Psalm 27 Text

I. Psalm 27: Wait on the Lord

II. Psalm 27, written by David, is a psalm of great faith and hope in God. David describes the comfort of God’s care and his desire to be with God. We do not know when David wrote this psalm but it seems that he wrote it when a fugitive from Saul or in the turbulent early years of his reign because he writes about God’s deliverance in the past and has full assurance that God would deliver him in the future.

III. Read Psalm

IV. The Lord’s Relationship to David

V. David first describes his relationship to the Lord. David writes, “The Lord is my light.” 1 John 1:5 reads: “God is light, in Him is no darkness at all.” As light, God dispels all darkness. God’s light chases away evil and illuminates the pathway of life. Regarding Jesus, John says, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world,” John 1:9. As the sun light gives comfort and warmth to our flesh, so God’s light gives comfort and warmth to our soul.

VI. More importantly, God is David’s light. Unless He is our light, His light is of no value. We need God’s light in our lives, to show us the right way to live. Yes, He is the light of the world, but He must be our light.

VII. David then wrote, “The Lord is my salvation.” While David lived in peril as a fugitive from Saul for many years, he trusted in the Lord for deliverance. When his son, Absalom, led a rebellion, David trusted in the Lord’s protection. David knew his salvation depended on God. He did not want God to remove His protection. David’s comfort: “God is my salvation.”

VIII. Today, God is the savior of the world, however, we should rejoice when He is our savior. We can have salvation through His grace, mercy, and love. “God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son.” “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We must cherish our salvation in Christ. “Christ will mean nothing to the world until He means everything to us.”

IX. Finally, David writes, “The Lord is the strength of my life.” Literally, He is the defense of my life. The Lord is the source of all strength and power for His children’s defense. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10, “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” God arms us with spiritual weapons and His power to fight the enemy. When we unite with Him, we will have this strength and defense. Peter wrote, in 1 Peter 5:6-10: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” When we are ready to quit, we must ask God for the power to endure. He does not want us to fail.

X. Results of David’s Trust

XI. David’s trust in God as his light, savior, and strength gives him confidence in Him.

XII. David writes, “I will not fear my enemies.” Whether my enemies slander me, surround me, or make war against me, I will not fear them. In the past, David’s enemies pounced upon him like wild animals attacking prey, but God made them stumble and fall. God preserved David in the past and would protect him in the future.

XIII. We must also have confidence in God. Who of us cannot recall times in our lives where God gave us victory over the enemy? When we reflect on our lives, we can see God’s caring hand guiding us and protecting us. This same confidence comforted Paul. Romans 8:31-39: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

XIV. This assurance should embolden us to live godly lives and proclaim the gospel of Christ in the midst of our enemies: scoffers, mockers, and false teachers. William Secker said, “Those who are willing to be combatants for God, shall also be more than conquerors through God. None are so truly courageous as those who are truly religious. If a Christian live, he knows by whose might he stands; and if he die, he knows for whose sake he falls. Where there is no confidence in God, there will be no continuance with God. When the wind of faith ceases to fill the sails, the ship of obedience ceases to plough the seas.” (Quoted in Spurgeon’s Treasury of David) Some may slander us or make war with us, but we must be confident in God’s strength and defense.

XV. Second, David wrote, “I will seek to dwell in God’s house.” His desire is the “one thing.” He has a singularity of purpose in life: to be with God. This one thing is the consuming force that defines his life. In the familiar 23rd Psalm, he wrote, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” He wanted to be with God throughout his life and for eternity.

XVI. Like David, we seek to dwell in God’s eternal house. On earth, we must also desire to be in God’s house, the church. 1 Timothy 3:15: “but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Our one desire should be to dwell in God’s house and serve Him.

XVII. Within God’s house David desired four things: To behold His beauty, To inquire of Him, To praise His deliverance with joy, and to sing praises.

XVIII. He desired to behold God’s beauty. This is not physical beauty for God is spirit and no one can see Him and live. We can see the beauty of God in His works of nature: the smile of a child, a colorful sunset, the flowers and trees, the lakes and oceans, the stars in the heavens. We can also see the beauty of God in His word: His wisdom, His righteousness, His love, His mercy, His grace, and His Son’s love toward us. We can see the beauty of God in our lives: Our families and friends, our brethren, comfort in times of sorrow, strength in times of weakness, and the transforming power of God.

XIX. We desire to be in His house so we can focus on Him. Many come to worship to be entertained. Some are discouraged when things don’t go their way. We must assemble to adore God and to behold His beauty as revealed in His word, not to serve ourselves. We benefit from God’s love—joy in singing, fellowship with brethren, eternal rest from our labors, eternity without evil—but we are doing all for Him, not ourselves. Heaven’s beauty is more than the reward for righteousness; it is the blessing of being with God for an eternity.

XX. David desired to inquire of God. We come before God to learn, not to dictate our desires. The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, “Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools.” Consider Isaiah’s prophesy of the church in Isaiah 2:2-3: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” When we assemble for worship, we should come to learn, not to be entertained, or impose our self-will.

XXI. In Psalm 27:11, David asked God to teach him and lead him on a straight path to safety, delivering him from peril. Local captains who know the safe route through dangerous waters guide large ships venturing into unknown harbors. Only God can pilot us safely through the dangers of life. Jeremiah 10:23: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” God’s word points out hidden dangers and exposes the devices of the Devil, but we must read it. Consider Ephesians 6:11 and 2 Corinthians 2:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (or scheming) of the devil.” “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” We must follow God’s way to safety. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

XXII. Third, David wanted to offer sacrifices of joy for his deliverance. David wanted to show his gratitude for God’s care. A person who is saved from peril desires to express his joy and gratitude to the one who saved him. We must be grateful to God for our salvation. We must not be like the 9 lepers healed by Jesus but did not return to thank Him. As with the lepers, we depend on God to heal us—to wash away our sins. We can become so comfortable with our salvation that we would take it for granted and act ungrateful. Hebrews 13:15: “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

XXIII. Fourth, David wanted to sing praises to God. The joy of deliverance will cause one to sing praises to the Savior. The outpouring of the heart is pleasing to God. In our worship, singing can become rote, something we do from obligation. We must consider the words and feel the joy of praising God. We must sing with the heart and mind, regardless of the tune of our voices.

XXIV. David had a desire to dwell in God’s house. This desire to dwell in God’s house, whether in the church or in heaven, must stimulate us to action. “Wishing never fills a sack.” Our desires are useless unless we act. We can sit around wishing to go to heaven, or wishing to be closer to God, but until we build that relationship with Him, we will be frustrated. We must seek God daily, considering His beauty, learning from Him, and praising Him in song and prayer.

XXV. David sought God and God sought David, verse 8: “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’My heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek’.” “Seeking God’s face” means David desired a relationship with God. God initiated the relationship by calling David to seek Him.

XXVI. As God sought David, so He is seeking us. Jesus said, in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” God desires a relationship with us.

XXVII. We cannot come to God and expect Him to accept us in sin without change. We come to God dirty, desiring to be clean, and to stay clean. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” James 4:8. God seeks us through word of the gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2:14. The gospel message commands us to change and become pure. We are commanded to repent and turn to God, Acts 17:30. When we are baptized, our sins are washed away: Romans 6:1-4: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” When we repent and are baptized, we begin a relationship with Him on His terms.

XXVIII. When we are united with God, He will not forsake us. David knew that even if his parents forsook him, God would not forsake him. We also have that comfort. 2 Corinthians 4:9: “[we are] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” Hebrews 13:5-6: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me’?”

XXIX. Because of this confidence, David would not give up. David sought God, he knew that God was with him, and would not lose heart. He trusted that he would see the goodness of God and that hope gave him the strength to endure. Like David, we must not lose heart. 2 Corinthians 4:16-8: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

XXX. David closes the psalm with a three-fold exhortation:

XXXI. Be of good courage – God is our defense and savior, He will protect us.

XXXII. God will strengthen you—He is the source of all strength and power.

XXXIII. Wait on the Lord—Those who serve God will be served by Him.

XXXIV. The phrase “Wait on the Lord” occurs 5 times in the scriptures. Each time it emphasizes the importance of being patient despite the sad condition of the world at large.

XXXV. Psalm 37:9: “For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.”

XXXVI. Psalm 37:34: “Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.”

XXXVII. Isaiah 8:17: “And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.” (Though Israel was disobedient, Isaiah would remain faithful)

XXXVIII. Yet the final passage is one of great comfort to God’s children.

XXXIX. Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

XXXX. Let us be encouraged by this Psalm. Let us each consider the Lord our light, our savior, and our strength. Let us not fear our enemies but be confident in the power of God to save us from evil when we follow His way, and give us victory over those who teach false things. Let us have a single desire to dwell with God: to behold His beauty, to inquire of Him, to offer sacrifices of joy for deliverance, and to sing praises. Let us ever seek His face and never lose heart. Let us wait on the Lord.

XXXXI. If you have not accepted God’s terms for pardon and a relationship with Him: repenting of your sins, confessing Christ, and being baptized, you can do it today. Let your desire be known as we stand and sing.