The Lord is My Strength
Monday, June 13
"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)
The song for God's people in the time of trouble is: "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid." (Isaiah 12:2)
The only remedy against fear is the knowledge that God is our strength and our salvation. Whoever trusts to the strength which he imagines that he has in and of himself, is sure sooner or later to fail through fear. But he who knows and acknowledges God as his sole strength cannot fail nor be frightened, because he knows that God cannot fail. The Rock of Ages stands firm.
But this means the constant recognition of the fact that we have no strength of brain or muscle apart from God; that it is in Him that we live and move. How gladly we should make this acknowledgment, since it means so much for us.
The Lord is My Defense
Tuesday, June 14
"When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell." (Psalm 27:2)
In John 18:3-6 we read how it was with those who came out against Christ. "Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from thechief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him,went forth, and said unto them, Whom do you seek? They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed Him, stood with them. As soon then as He had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground." (John 18:3-6)
The power that was in Him made them fall to the ground. Afterward He went with them voluntarily; but the incident shows us how impossible it is even for armed foes to do anything against those whose strength is wholly the Lord's, and who trust in Him alone.
We have nothing to do with defending ourselves against either weapons or words that devour, when we take God for our defense.
Fearless in the Face of War
Wednesday, June 15
"Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident." (Psalm 27:3)
In what shall we be confident when war arises against us? Simply in this, that the Lord is our light and our salvation and the strength of our life. (Psalm 27:1)
In 2 Kings chapter 6 we have the account of an army that came out against a single unarmed man. He had no fear, because he knew that the invisible army for Him was far greater than the visible army against Him.
Neither swords nor cannon balls can pierce or break down the defense which God's word forms round the child of God.
The storm may rage around me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?
--Anna Letitia Waring, Hymn: In Heavenly Love Abiding, 1850.
Behold the Beauty of the Lord
Thursday, June 16
"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4) "Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not." (Jeremiah 45:5)
That is, success in life does not consist in doing, but in being. It is not well to be so intent on doing some great work that we have no time to behold and appreciate the beauty of the Lord. It is "Not by works done in righteousness which we did ourselves," (Titus 3:5,RV)--but by looking--looking unto Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)--that we are saved. Time spent in beholding the beauty of the Lord is not wasted; for it is only when the beauty of the Lord is upon us that the work of our hands is established. "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish it." (Psalm 90:17)
Safe in His Pavilion
Friday, June 17
"In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of the tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5)
This is why the one thing to be desired is to dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord. (Psalm 27:4) Only in the Lord's house can we behold His beauty and when we dwell in His house we are sure to be safe in the time of trouble, for we shall be out of the enemy's reach.
When we are in the secret of the Lord's tabernacle, we are hidden. We can see the enemy, but the enemy cannot see us. Read the 91st Psalm, to learn of the security of the Lord's secret place: "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God;in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover you with his feathers, and under His wings shall you trust: His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrowthat flies by day; Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of thewicked. Because you have made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, your habitation; There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet. Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." (Psalm 91:1-16)
Songs for Victory to Come
Sabbath, June 18
"And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord." (Psalm 27:6)
It is with "songs of deliverance" that the Lord compasses us about. "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall compass me about with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7)
That is to say, our safety is in singing the praises of God,--not in merely singing songs that somebody else has written, and which may mean nothing to us, but in singing and making melody in the heart, sometimes even without words, but always with the spirit and with the understanding.
It is not enough to praise the Lord for what He has done for us; true faith gives Him thanks for deliverance yet to come, with the enemies all round us. It was when Israel sang and gave thanks to God for His ever enduring mercy that God set ambushments against their enemies: "It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against you from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, And said, O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in your hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham your friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built You a sanctuary therein for your name, saying, If, when evil comes upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in your presence, (for your name is in this house,) and cry unto You in our affliction, then You will hear and help. And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon You. And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, theirwives, and their children. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king Jehoshaphat, Thus says the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go down against them: behold, they come up by thecliff of Ziz; and you shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high. And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established; believe His prophets, so shall you prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endures for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about." (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)
An Inspired Prayer
Sunday, June 19
"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice; have mercy also upon me and deliver me." (Psalm 27:7)
Do not read this as though it meant that you are obliged to beg and entreat the Lord to listen to you, and that you must by your importunity break down His reluctance to hear and deliver. He is always more anxious to save every man than any man is to be saved.
But this is a petition inspired by the Holy Spirit, who helps our infirmities by teaching us what to ask for. This prayer, therefore, is the Spirit’s assurance that the Lord will hear and deliver us.
Seeking His Face
Monday, June 20
"When You said; Seek my face, my heart said, Your face, Lord, will I seek." (Psalm 27:8)
Yes, we may make that response, but where shall we look for Him, that we may see His face? Have no anxiety on that score; the Lord is looking for you; and all you have to do to see Him is to look up. He says, "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things." (Isaiah 40:26)
God has placed men where they are, "that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us." (Acts 17:27)
There is danger that we may not feel after Him; but if we do reach out our hand, we are sure straightway to find His.
Desiring God's Presence
Tuesday, June 21
"Hide not your face far from me; put not your servant away in anger: You have been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation." (Psalm 27:9)
Here we have another inspired direction what to pray for with positive assurance that our petition will be granted, because we ask according to God's will. He himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
Therefore when we ask Him not to leave us, we are not trying to induce Him to stay with us, but, if we pray with the spirit and the understanding, we are expressing our willingness and desire to have His presence. He has helped us, and that is sufficient proof that He will still help us.--Medical Missionary, Daily Bread, June 1904--Psalm 27:1-9.