Psalm 27 is a great Psalm to calm your nerves when what appears to be the day of trouble arrives in your life.
Psalm 27:5 (ESV) — 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
David expresses great confidence in the Lord, but he also teaches why he has such confidence. Let’s look at the Psalm.
Psalm 27:1–3 (ESV) — 1 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? 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
Wow! Such confidence! Why? Because the Lord is his light and salvation. This resembles the confidence that David expresses in Psalm 23 in which he declares a plethora of benefits and all because, as he says, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Going back then to Psalm 27 notice how David’s focus is on the Lord and because of that focus, no matter how strong his enemies appear, they are nothing compared to the Lord.
Isaiah 40:15 (ESV) — 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Matthew 10:28 (ESV) — 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
But David’s confidence did not stop with the greatness of God. David often recounted firsthand how God had been with him in the past, so he had great confidence in God to deliver him in his present situation. Case in point: David’s discussion with King Saul when he was about to take on Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.
1 Samuel 17:34–37 (ESV) — 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
If we would recount, with gratitude, the many ways God has been with us and helped us in the past, we would be more likely to trust him with whatever comes our way in the future.
Secondly, consider David’s focus of desire, the presence of God and communion with Him.
Psalm 27:4 (ESV) — 4 One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
If we lack confidence for the day of trouble, David has given us insight into how we can build up that confidence. Notice that we discover it, rather than produce it, meaning it is there by God’s grace and our efforts are merely tuning into something God has for us all along.
David’s confidence then was based upon his focus upon the greatness of God and His faithfulness in the past along with his focus upon God’s presence and communion with Him. There is nothing about himself, only as a recipient of God’s help and grace in the past along with his utmost desire of communion with God.
Psalm 27:5 (ESV) — 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
Consider David’s expressed confidence then in the safety that he expresses in the fact that it is God who hides him, it is God’s shelter that will conceal him, and it is God Who will deliver him and bring him to safety.
The point through this Psalm is simple: Self confidence will let you down because it will not survive the day of trouble. Confidence in the living and true God will support you and see you through the day of trouble.
One last thought about the “day of trouble.” In the book of Hosea, we find a great lesson to consider when we feel like as Hosea says, the valley of trouble or affliction also known as the Valley of Achor, is upon us. Consider the text as we consider God’s promise even to His unfaithful people:
Hosea 2:14–15 (ESV) — 14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 And there I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Notice the “Valley of Achor” which is the valley of affliction, is a door of hope. How can that be? Only because the God of hope has promised to be with us all our days, including our times in the day of trouble. If God is with us, who can be against us?
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) — 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Romans 8:28–31 (ESV) — 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Therefore, the Psalmist concludes Psalm 27 with a charge for each of us as we face good days and days of trouble:
Psalm 27:14 (ESV) — 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker
