Whom Shall I Fear? (Psalm 27:1-6)

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 the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

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What jumped out at me in this Psalm is David’s confidence.  He asks rhetorically “whom shall I fear” when the day of trouble comes, when an army is coming against him, when the wicked oppose him  We might add to David’s list disease and economic hardship as well.  One of the difficulties of these days of pandemic and quarantine is contending with fear: fear of become infected, fear of infecting others, fear of financial hardship, fear of death itself.

David displays confidence in the face of fear.  Not only does he not fear his enemies; he is confident that they will be defeated.  They will be the ones who stumble and fall, and not himself.

What is the basis of his confidence?  Note that he doesn’t base his fearlessness on anything in himself.  It’s not because of his skill as a political leader or a military strategist.  His confidence comes from his conviction that the Lord will keep him safe.  It is only because of the Lord that he will be “exalted above the enemies.”

Likewise in our lives in these days.  The answer to fear is to focus on the goodness of the Lord.  We confess that He is Lord of all, even of the things that can lead us to fear.  In faith, we place ourselves, our lives and our futures in His hands, knowing that even if trouble should come our way, He will keep us eternally safe.  No, this is not a guarantee of all things going well in the short term, but we trust in the truth of Romans 8:28, that God is working all things for our good and His glory.

So my prayer today is for faith to believe these promises that take away fear.  I pray for the confidence that David displays in this Psalm, that I may engage the trouble of the day with faith and joy.

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