My Friend in Battle
Psalm 27
By Dr. Gary Rieben
Devotional #3

Beauty in the Midst of Beasts

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

We must not think worse of him or his ways for the hardships we meet with his service. There is enough in God to furnish us with matter of joy in the worst circumstances on earth....Joy in God is a duty of great consequence in the Christian life; and Christians need to be again and again called to it." Matthew Henry

A Fortress of Faith

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? Ps 27:1

A believer is to be known not only for his peace and joy; but by his warfare in distress. Robert Murray McCheyne

Introduction:

If you are a Christian, you are engaged in war. The moment you placed your faith in Jesus, you became a soldier in the army of God. When you believed you not only gained a wonderful Friend, you gained a terrible enemy. He has declared an all-out war upon your faith and your joy in Jesus. Peter describes his nature as one who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He is a liar and a murderer. He seeks to rob Christians of their faith, and if he can, rob them of their very life. His ultimate goal is not to destroy us, but God’s glory. He will use any ruse, any tactic, any ploy to trick us into relinquishing our faith and trust in God.  

My Testimony: An Introduction

Psalm 27 is like a dear and trusted friend to me. If you have ever had someone stand by your side during a very dark and painful time in your life, you know what I mean. It started several years ago, when I changed my normal devotional pattern from going through the entire Bible in a year, to focusing on one passage of Scripture. For 365 days, I meditated on Psalm 27. Early in the morning, I would take my Bible and my prayer journal, get a cup of coffee, and make my way down to a park along the Pacific Ocean. There, I would memorize, reflect and pray over this psalm. I would ask the Lord to speak to me through each word and sentence. Then, I would use those thoughts to shape my prayers to God. Throughout that year, I would record what I was hearing and learning. I experienced something of what the psalmist referred to when he claimed to “have hidden the word of God in his heart.” [Psalm 119:11]. The words of God not only were positioned in my head, they became imbedded in my heart. 

Help for the Straying Heart

The purest saint at the moment of his greatest strength is as weak as he was before his conversion.  What has happened is that he has switched from his little human battery to the infinite power of God.  He has quite literally exchanged weakness for strength, but the strength is not his; it flows into him from God, as long as he abides in Christ. — A. W. Tozer:  The Incredible Christian, page 33)

INTRODUCTION:  We are coming to the end of our awesome study of Psalm 119.  We have come to know a man who loves God’s law because he loves God.  The law of God is the place where the psalmist discovers wisdom that enables him to fight the enemies of his joy.  In this study, we have come to understand the close bond that exists between the Word of God and prayer.  They are the two tracks that keep us traveling in the right direction.  God speaks through His Word and we respond in words of prayer.  Thus, the Christian walk is a communion between friends.  In this unbreakable relationship, the enemies, though they are great and numerous, are not sufficient to keep us from reaching our glorious goal.  When we abide in Jesus Christ and His words abide in us, the Father will be glorified by making our lives fruitful (John 15:7).