Psalm 27: Wait on the Lord

I. Text: Psalm 27

II. Introduction to the Psalm.

A. There is no certain date ascribed to the Psalm.

B. David had been delivered from enemies in the past and he hoped for God’s deliverance in the future.

III. The Lord’s relationship to David.

A. The Lord is my light.

B. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, 1 John 1:5.

C. As light, He dispels all darkness; evil cannot stand before Him. He illuminates us and shows us the pathway of life, John 1:4. God is a light of comfort and warmth to our soul as the sun is to our flesh.

D. More importantly, He is David’s light.

E. His light is of no value to us unless He is our light. We must look to God for light in our lives, to show us the way we should live, to guide us in the right way.

F. The Lord is my salvation.

G. David’s salvation

H. Saul and his soldiers and even his own rebellious son pursued David, yet God always protected Him. David recognized his salvation depended on God’s care. David’s desire was that God would not take the protection away.

I. Our salvation

J. Although God is savior of the world, He is our salvation. We do not have salvation except by His grace, mercy and love.

K. We work with God for our salvation.

L. David trusted in God but still had to live off the land in the wilderness and caves. We, too, have to work with God to escape the enemy.

M. The Lord is the strength of my life.

N. Literally, He is the defense of my life. The Lord is the source of all power and strength for his children’s defense. Ephesians 6:10 – Be strong in the Lord and in His power to stand strong against the evil one. We must be united with Him if we hope to have this strength and defense, 1 Peter 5:6-10. When we are ready to give up, God can give us the power to endure.

IV. Results of this trust

A. I will not fear my enemies.

B. Whether my enemies slander me, surround me, or make war against me, I will not fear them.

C. God had preserved David in the past and would continue to protect him. David says that his enemies pounced upon him like wild animals but God made them stumble and fall.

D. We must have that same confidence in God.

E. Which of us cannot recall times in our lives where the enemy came against us and God gave us victory? It is the same confidence that comforted Paul, Romans 8:31-39.

F. This confidence must give us boldness in living godly lives and proclaiming the gospel of Christ in the midst of enemies: scoffers and false teachers.

G. William Secker: “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.” (Spurgeon) We may have some slander us or make war with us, we must be confident in God’s strength.

H. I will seek to dwell in God’s house.

I. David declares that this is the one thing that he desires-singularity of purpose. This one thing is the consuming force that defines his life and gives him comfort, Psalm 23:6. We, like David, seek to dwell in God’s eternal house, but here on earth we must desire to be in God’s house, the church, 1 Timothy 3:15.

J. Within God’s house, he desires four things:

K. To behold His beauty

L. This is obviously not physical beauty for God is spirit and none can see Him and live. This beauty of God is seen in His works of nature, the wisdom of His law, and His hand upon our lives. We desire to dwell in His house so we can focus on Him. The beauty of heaven is not what is in it for us, but our blessing of being with God. We come together as a church to adore Him and to behold His beauty as revealed through His word.

M. To inquire of Him

N. We come to learn from God, not to dictate to Him what we want. Ecclesiastes 5:1 – Draw near to listen rather than speak.

O. Isaiah 2:2-3 – Go to the mountain of the Lord to learn.

P. This is a prophesy of the church. When we come to worship God, we are to come to learn, not to seek our own entertainment or impose our self-will.

Q. In verse 11, David desires to learn from God and be led on a straight path to safety.

R. Only God can show us the right way, Jeremiah 10:23. The way of God shows us where the dangers are and the tools of the Devil, but we must give heed to Him, Eph 6:11; 1 Jn 2:16. We must seek the narrow way that leads to life, Luke 13:23-24.

S. To offer sacrifices of joy for deliverance

T. David wanted to thank God for His deliverance in the past. We must also be grateful to God for what he has done for us.

U. We must not be like the 9 lepers who did not return to thank Jesus for healing them.

V. Like those lepers, we cannot have our sins washed away without God. We can become so comfortable with the idea of salvation and our remission of sins that we can take it for granted and even become ungrateful. It is a sacrifice of joy, the natural byproduct of salvation.

W. Sing praises

X. The joy of deliverance will cause one to sing praises to the savior. We must come and joyfully sing praises to our Savior. Singing can become a “necessary evil” if we are not careful. We must sing with the heart and mind, regardless of the tune of our voices.

Y. This desire to dwell in God’s house, whether with the church here on earth or eternally with God in the heavens, must motivate us to action.

Z. “Wishing never fills a sack.” Our desires are useless unless we act on them. We must seek a daily life with God, considering His beauty, learning from Him, and praising Him in song and prayer.

A. I will seek your face

B. God told David to seek His face and David immediately responded.

C. David knew that even if his parents forsook him, God would not forsake him. By seeking God’s face, David desired that relationship with God. God is seeking us, John 4:23.

D. God desires a relationship with us, James 4:8.

E. We cannot come and expect God to accept us in sin without change. We come to God dirty, desiring to be cleaned, and to stay clean. God will not forsake us, 2 Corinthians 4:9; Hebrews 13:5-6.

F. I will not lose heart

G. David sought God and knew that God was with him, so he did not lose heart.

H. He trusted that he would see the goodness of God. That hope gave him strength to endure. We must not lose heart but trust in the Lord, Rom. 8:24-25; 2 Cor. 4:16-18.

V. Wait on the Lord

A. This exhortation is given to the reader by David based on his life.

B. Be of good courage – God is your defense and savior. God will strengthen you – He is the source of all strength Wait on the Lord – Those who serve God will be served by Him.