Advent - Psalm 27

1 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?

² When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

⁴ 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.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ 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.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ 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.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Wait for the Lord.

This Sunday is Advent Sunday. It is the beginning of four weeks that lead up to Christmas. And during Advent we prepare our hearts as we wait for the coming of the Saviour.

Psalm 27 is a wonderful, peaceful, meditative piece of Scripture that reminds us that we are to wait on God. The last verse summarises the theme of the Psalm: ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.’ Waiting is not expected to be easy, according to the psalmist. First – we wait for the Lord. Second – we must be strong, and third – we must take heart. Yes. It is not to do with lying back on the sofa, drinking a cup of tea and watching the telly while you wait for the children to come home from school (As if any of us would behave like that!).

No, as we wait we must be strong; we must take heart. And then what? Then we wait for the Lord. Be vigilant, be watchful, be attentive, listening for his voice. During this global pandemic which has completely turned our lives upside down, and affected everyone in the world, we know that we must wait for the Lord. There is no alternative – we must wait on him and trust in him alone.

Day by day we want to hear his voice and go his way. The first three verses of Psalm 27 talk about being in a dangerous situation but trusting in the Lord for safety and protection. ‘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?’ Who indeed? If we really trust in God and rest in him, and if we are really followers of Jesus, then we can join the psalmist in these words of confidence. Yes, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Is he? We should pause and ask ourselves that kind of question from time to time. Just to check; just to confirm that yes, we really do still trust in the Lord. The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Is he? Ask it and check. And if it remains true that yes, the Lord is my light and my salvation, and he is my stronghold, then whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?

Yesterday we read this wonderful verse in Romans 8: 31 – ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ Who indeed? Verse 3 of this Psalm says a similar thing: ‘Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.’

May we come into this Advent season trusting in the Lord, and waiting for him and waiting on him. May we wait in peace, knowing that God is always with us and that he will never let us go. He if faithful and just, and remembers all his promises to us.

 

Prayer

Father, please help us as we wait on you to always trust and never fear. We pray for an end to the spread of covid-19, and we pray that in all things we will be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Amen.