Psalm 27

[0:00] It's going to read Psalm 27 for us and then we'll come to God's work. Thanks Jeanette. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, on whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army beseech me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling.

[1:05] He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and he will set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me. At his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, Lord. Be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, seek his face. Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my saviour. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, Lord. Lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes. For false witness rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I remain confident of this. I will see goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord.

[2:24] Be strong and take heart. Wait for the Lord. Amen. Pray with me for a moment. Dear Father, you know our needs. We have returned to the shepherd and guardian of our souls, the great shepherd, said your servant Peter. So heed our needs. Feed our weak belief. Lead us in a straight path. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

[3:05] Amen. I think one of the things Christians must always remember, friends, according to the scripture, we are not conquerors. We are wrestlers. We are not conquerors. We are wrestlers.

[3:28] We are wrestlers. And if you ever watch the wrestling, which I don't, a wrestling that is not conquerors. We are not conquerors through him that loved us, Paul says in Romans 8.

[3:49] We are But not in wrestling.

[4:17] It's wrestling. He goes down, you keep him down. Till the ref counts him out. We're not conquerors. Just have a look at your own soul. How many times you lost in the last week.

[4:31] How many times Satan took up your weakness and turned it against you. Made you think you were strong when you were actually weak. Whereas the Lord would tell you the truth. They say you're not actually strong, you're weak. My grace is sufficient for you.

[4:43] You live the Christian life by the great sufficiency of my grace. Not by your own strength. Now exercise your faith. As Martin Luther said. Exercise your faith like you exercise your body.

[4:56] And therefore your faith will grow stronger. If you're a wrestler. You have to be fit for the battle. You're a wrestler.

[5:08] Just read the Psalms. He's fighting all the time. Oh he knows how to fire a sling and get a giant right in the brew. As we say.

[5:19] Then cut off his head and carry it about. But. In his spiritual life. He's fighting. He's wrestling. So as we come to Psalm 27 tonight.

[5:36] In our process in our church on Sunday evening of going through the Psalms. David. Of all the characters of the Bible. Has gone through the whole gamut of Christian experience.

[5:47] Even before there was such a thing as quote unquote Christians. Christians. And we have all this man's musical Psalms. You can imagine us sitting there with his lyre. Writing his poetry.

[5:59] He was very musical. Very poetic. Very close to God. He had been a shepherd boy. A giant killer. Now he's the king of Israel. And he knows.

[6:11] He's been anointed and appointed by God. He knows. Why he's there. He knows. The prophecies he's received.

[6:22] There's going to be an eternal king. On an eternal throne. Coming from his line. He knows all that. But he still has to fight. In his spiritual life.

[6:36] He talks about. Being sinful. The scarlet sin with Bathsheba. Where that passage in Kings is introduced with the words.

[6:49] When Kings should be away at war in springtime. He's busy lying on his. Armchair. And sees his beauty having a bath. He breaks the commandments.

[7:01] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. He did. They murdered him. This is not a perfect man. This is a godly man.

[7:17] And there's not a godly man on earth that's perfect. We will never be sinless. But we can be blameless. So where should his confidence lie?

[7:32] In himself? You're joking. He knows himself. There's no way David's confidence can be in himself. The sins that he's committed.

[7:44] The position God put him in. On the other hand. We've called this psalm. The confident life. Of a believer.

[8:00] So I've got three things to say. The first one. Is to do with the first six verses. Can you put that up Stephen? Thanks sir. A plain confident fact.

[8:12] The Lord is. Not was. Or will be. In my circumstances. Or sister Agnes. Was praising God. No matter what the circumstances.

[8:25] He's there. We can to praise him. In all circumstances. David's circumstances. Are anything but perfect. He's under pressure. He's the king of Israel.

[8:36] Israel. He is the descendant. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This nation of over. Which he is the king. Is to influence. Every other nation on earth.

[8:48] Scotland is. Inter. What's the word? Interrupted. Scotland is interested. In all the things of Israel. We should be. The church began in Jerusalem.

[9:00] It didn't begin in Edinburgh. This man is the king. What pressure he's under. But he's got no confidence in himself.

[9:18] The Lord is. Personally. My light. My salvation. Now. Just take your mind.

[9:29] To 2 Timothy 3.16. All scripture. Is God breathed. It's the word of God. And useful.

[9:41] For teaching. Correcting. Rebuking. And training in righteousness. That the servant of God.

[9:52] May be equipped. For every good work. That God calls them to. So when you look at this. Sam. Is the Lord going to. Teach you something. Are you open to being taught.

[10:06] Are you open to being rebuked. Not by me. But by the word. The Lord is my light. And my salvation. When he walks in the light.

[10:17] Of the Lord. He has to be prepared. To be rebuked. He has to be prepared. To be corrected. He has to be prepared. For these things.

[10:27] Or he will not mature. As a spiritual believer. You won't mature. I won't mature. Unless I'm open. To this confidence.

[10:38] That if God says. You're wrong. You don't argue with him. And if he says. That needs to change. It must be changed.

[10:49] Changed. God's not going to bless your sin. In that wonderful. Wonderful book of Romans.

[11:02] Which changed Europe. And still does. When the message comes out. Paul says. Where sin abounds. What abounds all the more?

[11:14] Grace. Grace. Grace. That's how David knows. Albeit he lived a thousand years.

[11:24] Before Jesus and Paul. That's how Paul knows. He can turn to God. Because God. Has saved this man. He is my refuge.

[11:36] And strength. A very present help. In time of trouble. He's in trouble. Now you wouldn't think that. Reading that. But he is. And we're about to see that.

[11:48] It's one of those psalms. Where he's confident. Then you feel his anxieties. He's got anxieties. Who hasn't?

[11:59] But anxieties. Well you know what? Like it is. We use the phrase. I've heard it recently. It wasn't about grace. She has no anxieties. She's my wife.

[12:13] She has no anxiety. People say. She became very anxious. Became anxious. Almost anxiety incarnate.

[12:27] Everything about this dear soul was anxious. Anxiety took over. Begins with a little thing. Before you know it. Oh I don't know what to do.

[12:39] Things that you were never anxious about before. Suddenly the whole world is against you. Until somebody with some common sense comes along in a bowl of cold water.

[12:49] Or something and says. Calm down. David had all these anxieties. Just like us. Don't pretend you. There's no anxieties.

[13:03] God knows your heart. And this man. This plain confident fact. Is how he tackles his anxieties.

[13:15] There's no light in anxieties for you. There's no help. You're digging a bigger hole. That was once two inches deep.

[13:25] And now it's six feet deep. If you stay anxious. And never let the Lord in. To lift you up. And offer you guidance.

[13:36] Take you back to his word. So the usefulness of scripture. Well here you have Psalm 27 before us tonight.

[13:47] The Lord is my light and my salvation. The implication is. Always. Always.

[14:01] It's a lovely confident. Simple declaration. Of trust in God. In verse two and three. You'll see he talks.

[14:13] It looks like past experiences. When Jeanette was reading it. The way she read it. It came out in her way of reading it. They will stumble and fall.

[14:23] And that's the right emphasis. They come against me. But I end up standing. And they stumble and fall. His confidence in God.

[14:35] Is that he observes. God has been with him. In the wrestling match. He's standing victorious. Victor.

[14:48] Again. In verse four. You see the roots of David's faith. Look at verse four in Psalm 27. One thing I ask from the Lord.

[15:00] One thing I ask from the Lord. This only do I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord. All the days of my life. And if you read those verses. Down to verse 12. You'll see. That he's saying.

[15:12] That. Sorry. Down to verse six. That he is. Wanting to be in God's presence. All the time. Do you have a quiet time?

[15:30] Do you have a quiet time? Or are you too anxious. Running about. Doing a hundred different things.

[15:41] And then you hear someone say. And as I spoke to the Lord. And the Lord opened his word. You say. I wish I could get time for that. I don't have that blessing. If he's your light.

[15:52] And salvation. Your deliverer. Why would you not take time to talk to him? That's where your anxieties come from.

[16:03] The lack. Of fellowship with God. This peace that Paul talks about. That passes all understanding.

[16:15] Is a gift from God. I give you my peace. Said Jesus. This relationship with the father. And when you look down to verse six.

[16:26] In Psalm 27. You see. In the day of trouble. He will keep me safe in his dwelling. The Lord is my light. And my salvation. He's my deliverer. I'm not running to anyone else.

[16:38] I'm not going to go looking in the wrong place. For some kind of cure. I'm going to him. Grace and I were in Aldi's. Never go to Aldi's.

[16:48] And I said to her. I must get a rack of barbecue ribs. I love a rack of barbecue ribs. Put your hand up if you like it. Never mind. But I went down this side.

[17:01] And I looked. And I looked. And I looked. And I looked. David. I couldn't see a rack of barbecue ribs. I was really disappointed. And I got a hold of Grace. He was in among the sugar. And the tea.

[17:11] And the pancakes. I can't. It's very odd. Aldi not having. I can't. So. Grace finally convinced me to calm down.

[17:22] And not be so anxious. Went up to the queue. This is in Mossheim. And there was this young man in front. And his trolley was stacked to the top.

[17:34] And he looked at us. And he felt sorry. And he said. And he was going to regret this. He said. Oh sorry. On you go. I thought to myself.

[17:46] No son. You don't realise what's going to happen now. We went ahead of him. We got to him. And I said to the girl. She has the microphone on. You know. Like she's on the telly. And I said.

[17:57] A rack of ribs. Does Aldi not have a rack of barbecue ribs? Oh yeah. Yeah. I said. No. I'll get a boy to bring them. Blah blah blah blah blah. But this wee fellow turned around.

[18:09] Fifteen seconds. The same height as Cameron. Big. Strangling through. I said. Where were they sitting? And this guy behind me. Let us in. He's like. Oh no. We should have a little bit.

[18:20] So. He's. He's away there. And this is what the girl said. And this stuck in my mind. You looked. In the wrong place. So.

[18:36] Well. If you're looking. No. Never mind. But we were looking. In the wrong place. And I was up and down. That place. Chris couldn't find. You're looking. In the wrong place. She said.

[18:48] And when I came back. To this psalm. That girl's words. Came back to me. See. With David's. Confidence. In God. When anxiety comes.

[19:00] He doesn't look. In the wrong place. He knows. God. He knows. What God requires. He knows. He's to do justly.

[19:12] Love mercy. And walk humbly. With his God. In the words of Micah. And Micah. I didn't live. I didn't live. Until 200 years. After David. But he knew. In the spirit. I'm not going. To the wrong place.

[19:23] He had done it. Before. And that's where. This psalm. Touches reality. So friends. That's my first point. In these six verses.

[19:35] You need. A good theology. Of faith. Do we have. A good theology. Of faith. Of trust. Do you know.

[19:47] Where you're standing. Who you're leaning on. Because life. Is going to bring. Its anxieties. Do you have. A good theology. Of faith. The Lord.

[19:59] Is my light. My salvation. That's my theology. Of faith. Says David. Now let's go. To the next verses. The seven to twelve. And I've put up.

[20:10] In the middle here. The words of the man. In Mark. Nine. Twenty. Twenty. Twenty. I believe. Lord. Help. My unbelief. Let me read.

[20:21] Those verses. Again to you. From verse. Seven. Down to twelve. Of Psalm. Twenty. Twenty. Seven. Hear my voice. When I call. Lord. Be merciful.

[20:31] To me. If something. Wrong. Mercy. Is being given. To him. That's what he wants. Because he knows. He deserves. He deserves. Judgment. God is merciful.

[20:44] Forgiving. The sins. Of thousands. My heart. Says of you. Seek his face. Your face. Lord. I will seek. Do not hide.

[20:54] Your face. From me. Something's wrong. Inside. He's anxious. If I speak. The words. Why do I not. Want to speak. Them Lord. In any.

[21:04] Close relationship. We are all. Careful. About what we say. In case. We make it worse. Aren't we? Isn't that right. Women.

[21:18] Well. You can't. Speak to. How many times. Have I heard that. David. It's not about me. It's somebody else. But any.

[21:28] Close relationship. You have to be careful. What you say. You think. You've got it. Worked out. And then suddenly. The person won't speak to you. What's wrong. You said.

[21:39] That's not what I meant. When we're dealing with God. You're dealing with somebody. Who's not like you. The only reason.

[21:53] Why he became like us. Is so that we will become like him. It's not. He's not becoming like us. Thank God. For that. Christ was sinless. There's the real world.

[22:06] Kicking in. That man's words. I believe Lord. Help my unbelief. I think they. Link up with David. David is saying.

[22:19] Lord. You know my heart. Then you read it there. In verse 8 and 9. And then down to 10. Even if my father and mother. Forsook me. In Hebrew. That means. If my father and mother.

[22:31] Forsook me. That's all. It doesn't mean. They forsook him. But it's this. Wonderful prayer. Wonderful prayer.

[22:42] In verse 11. Teach me. Your way. Oh Lord. Make a path. That prayer. That prayer. To me. That's the man's relationship.

[22:54] With God revealed. We're going to sing. After I'm finished. Teach me thy way. Oh Lord. Because that's something. As Paul says.

[23:05] In 2 Corinthians. In 2 Timothy 3.16. All scripture. Is God breathed. Teaching. Training. Correcting.

[23:16] Rebuking. It's not a bad prayer. For any genuine Christian. To pray to their father in heaven. Teach me your way. Oh Lord. Even though you think you know it. Teach me your way.

[23:27] And show me a straight path. Through this problem. That's a man's heart. Opening up. That's humility. Humility. That's humility. Is the fear of the Lord.

[23:38] Says Proverbs 22.4. Humility. Is the fear of the Lord. That says. I need your grace. And I need it now. Father. Forgive my sins. And that's because the Lord.

[23:51] Is his light and salvation. That's why. Nobody else has that light. No Christian here. Would be silly enough.

[24:01] To think. Everybody could come to us. For counsel. Don't hide your face.

[24:11] From me. That's something. He doesn't. Want God. Being at a distance. From him. He wants to be close. Now you remember.

[24:22] Under the old covenant. Men didn't believe. They could see the face of God. And live. They thought they would die. If they seen the face of God. But in the new covenant.

[24:37] Unless you see the face of God. In the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't live. That's the development of theology. In the Bible. But this man's theology of faith.

[24:49] Is such. That he can say. Lord. With all my heart. Soul strength. You know. I believe in you. But I'm struggling here. He wasn't prepared.

[25:05] To look anywhere else. But to his God. He was not going to look. In the wrong place. For a rack of ribs. Or anything else. He was going to go to God.

[25:18] And say. You're my judge. Nobody else really knows me like you. Why would I ask someone else? And he trusts him friends. It tells us even in 1 Peter chapter 2.

[25:31] That when the Lord. Was persecuted himself. He committed himself. To him who judges justly. Even the Lord. But under pressure of anxiety.

[25:42] And persecution. Committed himself. To him. Who judged justly. His father. Even the Lord. Did that. As a human being. Now if that's good enough for him.

[25:56] It should be good enough for us. I remember. In Isla. In my first ministry. A man came to speak to me.

[26:11] And. He started to talk. In a way. In a way. That I was totally surprised. And I didn't.

[26:23] I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to reject him. I said. I'll just pray with him. But somehow. Prayer didn't matter. Somehow. He was telling me. I just want you to tell me.

[26:33] I'm okay. I said. Lord. Who put me in this situation. Because I didn't really know him. But you know. Who he reminded me of.

[26:44] The situation. And it's the very opposite. From David. He reminded me. Of the word of the Lord. To the church in Laodicea. In chapter 3. Of the book of Revelation.

[26:55] Verse 17. When they said. I am rich. I have need. Of nothing. And I.

[27:07] I was listening. To the gentleman. I prayed with him. But I remember thinking. You're telling me. You need nothing. What is it you want then?

[27:17] Why do you want prayer? He'd lost sight. Now that's the very opposite. From David. You never get David. Saying. I am the king of Israel.

[27:29] I need nothing. I need nothing. That's the very opposite. David is saying here. I believe. Help my unbelief. You're my shepherd.

[27:40] Heed me. Lead me. Feed me. Save me. Be my comfort. Be my strength. As a growing mature Christian. That needs to be our practice. It needs to be.

[27:52] Because we are wrestlers. In the troubled sea. As the hymn says. Do you know that. In old wrestlers. They put oil on themselves. So the other guy. Couldn't get a grip of them. So these big blokes.

[28:05] I know they're sumo wrestlers. Or what they were. But back in Greece. Where it was a big thing. They put oil on themselves. So the person. Tried to grab them. They slip off. As people.

[28:20] Who are wrestlers. We should be. Slippery customers. When it comes to. Temptation. And the devil. The anointing of the spirit. Is on us. And we need no one else.

[28:31] To teach us. Says John. The devil. Will find it difficult. When you're fixed. On the Lord. If you're light. And salvation. Through all the troubles. And ups and downs.

[28:42] And mountains. And valleys of life. You are anointed. By the spirit of God. You need no one. To teach you. Says John. In the struggle. In the wrestle. So. Make sure you remember.

[28:57] The Holy Spirit. Is in you. To show you Jesus. Not himself. And Jesus is risen. And exalted.

[29:09] And coming back. Physically. Personally. Be a slippery customer. For the enemy. Don't let them take a hold. And just twist your mind.

[29:20] And your heart. He hates you. He hates Christ. Christ loves you. And the devil's time is short. Says Revelation 12. And he knows it.

[29:34] So in this psalm friends. We have a plain. Confident. Man saying. The Lord is my light. And my salvation. He's a very spiritual fellow.

[29:47] But he calls for a straight path there. Down in verse 11. Teach me your way. Lead me in a plain. Or straight path. I believe Lord.

[29:58] I know I should have done this. I know I should have done that. If I hadn't done this. I know things would be better. We've all been through it. And different translations.

[30:09] Have different words. At the point. See what it says. In verse 13. And we'll go to the last one. Stephen. He says. I remain confident of this. The last two verses.

[30:20] The translation of that. In Hebrew. Is put in different ways. I've looked to the King James Version. The New American Standard Version. The Amplified Bible.

[30:31] The NIV. And they're all different. But I trust Alec Mateer. The Irishman. The Hebrew scholar. Alec Mateer's book on the Psalms.

[30:43] Is a work of art. Not because I'm a Hebrew scholar. But because those who are. Make sure they keep his books. And Alec Mateer says this.

[30:54] When he says. I remain confident of this. He's saying. Would that I had believed. I would see the Lord.

[31:05] In all his goodness. Would that I had believed. In other words. I didn't. And I slipped up. Who hasn't slipped up? So he closes.

[31:19] A humble patient faith. Confidently. Commended to you. Why are we so impatient? The last two verses.

[31:30] I remain confident of this. I will see. Despite my failings. Despite my anxieties. Because the Lord is my light. And salvation.

[31:41] I will see the goodness of the Lord. In the land of the living. And then he speaks to all of us. Wait. For the Lord. Be strong.

[31:52] And take heart. And wait. Be a patient believer. Wait. For the Lord. Who is. Your light. And salvation.

[32:03] So you are a wrestler. Hard work wrestling. But at the same time. You're not alone.

[32:16] Be confident. Expect to get anxious. But don't be overcome by anxiety. I'm saying that. I'm standing here. I never sweat.

[32:26] But the Lord. Is more real. Than we are. I've run out of words David. It must be 28.

[32:42] That was a good excuse. David. You better explain that. I don't think you mean that. But. So Lord.

[32:54] We just pray. That you'll help us. Father. To have a humble. Patient faith. Confident. In your goodness. Because if you don't have that.

[33:06] What else are you going to look at? What are you going to target yourself on? How are you going to survive? May. The Lord's blessing. Be upon us friends.

[33:17] Let's pray together. Father God. We just thank you. For this plain. Confident fact. You. The Lord. Revealed to Moses. At the burning bush.

[33:29] You are the covenant. Keeping God. The God of grace. And redemption. The Lord. Thank you. Jesus. Has been revealed to us.

[33:39] As. The Lord. Jesus Christ. We pray. For a straight path. For all of us. Help us to be prepared. But to admit. When we're going astray.

[33:51] Lord. You know I believe. Help my unbelief. We would commend to each other. Even as we sing our final praise. Have a confident.

[34:01] Patient. Humble. Faith. Wait for the Lord. Again I say. Wait. For the Lord. To your glory.

[34:13] We ask it. Amen.