By Randall Pressnell
Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel
Focal Passage: Psalm 27:1-6
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that any man can sing in the daytime but that only the man of faith can sing in the night. David was certainly a man who was accustomed to singing in darkness! He experienced time and again in his life the attacks of those who wanted to destroy him and send him to an early grave. If you wanted to be David’s enemy —you had better get in line behind all the others who were after him. Yet, David had complete confidence in God’s salvation. He took shelter in God’s salvation from all the personal attacks on his life.
David confidently prayed for God’s deliverance from his enemies. This psalm does not say that those who have faith in God’s salvation will not experience trouble. However, this psalm does say that those who have faith in God’s salvation can find shelter in the midst of life’s trouble! When does God’s salvation provide shelter in the midst of life’s trouble?
We experience the shelter of God’s salvation when we trust our security to the Lord regardless of what we are facing (27:1-3). David doesn’t begin this prayer by crying in his soup. He begins praying with a statement of confident trust in God’s salvation. Specifically, he states that the Lord is his light, salvation, and stronghold. God gave direction to his life, deliverance from his troubles, and protection from his enemies. David’s confidence in the Lord is such that he can ask whom should I fear? He repeats the question with of whom should I be afraid? David’s confidence was based on experience (v. 2), “my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.” His confidence remained regardless of what he was facing though “an army deploys against me or a war breaks out against me.” Based on your experience with God can you express the same confidence? Yes, we can experience the shelter of God’s salvation regardless of what people throw at us or how many they are in number.
We experience the shelter of God’s salvation when our greatest desire in life is to worship Him in His house (27:4-6). David found security in the public worship of God in the house of the LORD. The tabernacle or tent of meeting was the place he longed to be gazing on the beauty of the LORD. It was the place where he longed to be seeking Him in His temple. It was the place where he said the LORD would conceal him in His shelter and hide him under the cover of His tent.
What a high view of worship David describes here! What a heart for God David reveals that the only thing he asks of God is to dwell in the house of the LORD! His confidence is that God would set him high on a rock so that in the battle his head would be high above his enemies even when surrounded by them. His love for God would culminate in worship that just didn’t show up at church but that would result in offering sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy. This includes the expectation that he will sing and make music to the LORD. Does this describe your view of worshiping God in His house? Does this describe your heart for God?
If we experience the shelter of God’s salvation we will have to trust our security to the Lord regardless of what we are facing and the greatest desire in our life will have to be to worship Him in His house. That’s what it will take for you and me to be able to sing in darkness!
— Pressnell is senior pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel.
