Psalm 27
Our Stronghold
The church “is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”
So wrote Theodore Beza, successor to John Calvin, to the King of Navarre. The church throughout its history has been bludgeoned and pummelled by its foes. Yet it still stands firm.
A building is only as strong as its foundations and defences. The church will only survive the storms and tempests, assaults and ambushes because it is rooted in the faithfulness and power of God (Matthew 16.18).
This is David’s supreme and precious confidence. And he penned in the Psalm below for us to make our own prayer and song in Christ.
Of David.
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?2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.4 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.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.7 Hear my voice when I call, LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Saviour.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.13 I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
Fears lay siege against your soul.
Anxieties pound against the defences around your heart.
Worries bombard your spirit.
This is the reality of living east of Eden. But in a world disfigured by sin, God has not abandoned his people.
For the one who knows God as Father, who follows Jesus as Lord, and is indwelt by the Spirit, they can confidently and truly say “my heart will not fear” (v3). The Psalm opens with two rhetorical questions, asking who can unsettle and ruffle the heart of a believer. The answer is no one of course.
This is not a comment on the tactical nous or the wealth of resources available to the foes of the King. It is a recognition that when God steps into the arena, the outcome is not in question. No weapon forged against and aimed at the people of God will dent let alone defeat our Champion, the LORD (see Isaiah 54.17). Attempting to out-manoeuvre or overpower God is like trying to topple the Great Wall of China with a leaking water gun from Poundland.
This is the confidence of David in these opening three verses. God is his stronghold, his refuge, his mighty fortress.
This is what then informs the prayers in the remainder of this song. Where God dwells in glory, God’s people rest secure for eternity. David yearns to be in the temple and house of the LORD (4), God’s dwelling, tent and and up high on his rock (5).
This is a key and sweet truth to grasp in the Christian life. God does not bestow his blessings on his people apart from himself. He himself is our great treasure. And it is by uniting with the Son in faith, that all the riches of heaven are opened up to us (see Ephesians 1.3 & 2 Peter 1.3-4).
God does not give us a light for the darkness but is himself the light.
God does not give us salvation but is himself our salvation.
God does not gives us a stronghold but is himself our stronghold.
So we seek the beauty (4) and face (8) of the LORD. And that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1.15 & Hebrews 1.3). He is our ever present help (10), our wise guide in a world of deceit and ill-intent (11-12), and our impenetrable refuge (5).
This was Paul’s direction for the Ephesian Church: “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Eph 6.10). The strength of the temple is in the one who both upholds it and indwells it (Eph 2.21-22). David longed to be the temple because where God promised to dwell is the safest place on earth. And God has now promised to dwell in his new temple, the Church. God dwells in all those who have heard and believed the gospel. This new temple is built on the risen and everlasting cornerstone, Jesus.
So when we take this prayer as our own, we sing this through the lens of the risen Christ, knowing that now we are in him, we need not fear the most dangerous of darts from the deceiver, for they have lost their sting. We need not be afraid of his legion of powers, for Christ sits enthroned over them. We need not fear death, for it has been overcome.
In the gospel, we have tasted the goodness of God (13). And we will wait in the strength in the strength of the Lord to feast on his goodness fully in the new creation.
Glory be to the Father, our rock and refuge, the great salvation and stronghold of his people.
Glory be to the Son, the radiant Light of the World.
Glory be to the Spirit, our teacher, who guides us on the narrow path to the land of the living.
Ever three and ever One.