Psalm 27

Psalm 27 is one of the psalms of David in Book One (Psalms 1–41) of the Psalms. The preceding Psalm 26 speaks of loving "the habitation of thy house," and this psalm continues that longing to dwell in the house of the LORD.

Structure

• Verses 1–3: The psalmist confesses that the LORD is his light, his salvation, and the strength of his life; therefore he will not fear even when enemies and an army come against him.
• Verses 4–6: He seeks the "one thing": to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life and to behold His beauty. He is confident that in the time of trouble the LORD will hide him in His pavilion and tabernacle and set him upon a rock, and he resolves to offer sacrifices of joy and to sing praises.
• Verses 7–12: The tone shifts to supplication. He cries out for the LORD not to hide His face or forsake him, and confesses that when his father and mother forsake him, the LORD will take him up. He asks to be taught the LORD's way and not to be delivered over to the will of false witnesses.
• Verses 13–14: He expresses his faith that he will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living and concludes with the exhortation "wait on the LORD."

Key Verses

• Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation" — this single sentence captures the confession of trust that runs through the whole psalm.
• Psalm 27:4 "One thing have I desired of the LORD" — a confession that makes worship and fellowship with God the supreme desire of life.
• Psalm 27:14 "Be of good courage... wait, I say, on the LORD" — after its supplication, the psalm ends on a note of waiting and hope.

People and Places

• David: His name appears in the superscription. Scholars differ on whether the superscription indicates authorship or signifies a collection associated with David.
• House, tabernacle, and pavilion of the LORD: These terms refer to the place where God dwells. Because the Temple in Jerusalem did not yet exist in David's time, some take them to refer to the tabernacle, while others read them as metaphors for God's protection.

Points for Reflection

• Because the confidence of the first part and the lament of the second differ markedly in tone, some scholars hold that two originally separate psalms were combined. Many others, however, read the psalm as a single prayer in which one person moves back and forth between trust and supplication.
• Depending on how a Hebrew conjunction is understood, verse 10 is rendered either as "have forsaken" (New Korean Revised Version) or as "even if... forsake" (New Korean Standard Version). Whether the verse speaks of an actual experience of abandonment or a hypothetical one depends on this rendering. The opening word of verse 13 is also difficult to interpret, and translations differ.
• The Septuagint superscription reportedly adds the words "before he was anointed," which do not appear in the Hebrew text.
• In Judaism there is reportedly a custom of reading this psalm daily from the period leading up to the New Year and the Day of Atonement until around the Feast of Tabernacles.
• The psalm is not known to be quoted directly in the New Testament. Nevertheless, verse 1, which confesses God as light, is often read alongside John 8:12, "I am the light of the world."

In the Korean Church

Verses 1, 4, and 14 are frequently cited in sermons on trust amid fear and suffering, the desire for worship, and waiting on God. The expression in verse 1, "The LORD is my light and my salvation," also appears in the lyrics of praise songs.