Psalm 27: No Fear!

Does anyone remember the "No Fear" line of clothing that was popular in middle school? It was the kind of clothing Vans, quicksilver, and 26 Red that was associated with all the skater kids in school (If you were that kid, don't worry there is forgiveness in Christ!). Well I was the jock who wore my Michael Jordan jersey and shorts, full uniform, every Friday so I can make fun of myself now too. But that line of clothing is one of many things that comes to mind when I think about this psalm. Another memory is from college when I took a Psalms class and everyone was asked to write a 15 page paper on a psalm of their choice and present it to the class in sermon form. Psalm 27 was my psalm! I remember being so afraid to present this in front of the class but the very psalm I was preaching on calmed me down because of its message, which is simply, don't fear, don't fret, God will save you.

The image I got while reading this psalm is someone running with all his might from an enemy who is trying to capture him only to be saved by the Temple door which he flings open and slams quickly behind himself. He wipes his forehead and sighs a sigh of relief as he knows he is now safe in God's Temple. The first line of Psalm 27 says it all. "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?"
Knowing that the Lord will save him, David faces his fear with a simple question. Its a lot of the same flavor of the first line of Ps. 23. "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want." Since the Lord is our Shepherd, we are in need of nothing. Since the Lord is our stronghold, we also fear nothing. Keep in mind that David's troubles, unlike so many of ours, were actually physical. In other words, David really did have armies encircling him and chasing after him during several points in his life. I've never known anyone who wanted to kill me, much less a whole army, but I imagine that I would be looking for a safe place to hide a lot. David found that place in the house of the Lord, which was most likely the Temple. The reason is because he knew that shelter and safety await on the other side of those doors. The lesson to be learned is that the power of the Lord to save His people is so great that no trouble is too much trouble for the Lord! Nothing is more powerful than the Lord. The Lord fights for his people.

Verse 4 is of the most beautiful verse in the Scriptures, which is why I will just let them speak for themselves. If you had one wish from God, what would it be? I can tell you what David's would be. David asked one thing from the Lord with three parts. Notice two things about this request. First, this request comes from King David a man who had all he would ever need and more. He had been there, done that, and had all the "no fear" T-shirts. He had everything, yet he knew what he really needed. The second thing is that he knew that his request was something to be sought after (vs. 4). He asked God 1) to dwell in the house of the Lord all of the days of his life, 2) to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and 3) to inquire (or meditate) in His temple. Life seems much simpler this way doesn't it? In here, all that matters is the Lord. In here, all David cares about is gazing at the beauty of the Lord. In Here, all David wants to do is fill his mind with things of the God. Life is indeed simple in this place. The world we live in can be the difficult place. I think if we spent time in God's presence, we too would realize the important things. Just like the old hymn says, "and the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."

If some trouble has overtaken you, you know where to run. Let David's psalm comfort you.

"Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord."