Psalm 27. This is titled, Psalm of David. And the time
in which David wrote this is not known. It's not identified. But as we read this psalm, it's
evident there were a few things going on in David's life. If you look at verse two or three
there, verse two and three, you can see where David had been.
There was a time when David was pursued by his enemies. Verse four, there's a reference
there to being, he'd been shut out of the house of the Lord.
Don't know what these circumstances were. Verse 10, talk of being
separated from father, mother. And then verse 12, he'd been
the subject of slander. David suffered many, many of
the same calamities as all believers do. Times of trouble, times of
difficulty. I believe, to me, this is one
of the most encouraging Psalms. Psalm 23's obviously probably
everybody's favorite, but Psalm 27's been, over the years, it's
just been a real source of comfort in times of trouble and difficulties. I just want us to look at here
a few minutes this evening, beginning with verse one. The Lord is my
light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of who shall I be afraid? David said he doesn't, not only
does he give light, not only does he give salvation, he is
light. He is salvation. Turn over to John. Hold your
place there and turn to John chapter 1. Just look at a few of these scriptures.
John chapter 1. Look beginning with verse 1.
It says, in the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was
life, and the life was the light of men. David said, He's my light. He says, He is my salvation. If you turn back to 2 Samuel,
2 Samuel 23, verse 5, although my house be not so with
God, Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure for this. This is all my salvation and
all my desire, although he maketh it not to grow. God hath made, David said, God
hath made with me an everlasting covenant, an eternal covenant
of grace, made with the Lord Jesus Christ from the beginning. Christ is our surety, our savior,
our sanctifier, our mediator, all that given him by the Father. And all that the Father chose,
all that the Son redeems, all that the Spirit of God calls. These things are all ordered,
ordered and sure, certain. The mercies and grace of God
are not left to chance. That's what this world says.
Everything's just kind of up in the air. These things aren't
left to chance. decreed. They're determined. They're purposed by Him, purposed
by Almighty God. Aren't we thankful that these
things aren't in our hands? Most of the things in my hands,
I figure out a way to just goof up. These things aren't in our
hands. No, not in my hands, not in the
preacher's hands. Listen, the fulfillment of His
covenant in establishing of perfect righteousness. Think about that.
Perfect righteousness before Almighty God and an effectual
atonement. He got the job done. It was all
given to the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish. And he did it
perfectly. David said, this is all my salvation. What's he saying? God's love
for me, God's love for the sinner, God's love for me is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. God's choice of me, where's that
found? In Christ. God's righteousness
that every believer has was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's
acceptance of me. Where are we accepted at? In
the beloved. Our acceptance is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He, that's what David said, he
is my salvation. Not my feelings, not my works,
not my so-called righteousness, but His grace, His mercy, His
love, His perfect obedience. It's all in Him. He is my salvation. Back to our text, Psalm 27. That being said, He's my light.
He's my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Why would
we fear? Why would we fear anything? No
fear of man? No fear of darkness? No fear
of death? No fear of hell? He's conquered
death and hell. No fear. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life. Verse 2, when the wicked even
mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh, they
stumbled and fell." They didn't even make it to the fight. Remember there in the garden
when Judas betrayed our Lord and he brought that band of men. You would have thought they were
coming after some kind of a criminal. They came with their lanterns
and their torches and those weapons. And you remember that in John
18, our Lord said, whom seek ye? He just looked at them. Whom seek ye? And they answered and they said,
Jesus of Nazareth. And our Lord responded and he
said, I am And when he did that, they fell
backward. They fell to the ground. They stumbled and fell. We read
this in scripture that no weapon formed against thee shall prosper. Verse three, though in host should
encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. The war should rise
against me in this. will I be confident in this,
in this one thing. Look at verse four. What is this
one thing? Who is this one thing? Read on
in verse four. One thing have I desired, that
will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life and to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple. Just one thing. Just one thing,
there was a rich young ruler that came to the Lord and he
asked this, what good thing, what good thing shall I do that
I may inherit eternal life? What did our Lord say to him?
One thing, you lack one thing. He told Belshazzar there in the
Old Testament, you've been weighed into balance and found wanting. What is this one thing? Turn to Luke chapter 10. Luke 10, Luke beginning with
verse 38. It came to pass, as they went,
he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha
received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary,
which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha
was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord,
dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said
unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things, many things. Verse 42, but one thing, one
thing is needful. and Mary hath chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her." What was Mary
doing? She was sitting at the feet of
the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing. Sitting at His feet
and listening to His Word. Just one thing. In John chapter
9, the Lord healed a blind man. And some of the Pharisees started
questioning him, started questioning him and his parents about what
had happened. In fact, had the parents concerned,
they were going to get kicked out of the temple. And one of
the things they were asking is, is this man that healed you,
is he a sinner? And that man who was once blind,
he said, whether he be a sinner or no, I know not. I don't know. I don't know what
the case is. But there's one thing. There's
one thing I know. Whereas, I was blind. Now I see. I was blind. I was blind. And he could do nothing about
his condition. Not one thing. If it were left to him, he'd
still be blind. He'd still be in that miserable
condition. His parents couldn't do anything
for him. They loved him, but they couldn't
help him. They couldn't do anything about
his blindness. He was in total darkness. Those religious leaders
that were trying to get him to say something They couldn't do
anything for him. He was blind. It was beyond anyone's
help, anyone's care. This man probably had some friends.
They couldn't do anything for him. He was still blind. But the Lord Jesus Christ came
and touched his eyes and now he sees. That's what he said. I was blind, and now I see. We read in scriptures, it says,
at that time, ye were without Christ. That's where he found
us. We were blind, we were without
Christ. Aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel. Strangers from the covenant of
promise. Having no hope, and without God in this world. But now, now, in Christ Jesus,
ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We can say that, can't we? I
was blind, but now, now I see. I just can't help but think,
I bet there were many folks that wanted this blind man to be able
to see. Neighbors, family, friends, but
no one ever could or would help him. They couldn't help him and he
couldn't help himself. But Christ came. Why? Because the Lord purposed to.
The Lord purposed to do it. He came and he healed him. This one that was blind. The
Lord Jesus Christ made him whole. David. David says, one thing
have I desired. It's hard for me to imagine that
David didn't have everything. I mean, he was the king. He went, he'd seen everything.
He was a shepherd out in the field and he was raised up to
the throne. He had seen everything. He slew Goliath. He would have
been a war hero in our day. He had wealth. He had fame. He had, no doubt, position in
society. Yet he says this. There's still
something I must have. One thing. One thing I desire. And what was it? What's it saying
here in our text? To dwell in the house of the
Lord. To behold the beauty of the Lord. To inquire in his temple. One thing. One thing. to know Christ, to know the Lord
Jesus Christ, to worship Him. He said, I must have Him. I must have this one thing. And to behold and worship Him,
listen, not just now, not just today, not just on Wednesdays
and Sundays when we gather together. I need Him all the days of my
life. David says here in the scripture,
one thing have I desired, and that will I seek after, continually
seek after. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's move on here. Verse five,
in a time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle,
shall he hide me, he shall set me up upon a rock, his pavilion, the secret of his tabernacle,
the secret place. Over in Psalm 91 it says this,
he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Or could there be any
better place to dwell? His pavilion, the secret of his
tabernacle. He shall set me up upon a rock. Can those three things speak
of anything but the Lord Jesus Christ? Verse six. Now shall my head be lifted up
above mine enemies round about me. Therefore, while I offer
in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy, I'll sing, yea, I'll
sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with
my voice. Have mercy also upon me and answer
me." Communion with Christ. Prayer
with Christ. Isn't that an amazing thing that
the Lord would take any notice of us, let alone that he would
hear our prayer, that he hears the prayer of his people, have
mercy on me. Verse eight, when thou saidest,
seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, thy
face, Lord, will I seek. Seek ye my face. Isaiah 55 verse
6 says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him
while he is near. Seek him. Seek him. Just like blind Bartimaeus sought
the Lord. Zacchaeus, he sought the Lord. That woman with the issue of
blood, she sought the Lord. And you know, in every one of
those cases where where a sinner was seeking the Lord. You know
what happened? They found him. He found them. He brought them
to himself. What is it to seek the Lord? Brother Henry wrote this. He
said, one, it's to discover that by nature, I do not have him
and I must have him. I must have his grace. Number
two, It's to desire his mercy and fellowship. I must have Christ. And I must have him above all
things. It's to be made willing to be saved on his terms, that
he might be just and justified. It's to be willing to part with
all that is opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ. And last, it's
to seek Him. Seek Him. Not His, but to seek
Him. Because if we have Him, we have
everything that's His. Seek Him in His Word. Seek Him
among God's people. Seek Him continually. Would you
seek Him? Listen to the words of our Lord
in Luke 8. Turn there with me, Luke 8. Luke 8, verse 9. And I say unto you, ask, and
it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. and it shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asketh, receive it. And he that seeketh, findeth. And to him that knocketh, it
shall be opened. He that seeketh, findeth. Why
would we not seek Him? Why would we not seek Him? Back
to Psalm 27, verse 9. Hide not thy face far from me. Put not thy servant away in anger.
Thou hast been my help. Leave me not, neither forsake
me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother
forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. When this flesh fails,
and it will, when this heart fails, and it will, what's left? For the believer, Christ. The
Lord Jesus Christ. And David says, He is the strength
of my life. And unlike everything in this
world that's eventually going to perish, the Lord will never He will never
leave nor forsake his people. That's what he says in Hebrews
13, 5. I will never leave or forsake thee. Verse 11, teach
me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of
mine enemies. Teach me thy way. Not my way. That's the way I turn to. That's
the wrong way. Teach me thy way. Christ, who
is the way. John 14, 6, Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father, but by me. And listen to what David's saying
here. He says, teach me and lead me. Two things, teach me and
lead me, show me thy way, point me to Christ, incline my heart
and give me to love and delight in him, teach me. Philip asked that Ethiopian eunuch,
he said, do you understand what you're reading? And he said,
how can I, except some man should guide me, teach me and lead me. Verse 12. Deliver me not over
unto the will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen
up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. Verse 13, I'd fainted. I'd fainted unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Think about who's talking here. You know, there's some folks
that would, I suppose they would faint at the sight of a flea
or something like that. Just wouldn't take much. This
is David. This is David talking. King David. David who slew Goliath. He says, I'd fainted. Look over
at, we've got time, look at 1 Samuel chapter 17. David was a fierce warrior. Look beginning with verse 38
of 1 Samuel 17. It says, Saul armed David with
his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and also
he armed him with a coat of mail. David girded his sword upon his
armor, and he was saved to go, and he had not proved it. And
David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these. I have not proved
them and David put them off." You know, if David would have
defeated Goliath with Saul's armor, they'd put all that stuff
on display, wouldn't they? And they'd have said, this is
why he was victorious. Verse 40, he took his staff in
his hand and he chose him five smooth stones out of the brook
and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had. even in a
script. And his sling was in his hand,
and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and
drew near unto David. And the man that bared the shield
went before him. And when the Philistine looked
about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth and
ruddy and of fair countenance." He was a pretty boy. He wasn't
a battle-scarred warrior like Goliath was. So Goliath made
fun of him. And the Philistines said unto
David, am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? Are you going
to take that stick and just hit me like I'm a wild dog? And the
Philistines cursed David by his gods. And the Philistines said
to David, come to me and I'll give thy flesh unto the fowls
of the air and unto the beast of the field. I tell you, I think
if there was ever a time when somebody was going to faint,
it would have been right then, wouldn't it? Verse 45, then said David to
the Philistine, thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear
and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord
of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver
thee into my hand. I'll smite thee, I'll take thy
head from thee. I'll give the carcasses of the
host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air and
to the wild beasts of the earth. that all the earth may know that
there's a God in Israel, and all this assembly shall know
that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, for the battle
is the Lord's, and he'll give you into our hands. And it came
to pass when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet
David, David hasted, and he ran toward the army, fearless, fearless
in battle. And David put his hand in his
bag and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine
in the forehead. And the stone sunk into his forehead,
and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed
over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the
Philistine and slew him. But there was no sword in the
hand of David. That same David said, I would
have fainted. I would have fainted unless I had believed to see. I don't know if I've noticed this
before. He said, I believed to see. Now what we typically say
is this, I'd have to see it to believe it. That's not faintness. I believed I would have fainted
unless I had believed to see. Job said this. He said, I know
my Redeemer liveth, and he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth. And though after my skin, worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God. whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold and not another, though my reins
be consumed within me." What did Job say? I believe God. I believe I'm going to see God.
Turn to Acts 27. We read this to open the service. Acts 27. Paul was on this perilous voyage
to Rome. And look at verse 20. It says, when neither sun or
stars in many days appeared. Darkness. Darkness for this amount
of time. And no small tempest lay on us.
What's he say here? All hope that we should be saved
was taken away. We're hopeless. We were completely
hopeless. What did David say? I'd fainted.
I'd fainted. Look at verse 22. Now I exhort
you, Paul said, I exhort you, be of good cheer, for there shall
be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For
there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am
and whom I serve, saying, fear not Paul, thou must be brought
before Caesar. And lo, God hath given thee all
them that sell with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer. Why? I believe God. I believe God
that it shall be even as it was told me. I'd fainted. I'd fainted unless I'd believed
to see. In Mark 9. There was a man who
brought his son to the disciples for healing. And they couldn't
heal him. They could not heal him. And
he brought him to the Lord and he said this, he said, if you
can do anything, if you can do anything, have compassion on
us and help us. Remember what the Lord asked
him? He said, if thou canst believe. If thou canst believe. He didn't
say, if you can understand how I'm gonna do this. He said, if
thou canst believe. All things, all things are possible
to him that believe it. And the father of that child
cried out, with tears in his eyes, and he said this, I believe. I believe. Not like should. Not like I want to. Not like I will someday. I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. I'd fainted. I'd fainted. I'd have just completely given
up. unless I had believed to see. Again, it don't say, do you understand?
There's so many things we don't understand. Do you believe? Do
you believe? Isn't that what told that eunuch? Philip told
that Ethiopian eunuch. You believe. What did he say? I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Well, back to our text here,
and I'll close. Psalm 27. Psalm 27. Look at verse 14. Wait on the Lord. What do I do? Wait on the Lord. Be of good
courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. In case we didn't
hear it the first time, he says it again, doesn't he? Wait, I
say, on the Lord. I pray God bless his word. I
pray he leads us in closure again.