See the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Psalm 27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom should I dread?
² When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
³ If an army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am 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 on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
He will hide me in the secret place of His tent;
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 sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, 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,
“I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
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,
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, Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my enemies,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent witness.
¹³ I certainly 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.

The psalmist says:  The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom should I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom should I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. If an army encamps against me, My heart will not fear; If war arises against me, In spite of this I am confident.  Romans 8:31-39 says:  If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  When Jesus was on the cross, in John 19:30, He said: “It is finished!”  We have confidence and peace, knowing that Jesus has fully accomplished His victory and our victory on the cross. He has overcome the tribulation of the world and if He is for us, no one can stand against us.

The psalmist 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 on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; He will hide me in the secret place of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.  More even than dwelling in the house of the Lord and meditating in His temple, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says:  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.  In John 14:15-24 Jesus says:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”  We are the dwelling place of God. We should meditate on what a great privilege and responsibility we have to glorify God in our lives.

The psalmist says:  When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “I shall seek Your face, Lord.” 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, God of my salvation! Teach me Your way, Lord, And lead me on a level path Because of my enemies. Do not turn me over to the desire of my enemies, For false witnesses have risen against me, And the violent witness.  I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.  In Jeremiah 29:11-14 God says:   I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will let Myself be found by you.   In Revelation 3:20 the Lord says:  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  The Lord seeks us. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says:  “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Again as it says in Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  The psalmist believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Even more than just believing, we need to choose to see His goodness. In Isaiah 6:3, there is a vision of heaven. The seraphim said:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”   From heaven’s perspective, the glory of God is seen even in the chaos, confusion and tribulation of the world.

 Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. I choose to see from heaven’s perspective. I choose to see Your glory and to glorify You in my life. 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.  Amen.