Psalm 27 – Autobiography

 

This is the 27^th of April and this morning I read Psalm 27. A little later today I’ll read Psalm 57. The Lord willing, on July 27 and October 27 I’ll read these two psalms again. I can’t live without Psalms. I see Christ everywhere in them, and the older I get the more vividly I see Him. I see the Body of Christ everywhere and the unity of the Head and the Body in them. I see humanity everywhere – both those in Adam and those in Christ. I see the ebb and flow of history; governments, economics, social agendas, the guts of mankind.

 

I also see my autobiography, I never quite thought of it like this before this morning, but when I opened to Psalm 27 and read, “Yahweh is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread,” I thought, “This is my autobiography. I’ve lived with and in this psalm for as long as I can remember.”

 

This is one of the first passages of Scripture that I distinctly recall sharing with another person. I don’t remember when I first read Psalm 27, but nor do I remember when I drew my first breath. I see my life in this Psalm; my confidence in Christ, my Father, and the Holy Spirit. The help of others along my pilgrimage. My fears and God’s care in the midst of those fears. My deep hope and trust that I shall indeed “see the goodness of my Father and Lord Jesus in the land of the living.”

 

I hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me again and again, “Wait for your Father, wait for your Lord Jesus, be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for your God.” I also speak these words to others, again and again as I share this psalm with others again and again.

 

How many times have I shared this psalm? How many times have I spoken these words to others? How many times do I breathe in a day?

 

This psalm lives inside of me, and I live inside of it. This psalm is a dimension of my inheritance in Jesus Christ – He is in this psalm and He is in me. When Jesus Christ came to live within me, He brought Psalm 27 with Him. (I should be more aware of His gifts – when Jesus comes He brings gifts; gifts that have eternal shelf lives).

 

If we’re going to follow Jesus we’ll find that life is a contact sport, there is opposition and resistance. If we are going to live in obedience to Jesus Christ there is going to be difficulty because we live in a world opposed to God and His righteousness, and unless we are going to cooperate with sin and evil there are times we are going to go against the grain – in fact, our lives are going to be lived against the grain. We are going to be different from the world, unless we are ashamed of Jesus. Psalm 27:3 is nice to know, it’s a good place to live, even though we are surrounded by opposition we can be confident in Christ.

 

Seeking the one desire of verse 4 is critical to living against the tide, living against the grain and not minding it too very much. “One thing I have asked from my Father and Lord Jesus, that I shall seek; that I may dwell in the House of my Father all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Christ and to meditate in His Temple” (see Ephesians 2:19 – 22).

 

When we desire our Lord Jesus with all that we have and all that we are, we find ourselves “concealed in His Tabernacle, hidden in the secret place of His Tent, lifted up on the Rock” (verse 5). There have been many times in my life when there has been evil and chaos and toxicity swirling around me, and yet I’ve been enveloped and filled with the peace that passes comprehension. More than once I’ve walked into, or been thrown into, the furnace of Daniel Chapter 3; sometimes I’ve come out without a hint of smoke or fire, other times I’ve been consumed – either way I’ve learned Romans 12:1 – 2 once again.

 

When I walk outside in the morning and look to the heavens, I hear my Father saying (verse 8), “Seek My face.”

 

I pray, “Your face, O Holy Trinity, I shall seek. Teach me to seek Your Face. Teach Vickie and me to seek Your Face as husband and wife. Teach Your People to seek Your Face!”

 

Most of the enemies of my life are within me, so when I read about enemies and foes in this psalm I look within. Of course, the world system provides constant opposition. Yes, I have had opponents in life, but I try to recognize the truth of Ephesians 6:10 – 17 and 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5. Most of the time when I’ve had opponents I haven’t seen them as such, I don’t usually look at people that way; I do look at ideas and thinking and practices as either righteous or unrighteous, as either blessing people or holding them in bondage and fear; as either light, truth, and honesty, or darkness, lying, and deceit.

 

“Teach me Your Way, O Father” (verse 11). Is not my Lord Jesus the Way? Do I not want to know Him more deeply today than yesterday? Simply put, is this not why I am here this morning…to know Him and to bless others?

 

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).

 

Isn’t it wonderful that our Father has our autobiographies already written for us?

 

Why not tell someone your autobiography in Christ today?