The Lord is My Light – Psalm 27

“A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

In 2 Samuel 21:17, Abishai said to David, “You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.” Abishai thought of David as a light, but David declared, “The Lord is my light.” David’s goal was to reflect the Lord’s light to people.

In Genesis 1:3, God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” God dispels darkness by speaking His Word. God gave us His Word, the Bible, so that we would not be in the dark in regards to who created and sustains us.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ is called the Word and the light. John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

God’s light enlightens the minds of simple people to become wise leaders. Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of Your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.”

In John 8:12, Jesus confirmed that He is the light, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”

The Lord is my salvation. The Name of Jesus means the “Lord saves.” In Matthew 1:21, before Jesus was born, an angel told Joseph that Mary shall bring “forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” In Luke 2:11, “On the night that Christ was born, an angel declared to a group of shepherds who were watching their sheep, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” In John 4:42, after the people of Sychar heard Jesus speak, they declared, “We know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” We cannot save ourselves, that is, bring ourselves to heaven. Jesus can!

The Psalmist declared, “The Lord is the strength of my life.” The word for “strength” in Hebrew is מָעוֹז, it means a “stronghold.” A stronghold is a well-positioned fortress that provides safety from enemy assaults. Nothing on earth can penetrate God’s protection… not even a nuclear bomb. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.”

The Lord is the strength of my frail weak life. He keeps me from fainting and wasting away. In Him, I live and move and have my being.

“Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?” The answer is no one when God is with me, and I am with Him.

“When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord that will I seek: that I may dwell 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.” Psalm 27:2-4

When David’s enemies came to devour him, God tripped them up. David did not need to smite them because they stumbled and fell. They were so confused and weakened by the Lord that they could not complete their mission.

In John 18:6, when evil men came to arrest Christ, He spoke a word, and they staggered and fell to the ground. The ruin of some of the enemies of God's people is an earnest of the complete conquest of them all. “Though they be numerous, an army of them, — though they be daring and their attempts threatening, — though they encamp against me, an army against one man, — though they wage war upon me, yet my heart shall not fear. Armies cannot hurt us if the Lord of armies protect us.” [1]

No one wants an army and a war to come against them, but David said, if these calamities happen, his heart would not fear. He would remain confident. He knew God. God is bigger than armies. Isaiah 40:15 says of God’s transcendence over the nations, , “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales…”

By trusting in the Lord, David killed lions, bears and a giant when he was only a boy.

David practiced the presence of the Lord. He declared, “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.” As David focused on loving the Lord, which by the way is the first commandment, the Lord was able to do things through David that He was not able to do through others.

In Genesis 35:7, Jacob called the place where God met with him the house of God. “He built an altar there and called the place El Bethel (God of the House of God), because there, God appeared to him.” God’s house is wherever He chooses to meet with us and commune with us. David tried to live in God’s “house” all his days. [2]

David inquired of God in His temple. The temple was a central gathering place for God’s people. David practiced both a personal and a public devotional life towards God. A good example for us! [3]

David sought the Lord and David inquired of the Lord. In other words, he pursued God. He did not wait for God to show up unexpectedly. David went to the temple where God was known to dwell. In a sense, David was like Mary in the New Testament. Luke 10:39 says that “Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His Word.” David wanted as much of the Lord as he could get.

David wanted to dwell in God’s house not due to the good entertainment there. Not due to the feasts that happened there! Not due to the music and good singing there! He wanted to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple. He desired to be in God’s courts that he might have the pleasure of meditating upon God. [4]

David’s life was full of battles and enemies, but rather than allowing thoughts of battles and enemies to dominate his thought-life, he let the peace of God which passes all understanding have his thought-life.

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion. In the secret place of His tabernacle, He shall hide me. He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore, I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.” Psalm 27:5-6

The gracious presence of God’s Holy Spirit is the secret place of God’s tabernacle. People cannot see Him but He is there. He shows up in the promises of God’s Word. We know He has been with us when afterwards we find our feet on the rock of God’s truth. He provides us clear guidance. He assures us that our enemies will go down while we rise up. For the work of God’s Word and Spirit, David offered sacrifices of joy. By the power of God’s Spirit he sang praises.

The essence of worship is to seek the face of God. God’s favor is our chief good. In Psalms 145:16, the Lord’s open hand satisfies the desire of all living things. [5]

“Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me and answer me. When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘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 help. Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” Psalm 27:7-10

The Lord did hear David’s voice. He did have mercy on him and answer him. The Lord helped him. When those who were closest to David abandoned him, the Lord took care of him.

“Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries. For false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord! Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:11-14

The Lord did teach David His ways. He did lead David in a smooth path. He did deliver David from the will of those who sought an occasion to destroy him. The Lord helped David to prevail over all the fake news stories that were waged against him.

The Lord gave David faith to see God’s goodness in the land of the living. If the Lord had not given David this faith, he would have been overwhelmed with sorrow. The faith that God gave to David kept him patient, prayerful, and confident to keep pressing onward.

What a beautiful thought to see the Lord in the land of the living. 2 Peter 1:4 says that the Lord has “given to us exceedingly great and precious promises...” Especially, the promise to see God’s face. In Psalm 17:15, David wrote, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” In Revelation 21:27-22:5, those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, see God’s face. “They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.”

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

David urges us his listeners to wait on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord can be compared to waiting on the gas pump to fill your gas tank. Don’t put a shot of gas into your gas tank and drive away! No, fill your tank up! Don’t give your soul a shot of Jesus per day! No, fill your soul to the brim with Jesus. He will make you strong and give you courage to face your challenges. [6]


[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid