Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
The genre of this psalm has been debated.[1] However, Wilson[2] and Jacobson and Tanner[3] hold that it is a psalm of confidence. For one, it opens and closes with David’s trust in God. Moreover, while David cries out to God for help, this is still an act of trust and confidence. After all, “trust and plea are compatible with one another. They are two complementary responses to crisis.”[4]
This psalm shows David’s closeness with God during times of suffering. Where do you go “when life seems too much to handle?” Some go to a spouse, friend, or therapist. “For the psalmist, God is the stronghold of his life—the secure place when all else fails.”[5]
(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?
“The LORD is my light.” Fear and anxiety thrive in the dark.[6] When the lights come on, we see our fears for what they really were. Similarly, we need God’s light to expose and reveal our fears.
“Whom shall I fear?” Any human fear is out of proportion if God is our light, salvation, and stronghold.
(27:2) When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
Even an army of enemies can’t stand against God.
(27:3) Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
Our relationship with God is the key to fighting our fear of man. This isn’t blind optimism. Rather, it is honestly confronting our fears. The original humans were afraid of God (Gen. 3:10), but now, we can come boldly into his presence without any fear (1 Jn. 4:18; Eph. 3:12). Many passages explain this great truth:
(Deut. 20:1) When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.
(Deut. 31:8) The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
(Neh. 4:14) Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome.
(Prov. 29:25) Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
(Ps. 56:3-4) When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?
(Isa. 51:12) I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies and of the son of man who is made like grass?
(Mt. 28:20) I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
(Acts 18:9-10) And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent.” 10 For I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
(Rev. 1:17) “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.”
(27:4) 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.
“One thing I ask from the LORD.” In context, David’s enemies chase him and try to hunt him down to kill him. What is the “one thing” that David wants? Power? Protection? His enemies dying? No, David’s relationship with God was central and sufficient: “One thing I seek.” The key to curing fear is to focus on the nature of God. This is the “one thing that is necessary” (Lk. 10:42).
“That I may dwell in the house of the LORD… in his temple.” David had to seek God’s tabernacle to be in the presence of God. Now, that raw power and presence dwells within the believer (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:7).
“To gaze on the beauty of the LORD.” The word “beauty” (benoʿam) can refer to God’s “kindness,” rather than a visible description of God. Wilson writes, “The emphasis in the phrase benoʿam yhwh (NIV “beauty of Yahweh”) is on the gracious kindness of Yahweh as host, not the physical or essential beauty. One can observe kindness and grace as well as beauty.”[7] On the other hand, the term “gaze” (ḥāzâ) simply means to “look” or “see.”[8] While God is an immaterial being, he manifests himself in unspeakable and ineffable beauty. After all, if creation is beautiful, then the Creator must be far more so.
(27:5) 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.
“He will keep me safe in his dwelling… in the shelter of his sacred tent.” Being in God’s will is the safest place to be. The tabernacle wasn’t a fortress—just a tent. Yet David was safe because God was with him. It’s not that a tent is a safe, fortified castle with moats and soldiers. Rather, David had ultimate protection from depending on God.
To be put “high upon a rock” was a strategic location. It was difficult for enemy warriors to scale a mountain to fight. David compares this military concept to the protection he experiences in his relationship with God.
(27:6) 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.
“My head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me.” In an honor-shame culture,[9] this demonstrates the victory of David over his enemies.
“Shouts of joy. I will sing and make music.” A key to fighting fear is to give thanks (Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Pet. 5:7). The expression “shouts of joy” refers to a “visceral, almost primal, expression of joy.”[10]
A cry for help
(27:7) Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.
David didn’t demand that God would listen, but he viewed this as a “mercy” of God.
(27:8) My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.
David had spent so many years following God that his “heart” developed a reflex during times of trouble. Rather than capitulating to fear, his heart would cry out, “Seek his face!” Our hearts are usually trained to shoot adrenaline and cortisol into our bloodstream. But this is what we need our hearts to be trained to do.
(27:9) 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 Savior.
The opposite of seeking God’s face is to experience rejection and being forsaken. Because of the work of Christ, God promises to never forsake the believer (Heb. 13:5).
“You have been my helper.” A key to fighting fear is to look back on God’s past track record in your life.
(27:10) Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.
In our modern, western culture, we will pick up and leave our family for virtually any reason (e.g. college, career opportunities, money, etc.). Not so in the ancient world. In David’s culture, family came first. And yet, David says that he would be okay with being forsaken (even by his own parents) as long as God received him. Very little is written about how David’s parents reacted to him being the king of Israel. All we know is that Jesse (David’s father) initially didn’t even invite David to be chosen by Samuel (1 Sam. 16:11-13). Alter writes, “The extravagance of this declaration of trust in God, perhaps the most extreme in the whole Bible, is breathtaking and perhaps even disturbing. In the best of circumstance, the most unconditional, unstinting love and care we experience are from a mother and father. We can imagine, the psalmist says, circumstances in which even that love might fail, but God will be both father and mother to him in the most dire straits.”[11]
Whether ancient or modern, abandonment by a parent is simply devastating. Wilson observes, “Orphan children—even those adopted by loving and caring families—are often obsessed to know why their birth mother ‘abandoned’ them. Were they so unlovable, unwanted, that even their mother gave them away? The recent legislation to open adoption records to such adult orphans, even against the wishes of the birth parents, illustrates the obsessive power such questions hold. But God is ultimately the only reliable source of care and acceptance. Many abandoned children who have been unable to answer the questions of their birth and loss of parental love have found in God a loving parent who does not forsake them.”[12]
(27:11) Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
In view of his enemies, David wanted God to teach him his ways, now more than ever. Taking action alleviates fear. We can’t sit around being paralyzed with fear; we need to step out in faith.
(27:12) Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
David petitions God for safety. He doesn’t minimize the threats in front of him. Instead, it causes him to turn to God even deeper.
A cry of confidence
(27:13) I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
With all of their threats, David’s enemies didn’t stop him from trusting God in his heart. They couldn’t steal his confidence.
(27:14) Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Waiting for the Lord isn’t a passive pursuit. This entire time David has been praying, petitioning, and reminding himself of God’s goodness. This is what it looks like to “wait for the LORD.” Wilson writes, “Too often we find action preferable to waiting! Like Saul, we would rather take matters into our own hands and face the enemy boldly in our own strength rather than wait for God (1 Sam. 13:1–15). Waiting on God is hard work. Yet, it is one way—perhaps the only way—of demonstrating God’s strength manifest in our weakness. Whenever we rush frantically about trying to ‘do it’ on our own, we in effect become ‘functional atheists,’ denying by our actions that God is active in our lives.”[13]
Paraphrase of Psalm 27
“I am your light, your salvation, and your protection. You have no reason to be afraid. You have enemies who hate you, but they are the ones whose lives will fall apart. Come and sit with Me, and I will keep you safe. I won’t turn away from you in anger or reject you. I know you’ve been hurt by your father and mother, but I’m the ultimate Father. I’ll never reject you! I will teach you how to trust in Me, rather than live in fear of your enemies. But you need to learn to wait. As you wait on Me, you will experience confidence and strength.”
[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 243.
[2] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 482.
[3] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 264–265.
[4] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 265.
[5] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 489.
[6] I am indebted to Wilson for this insight. Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 490.
[7] See footnote. Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 484.
[8] Robert D. Culver, “633 חָזָה,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 274.
[9] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 269.
[10] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 269.
[11] Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009), 93.
[12] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 489–490.
[13] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 491.