.
May I encourage you today to stop struggling so hard and center your heart directly on God? Cry out to him. Let Him take you into His tabernacle. Let Him shelter you in the fortress of His arms. Rest in His strength. Let Him fight the battle for you. And never forget, these battles are temporary – for we are eternal beings serving an eternal God and we will leave these temporary battles behind to be with Him forever. Rest in Him! Sing with joy and worship in your heart placing all of it in His capable hands!
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call; be gracious to me and answer me.
8 My heart says this about you: “Seek his face.” Lord, I will seek your face.
9 Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.
I love this because the Psalmist gets even more real here. He honestly confesses his fears and worries. He talks about his fear of abandonment, his lost earthly relationships, and his concern that God might be angry with him. He admits that his heart had been convicted to seek God and that he is responding to that urging of conscience and praying to Him now. He relies on the graciousness of God. He confesses his deep need of God and expresses his faith that God will hear and answer his prayer.
Did you know that it is okay to be real with God? Prayer is not supposed to be limited to only our fanciest words and most worshipful phrases. Prayer is not some sort of creative writing exercise whereby we please God and impress our friends. Prayer is supposed to be visceral and real and right where we are. We should always pray with respect and reverence for Who God is, but we should also talk to Him honestly and genuinely. It’s okay to pray, “God, I’m angry with you!” “God, I’m hurting right now!” “God, I feel alone!” “God, I’m lost – I don’t know what to do!” “God, I don’t understand!” “God, I don’t want to forgive.” “God, I want you to take revenge upon my enemies!” “God, help!” How do I know it’s okay to pray this way? Because the Scriptures – and especially the Psalms – are full of such prayers as people cried out to God whether in faith or despair.
We need to be the same way. If you’ve been trying to figure out how to impress God with your prayers or pray fancy things so other people think you are spiritually special, STOP IT! Talk to God! Get real with Him. Stop thinking of Him as imaginary and far away. He is real and He is HERE. He is listening and ready to hold a conversation with you if only you will be honest with Him and then listen when He whispers His reply. Seek His face. He is our helper and He will not abandon us.
11 Because of my adversaries, show me your way, Lord, and lead me on a level path.
12 Do not give me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing violence.
We are going to face adversity. Whether from human context or spiritual warfare, we are in a battle. We need to have level footing for our feet in order to fight. We need to be stable as we enter combat. All too often Christians are not balanced in their battles. We are not fixing our eyes on Christ. We are not listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit. We are not concentrating on the Word. We are not living in a place of constant worship. As a result, when the battle begins, when the combat comes, we are not balanced with stable footing. Our feet are not set. We are not on the level path of the Lord. Because of this we stumble, we falter, we fail, we fall. The only way to avoid this is to be walking with the Lord in His way on His path.
The conflict is fierce. The skirmishes are hot. Violence is the order of the day in the battles we face. Have you experienced physical violence…emotional violence…spiritual violence? You say, well, “Pastor Rick, “I don’t know. I mean, I’m just facing life like everyone else.” Well, let me ask you this: when life goes “wrong” or things don’t go right…what is happening in your heart? When your car doesn’t work or your body doesn’t work or people fail you or relationships struggle, what are you tempted to do? You are tempted to give up on relationships. You are tempted to give up on living. You are tempted to give up on worship. You are tempted to give up on God. You are tempted to stay away from all that is good because things just aren’t going like you expected or planned. You want to escape the violence of the battle. You want to run away. You want to leave behind the struggle. In these moments we must stop relying in our own strength. It is in these moments we need God most of all. We cannot begin to imagine we can triumph alone. We cannot win on our own. We must have our feet anchored on the Solid Rock of Christ Jesus and be balanced by living in His presence and walking in His ways. We need to be on the level path!
13 I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.
Here, the Psalmist expresses a powerful faith: “I am certain, confident, sure that I will see the Lord’s goodness and joy here on earth while I am alive.” This is not just some vague hope or confidence that the future will be better by and by. This is not an expression of future faith that all will be right in the end. This is not saying, I know that God will redeem all things in eternity. This is an expression of faith in the present goodness of God.
It reminds me of the story of Lazarus after he had died. Martha, the sister of Lazarus hears that Jesus is coming and runs out to meet him. An interesting conversation ensues.
“John 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.”
Jesus replies, “Thy brother shall rise again.”
Martha says, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus says, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
She replied, “She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” Then she went to call her sister. I think she scarcely comprehended at all what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying, “You are about to see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living” – not just in the future eternity but in the here and now!
Are you trusting in the Lord for help and strength refuge and comfort in the here and now or is He some imaginary person you pretend to talk to and claim to believe? Trust Him for His goodness to be extended to you now in the land of the living!
The Psalmist concludes with a simple exhortation: “Wait on the Lord: and he shall strengthen thine heart: when all around your soul gives way, let Him be your hope and stay – wait on the Lord.” May I gently ask today how much you have been waiting on God? Have you been seeking refuge in His presence – I don’t just mean desperate calls for help as you are drowned by life – I mean the intentional waiting upon Him and seeking His face? Get out of your self-made foxhole and run to the high ground and seek sanctuary in the fortress He is. Retreat from the battle you’ve been fighting in your own strength and let Him take over. He has superior fire power! Call in His air support! Let Him be your light and salvation. Stop being afraid. Stop being fearful. Stop trusting in yourself and trust in Him. Be real and tell Him how you really feel. Pray with honesty and faith. Let your feet walk His balanced and level pathway. Find peace in worshiping Him. Discover His goodness here and now in your life. Be strong and courageous – but not in your own strength – rather in the strength that comes when you wait on the Lord.
I hope this meditation is a strength and help to you today. Rest in the Lord. He is good even in the present, in the land of the living.
