Sermon Tone Analysis

! Psalm 27           How to Overcome in a Time of War

 

*PSALM 27*

*/A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God./*

*/A Psalm /of David.*

*      1      The Lord is my a light and my b salvation;*

*Whom shall I fear?*

*The Lord is the 1c defense of my life;*

*d** Whom shall I dread?*

*      2      When evildoers came upon me to a devour my flesh,*

*My adversaries and my enemies, they b stumbled and fell.*

*      3      Though a a host encamp against me,*

*My heart will not fear;*

*Though war arise against me,*

*In /spite of /this I 1 shall be b confident.*

*      4      a One thing I have asked from the Lord , that I shall seek:*

*That I may b dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,*

*To behold c the 1 beauty of the Lord*

*And to 2d meditate in His temple.*

*      5      For in the a day of trouble He will b conceal me in His 1 tabernacle;*

*In the secret place of His tent He will c hide me;*

*He will d lift me up on a rock.*

*      6      And now a my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,*

*And I will offer in His tent b sacrifices 1 with shouts of joy;*

*I will c sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord .*

*      7      a Hear, O Lord , when I cry with my voice,*

*And be gracious to me and b answer me.*

*      8     / When You said, /“ a Seek My face,” my heart said to You,*

*“Your face, O Lord , b I shall seek.”*

*      9      a Do not hide Your face from me,*

*Do not turn Your servant away in b anger;*

*You have been c my help;*

*d** Do not abandon me nor e forsake me,*

*O God of my salvation!*

*      10      1 For my father and a my mother have forsaken me,*

*But b the Lord will take me up.*

*      11      a Teach me Your way, O Lord ,*

*And lead me in a b level path*

*Because of 1 my foes.*

*      12      Do not deliver me over to the 1a desire of my adversaries,*

*For b false witnesses have risen against me,*

*And such as c breathe out violence.*

*      13      1/ I would have despaired /unless I had believed that I would see the a goodness of the Lord*

*In the b land of the living.*

*      14      a Wait for the Lord ;*

*Be b strong and let your heart take courage;*

*Yes, wait for the Lord .*[1]*

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*Background*:  This is a royal psalm either used for the coronation ceremony for the king or used as a declaration by the king as a pattern for ceremonial worship as the nation of Israel would prepare for military action in a time of war.

As a pattern of ceremony before the battle ensued, the king would publicly declare his faith to the people and offer sacrifices and shouts of praise unto the Lord (verses 1-6).

A prayer would then be addressed directly to God (verses 7-13).

The third part would consist of a priest or temple servant receiving and delivering an oracle or a word of direction and assurance from the Lord to the people (verse 14).

!!! ~* You must have an up-to-date revelation as to who the Lord is on your behalf.

Our confidence is based upon who the Lord is regardless of the dimensions of the threat against us.

The Lord is described in verse one by three military terms: /light/, /salvation/, and /refuge/.

*Light* – Light dispels darkness.

Nothing is hidden.

God cannot be surprised by an attack because he dwells in unapproachable light.

He sees the night as though it were day.

In him there is no shadow of turning.

Illustration:  Military Night Vision Goggles

 

Our proclamation is that the Lord is /my/ light.

It must become our personal experience.

I John talks about walking in the light, being in fellowship with God and with one another.

As I walk in close fellowship with God, his word becomes a lamp for my feet and a light unto my path.

David said in Psalm 18:28-29, /“You, oh Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can a scale a wall.”/

In Psalm 23:4, a verse quoted often this past week, David says, /“though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.”/

God is my light.

I can see clearly and I am not afraid!

I can advance with confidence because my darkness is being turned into light.

The concept of light in Scripture is important, dealing with personal and impersonal forces on both literal and metaphorical levels.

Light is closely related to life and happiness, which may account for the frequent comparisons between God and light.

Since the ancient world often worshiped the sun, God’s role as creator of light is stressed.

Eventually, he will make the sun unnecessary ( Isa 60:19–20 ).

Light is frequently used as an indicator of time, separating day from night ( Gen 1:5 ).

The emphasis is on the shining of the sun in the early morning ( Gen 44:3 ; Jud 16:2 ), so that “light” can sometimes be translated “dawn” ( Neh 8:3 ).

A distinction may be drawn between “daybreak” and the “daylight” that follows ( Jud 19:26 ) the rising of the sun ( Isa 60:1–3 ).

Amos ( 8:9 ) mentions a judgment of darkness that will strike Israel “in broad daylight.”

Light is of course associated with light-bearing bodies, but it is distinct from them, as seen in its creation apart from the luminaries ( Gen 1:3 ).

The sun and the moon are the “greater light” and the “lesser light” ( Gen 1:16 : Ps 136:7 ), and the stars are closely associated as “stars of light” ( Ps 148:3 ).

“Every passage that speaks of the shining (/ ˒ôr/ in the Hiphil) or the light (/ ˒ôr/ ) of the sun ( Gen 1:14–16 ; Isa 30:20 ; 60:19 ; Jer 31:35 ; Ezk 32:8 ; Ps 136:7–9 ) also refers to the light of the moon and sometimes also of the stars” ( TDOT , I, p. 151).

These heavenly luminaries are an integral part of the wonder of the cosmos as founded by the Creator and serve as a clock to regulate the seasons ( Gen 1:14 ; Ps 104:19 ; Jer 31:35f .).

The ot avoids isolating the sun as “the light” lest the Hebrews succumb to the tendency to worship it (cf.

Job 31:26–27 ).

Another of God’s lights was the pillar of fire that illumined the night for the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings ( Ex 13:21 ; Ps 105:39 ).

This was probably more awesome than lightning, which also displayed the glory of God ( Ps 77:18 [H 19 ]: 97:4 ; Job 36:32 ).

Manmade lights included the sacred lampstand in the tabernacle ( Num 4:9 , 16 ; 8:2 ) which cast its light in the holy place.

Lamps burning olive oil were highly valued for use in people’s homes ( Prov 13:9 ).

/˒ôr/ is used metaphorically when a person’s face or the eyes are viewed as light-bearing objects.

Sometimes literal eyesight is intended ( Ps 38:10 [H 11 ], probably also the difficult I Sam 14:27 ), but more often the “light of the face” refers to a cheerful face expressing good will ( Job 29:24 ).

The favor of a king is seen in his face ( Prov 16:15 ), and “the light of God’s face” indicates divine approval ( Ps 44:3 [H 4 ]; 89:15 [H 16 ]).

In the famous priestly blessing of Num 6:25 , the Hiphil stem of the verb is used in a similar context: “The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.”

This time-honored expression occurs five times in the Psalms, invoking God’s saving and restoring presence on behalf of his servants ( Ps 31:16 [H 17 ]; 67:1 [H 2 ]; 80:3 , 7 , 19 [H 80:4, 8, 20 ]; 119:135 ).

In Dan 9:17 the great statesman implores the Lord of mercy to let his face shine upon his sanctuary and reverse the desolate conditions in Jerusalem.

The expression finds a parallel in Ugaritic, “the countenace of the sun shines upon me,” meaning “I enjoy the favor of the king.”

Light can also symbolize general “life” or “prosperity.”

“To see the light” is “to be born” ( Job 3:16 ), and the “light of life” is a poetic reference to being alive ( Job 33:30 ; Ps 56:13 [H 14 ]).

Some, however, contend that this compound should be rendered “the land of the living” because this is the meaning of the word in Phoenician.

It makes excellent sense in such passages as Job 33:30 .

The word “land” is found in Ps 116:9 , a close parallel to Ps 56:13 [H 14 ].

Dahood (/ Psalms, I, II/ in AB ) suggests the meaning “land of eternal life.”