Psalm 27

 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death [Phil 1:20] “What a fool I have been, to lie like this in a stinking dungeon, when I could have just as well walked free. In my chest pocket I have a key called Promise that will, I am thoroughly persuaded, open any lock in...

Seems that I will never get through preparing for the mission field. But I’ve been comforted this week thinking over the Lord’s thirty silent years of readying himself at home with family and bending over a carpenter’s bench. Were those days any less fragrant to God than His later work before the eyes of the people? I think not. A well-made piece of furniture and a healed blind man represented the same thing to the Father- a job...

If there were no great evils and no deaf hearts and no eternal consequences, perhaps fitting forms of love would be a soft touch and tender words. But such a world does not kill the Son of God and hate his disciples. There is no such world. John Piper It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am...

It is incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator [Jesus] has put it into their heads that they are brethren. Lucian A.D. 120-200 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he...

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Ps 27:13-14 “God aims to exalt himself through those who wait for him.” John Piper [Note: I write this to my dear friends and family who are going through painful...

The Approval of One  “Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.” Ps 27:12 “The mists of criticism do hang about a mountain. Men who want no mists must be content with plains and deserts.  Mists come with mountains. Soon the mists will evaporate, and the mountain will stand out in all its...

How to Avoid an Ambush Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Ps 27:11 Last night I watched on national TV, with millions of other viewers, the horrible aftermath of a man who was ambushed.  He appeared to have possessed everything life in America could offer. The governor of a state, national prominence, mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, a lovely wife and four young boys, money, power, fame, living the American dream....

Rejected on Earth-Accepted in Heaven Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. [Ps 27:9-10] Rejection is a part of life. It is not fun nor is it fatal. We all experience it at some level but it does not have to mean the end. Would be crime novelist John Creasey received an unbroken succession of 743 rejection slips. He now has over 60 million books published....

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Ps 27:8-9 “How can a man extinguish pride? By knowing God. For if we know of him, all pride is diminished.” Chrysostom Humility is not one of our most venerated values. The self-made man, who pulls himself up by his bootstraps and conquers all opponents by his superior...

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, O LORD, I will seek. Ps 27:8 “These sacred Words give you the very image of Christ speaking, healing, dying, rising again and make him so present, that were he before your eyes you would not more truly see him.” Erasmus  In our earlier studies, we indicated that verse 7 marks a significant change in the character of this psalm. Before, God is spoken “about.” From now on, he is spoken “to.”...