02-13-05 Psalm 27
Psalm 27
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
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 meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.
I. David’s Praise gives Freedom from Fear
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
A. The Lord is my light
1. My understanding
2. My Joy
3. My Comfort
4. My Life
B. The Lord is my Salvation
1. Saving power
2. Strength
3. Sustaining
C. The Lord is the defense of our life
1. Our life is in His hands
2. God knows
D. Whom Shall I fear in light of all of the above
1. No one
II. When evil doers come
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
A. Evil people will try and assail us
B. To devour our flesh
1. Like wild animals
C. They stumble and fall
D. Not us
III. They might camp out against us
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.
A. One most peoples worst fear is being over run by our enemy
2 Kings 6:11-23
11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14 He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.
20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
22 He answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.
1. By Fear
2. By Untruth or lies
3. By physical attacks
4. By emotional attacks
B. In spite of the real outward circumstances
C. In spite of the lies the enemy would tell
D. God’s word is true
IV.David’s 3 prayers
A. Prayer 1 to be in The Lord’s House
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
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 meditate in His temple.
1. Our confidence comes from our relationship with God
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
2. A high … rock, a place of inaccessible safety and personal triumph
3. The secret place of His tent
a) This proves we were created for fellowship with the Father, he hides us in the Holy of Holies
b) The idea of sanctuary, not a place but a relationship with someone
c) The place where God lives among his people (Emanuel with us)
d) That place can never be taken over unless we let it
(1) Offering praise and worship thou surrounded
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
4. Head and shoulders above our enemies
a) We will offer our sacrifices to the Lord
b) With Joy, singing praises
V. Prayer 2 Staying in the Lord’s place of protection, His presence
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
A. There is an implication the answer the psalmist wanted was not in his time
B. There is also an indication the enemy was all around him
1. God did not fail him
2. Our deliverance is in worship and praise
3. Our deliverance is in Seeking God’s face
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
C. It is not about the outward circumstances
1. It is about our inward life
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
2. We are not to deny our feelings
a) Acknowledge them
b) Do not give into them
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
c) Even if our natural parents reject us God will not
VI.Prayer 3 Teach me your ways
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
A. Lead me in a level path
B. Our paths are made level by our foes
1. Those that we suppose are meant for harm
2. Are actually the levelers of our lives,
a) If we will let God have His way in us
b) Not them
12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
VII. It is not Gods intent to deliver us over to our enemies
A. He does want to use them for us
B. Romans 8:28 ALL THINGS
13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
C. We are not to despair
D. We are to believe in the Goodness of God
E. In this life, now
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.
VIII. Wait for the Lord
A. Be Strong
B. Tell your heart to take courage
C. WAIT……….WAIT in confident expectation
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