Reflection on Psalm 27:1,4-9

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” 

You do not utter words like this unless your world has turned dark.  You do not see the saving nature of the words of Psalm 27 unless you are brought face to face with fear.  Only those who have spent some time wandering around in the utter darkness truly understand what it is to have no choice but to trust in the Lord.

It was an IED (an Improvised Explosive Devise) that took away both of the young man’s legs.  And, it was on that day that the darkness overtook his world. 

Lying stranded in his hospital bed, the young man asked questions like, “How will I get around to do the most basic of things?”  “Will any woman accept such a deformed man?”  “How will I deal with the stares, or the unending looks of pity?”  “How will I handle it?” 

The volunteer from the chaplain’s office dropped off one of those little devotional booklets that you get while staying in the hospital.  You, know, the ones with the printed prayers, poems, and fragments of inspirational scriptures.  There were a couple of super helpful quotes in there, please note the sarcasm dripping from my lips this very moment: “If you give up, it means you never wanted it;” and “Miracles always happen when you believe;” and “If we threw all of our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we would grab ours back.”  He was pretty certain that he would not grab his back.  He was pretty certain that he would grab something like, “My Mom didn’t cook the chicken the right way” and leave the “no legs for the rest of your life” right where it was in the pile.

But, the next page in the devotional booklet was better.  The next page had a Psalm he had somehow never read before, or had never taken notice of if he had.  What this man with no future found was Psalm 27:

“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?

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!”

The phrase, “he will conceal me under the cover of his tent” particularly stuck out at him.

As a soldier, the young man understood tents well.  In tents, other guys can see when the tears come; there is no place to hide.  In tents, the worst of the day is shared and soldier-like embraces are given.  In tents, things are thrown, frustration is vented, and people are truly known.  And, in tents, you are together, providing safety for one another. 

“For the Lord will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent.” 

He needed a tent again.  He wanted nothing more than to live in the tent of the only one who might make sense of all of this confusion.  He wanted nothing more than to live in the tent of the only one who is able to make a light in the darkness.

Psalm 23 is a good Psalm and all, but it was Psalm 27 that saved the young man’s life. 

It was the words, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” that he muttered when he fell, fearing that he would never figure out how to walk with his prosthetic legs. 

It was the words, “do not hide your face from me” that he recalled each time he saw people glance his way, look with pity, and then turn their eyes away. 

It was the words, “Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!” that he remembered each time he saw there was no interest in the woman he pursued as he walked away awkwardly with his canes. 

The Lord became his salvation, because he could not save himself.  The Lord became his purpose for living, because he had no other purpose.  The Lord was his light in the darkness, because the Lord never lets the darkness overcome.  The Lord saved his life, through the words of Psalm 27. 

It is a good Psalm.  More than that, it is a life saving Psalm.  It is a psalm for those who find themselves in the darkness, because, let us be honest, there is a lot of darkness.  There is the death of loved ones in whom we have depended; utter darkness.  There is the death of stability in the world and in our own country; utter darkness.  There is a persistent, slow death creeping through the churches around which we have built our lives; utter darkness. 

But, in the Lord is light and salvation.  In the Lord Jesus Christ we find new life after the cross and the tomb.  In the Lord Jesus Christ we find a defeat of all that would put us in the ground.  In the Lord Jesus Christ we find grace, forgiveness, and a salvation that never gives up.  In the Lord Jesus Christ we find someone to follow when there seems no way forward. 

“Follow me,” Jesus says to those who are stranded in the darkness.  And, in response, our souls say within, “Seek his face.”

“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?”