One thing I ask...

Psalm 27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.  A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
² When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
³ Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.

⁴ One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
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 meditate in His temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.
⁶ And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes.
¹² Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

David, the psalmist knew well the peace and protection that comes from dwelling with and abiding in the Lord’s presence. He says:   One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: 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 meditate in His temple.  For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.      We, through the cross of Christ can have an even great confidence. Hebrews 4:14-16 says:    Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.      Jesus has endured and overcome all the trials and temptations we face, He sympathizes with us and we receive mercy and grace. Additionally we not only can go to God’s temple, to seek Him where He dwells, as 1 Corinthians 6:19 says:   Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?      God actually dwells within us, we are never separated from Him.

David says:       I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.      Then he goes on to say:   Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.       This is the proper order. We too should sing and shout praises to God. We should be joyful and thankful. If God never did another thing for us, He would have already done more than we deserve. He after all:  so loved the world,(us) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)      Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.    If all that God ever did for us was that; to redeem, reconcile and restore us through the cross we should be forever thankful, filled with praise and thanksgiving. As we come though, with joyful and thankful hearts, He indeed does hear our voice when we cry. He indeed is gracious and answers us.  

David says:   When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.” Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!       God says:  ^“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)      He says:   “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:12-14) Jesus says:   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)     The answer to our prayer is not always what we hope or expect, but God does hear and answer, He will never fail or forsake us.

David says: I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.      That too is a promise we have. Not only do we have the promise and assurance of eternal life with God, through the cross, but Jesus says: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.(John 10:10) Like David, we too have the promise that we will see the goodness of the Lord here and now. Jesus taught us to pray:    “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”       He says: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)     The realities of heaven, the perfection of the kingdom of heaven is at hand, it is within reach. We are to ask for it, to seek after it, to continue to knock until it is opened.

David says:   Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.   We cannot though wait impatiently as we would in a line, at a traffic light or as we would for an appointment. We should wait with expectation, but also with thanksgiving and joy.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for the love and grace You have given me; eternal life through the cross of Christ. Thank You also for Your promise to answer me when I call, when I am in need. Thank You for the abundant life You give me, here and now. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.    Amen