Week 3

Psalm 27 … "The Lord is my light…"

Light surrounds us these days of early summer! The long hours of sunlight fill us with life and energy. Praying with this psalm for the upcoming week may encourage us to see behind these luminous days to the source of our light and life.

The benefits of praying a psalm for several days, perhaps often during the day, should be becoming evident. This repetition helps us to listen intently. As the words cease, then prayer really begins! Words or phrases or verses impress us and invite us to linger and ponder their meaning for our life. Here in silence, God invites us into conversation. The temptation when we open the Bible is to keep on reading. We want the novelty of new ideas and so can miss the riches contained in a short passage. If, on the other hand, we take time to mull over these shorter passages, we may be surprised at the wealth they contain. Stay with the psalm for the whole week and keep turning it over in your mind with the outline we have discussed in the 1st and 2nd articles.

At first glance, there seem to be two directions in this psalm: one that reveals the absolute trust the psalmist has in God and a second that suggests some trouble exists alongside this eager longing for God. The intimacy of the relationship between one who is at home in this prayer is revealed in the expressions of confidence. God's ever present help and faithfulness will provide protection against whatever trouble it is that oppresses and threatens. The frequent mention of finding safety in the Lord's tent, the temple, of being raised high on a rock and made secure are ways of speaking of the elusive presence of God to the psalmist and the awareness that security and shelter can be found in God. But, notice the imperative voice! Here the words hold God responsible to keep faith: "hear my voice when I call" … "Hide not your face" … "dismiss not your servant"… "Do not abandon or forsake me" …"Instruct me in your ways, lead me" … "Protect me". In such expressions, perhaps we see ourselves, also a mix of trust and confidence in God and fear for whatever may threaten us.

In every psalm, invariably we will run against some verse that does not make sense to us. Who of us has enemies or evildoers or false witnesses pursuing us? Sometimes perhaps! In praying the psalms, we recognize that perhaps for the original psalmist, there was an actual enemy. For Israel, many times during her history, she was surrounded by enemies that threatened her existence. The enemy or the wicked can also be those who are set in opposition to the plan and purpose of God, or those who act unjustly, contrary to the demands of covenant justice. The enemy can be one who is set in contrast to the righteous one. The one who chooses not to follow the light, but instead to walk in darkness. For us, we might consider such references as a metaphor for what can draw us away from our wholehearted commitment to God. Or the "enemy" might be the fears, the insecurities, the petty jealousies, some temptation that threatens our peace.

What remains important in this psalm is the awareness the psalmist has of God's presence and the longing in faith for a greater good that is elusive yet certain. Whatever the problem, it will not be stronger than the reality of God. The trouble will be short lived!

"In the Lord, hold firm and take heart

Hope in the Lord."