Psalm 27
March 13, 2022
Heavenly Father, we marvel and rejoice at how King David of old, facing serious threats from formidable enemies, found you unchangeably beautiful and fully trustworthy, the fulfillment of your promises worth waiting for. We are struck, Lord, with how his refuge in war was worship. Praise be to you for how worthy you were of his focused worship and trust.
Lord Jesus, Son of David, we praise you for trusting your heavenly Father when you lived on the earth in the same way that David trusted God. We praise you for your courage amid the threats of your human enemies and the powerful hostility of the devil. We praise you for your continual seeking of the face of your Father, your commitment to the glory and worship of your Father.
And we marvel, Lord Jesus, at your fulfillment of this psalm in such a jolting way. While you trusted and worshiped and waged warfare as David did, you also willingly gave yourself up so that you were devoured by your enemies. You willingly walked the road to the cross on which you stumbled and fell. You allowed false witnesses to spout malicious accusations against you. You trusted your Father all the way to the cross and in some unfathomable way experienced a rejection as you bore divine wrath for sin—not your sin but ours. And even then you remained confident that you would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living—as indeed you did when you were raised from the dead. You did all this so that we could enter into the treasures of this psalm because we are joined to you.
We praise you for your amazing love and grace. We praise you that now you are our light and our salvation, our stronghold, the temple in which we can worship God, the faithful Savior who will never again turn us away in anger and in whom we can trust and for whom we can wait amid the fiercest spiritual warfare.
Forgive, O Lord, our unbelief. Forgive the fear that expresses a refusal to take you at your word. Forgive our insistence on the removal of adversity and spiritual warfare from our lives rather than seeking your beauty amid the warfare. Forgive our impatience and fretting and complaint when we should be strong and taking heart and waiting for you to fulfill your promises.
Weave this psalm into our hearts and lives, Lord. Renew our warfare, enliven our worship, refine our faith, extend our waiting. May we indeed seek one thing, to gaze on your beauty. In so doing may we reflect your beauty to others and may those around us who do not know your beauty see it and be drawn to you.
Hear our voice, Heavenly Father, and be gracious to us and answer us. We pray for our global partners—give them protection, wisdom, and fruitfulness. We pray for our pastoral search team and process. Guide them, strengthen them, and lead to us the pastor of your choice.