He Shall Hide You

1-25-26

Hoonah-Hadley

Psalm 27:1-9

Call to Worship Psalm 27:1-9

Daily Verses Psalm 27:4-5

He Shall Hide You

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” Can you think back to your childhood and your secret hiding place? Maybe it was a makeshift tree house, a lean too in the woods out back, or just under your covers, it was a hiding place, a secret place, but at the end of the day, it was a safe place. Maybe even today, years later you have that favorite place, or a place you long for, a quiet place, a place away from all the clamor of a noisy world, the hustle and bustle, the busyness of a chasing after the wind. The psalter is all that and more. Trouble anyone? Open the Book, turn to the psalmist for deliverance, hope, strength, encouragement, prayer. When the noise becomes overwhelming, quiet your heart with your favorite, there are 150 of them, balm for your healing, rest for a weary soul. When we are lost for words, don’t know what to ask, how to pray and darkness is all about us, keep number 27 in your storehouse of tools, simply “A Psalm of David”. We’re welcome to borrow it, attach our name to it, write it on the tablet of our hearts, make it a favorite, part of our daily bread, rejoice in the abundance therein. When the power is out on a cold winter night this psalm is a candle, a lamp with a full box of your favorite wooden matches at the ready. As a reminder, Psalm 1 begins, “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law they meditate day and night…whatever they do shall prosper.” Troubled? Looking for a place to hide? Turn to the psalter, strike a match.

-2-

Vs. 1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” We could suggest the penman of this psalm had reason to be afraid. The context of this psalm is a man on the run. King David is being hounded, slandered, hunted, his very life in the balance, he had sufficient cause for fear. Yes, this is his testimony, but more so it is a formula for us for the darkness that surrounds us. Not many of us if any will ever face the daunting circumstances of David, but regardless of our plight, his words remind us the confidence he had in God, the same God we serve. Not only confidence, but communion with Him, prayer to Him, the power of faith in Him, an exhortation for us to follow. His rod and His staff they comfort us. (Ps. 23) In simplicity, Psalm 27 is a declaration of faith and confidence in God’s presence, power and protection. When you wake up each morning you begin with fear or faith. The first moments of your day set the course for all that follows. Psalm 27 invites us to start our day with trust and confidence in an all knowing, all powerful, sovereign God. Light chases out darkness, salvation drives out despair, strength overcomes weakness. David’s declaration is certain, unchanging, unshakeable, and until we come to that place in our walk, we’re welcome to borrow it until it becomes us, until it is written on the tablet of our hearts. There is a boldness here that has the authority to not only transform our morning, but our days, years, yeah, our very lives. Before your feet hit the floor in the morning, let Psalm 27 be on your lips, let it be the banner over your life, the very air that you breath. In a troubled world Psalm 27 is our triumphal song. With uncertainty at every turn we have here stability, light, salvation, a solid foundation, hope in our darkest hour. David’s question “Whom shall I fear?” answers itself in his unwavering trust and confidence.

-3-

His boldness and faith in God is his only hope, our only hope. Circumstances often drive us to our end with prayer our last resort. The enemy camped against us round about, the doctor’s diagnosis our greatest fear, the State Police show up with bad news on our doorstep about our teenage son, the worse news. Our end is often God’s beginning in our lives, when no hope is left in sight and we know not where to turn, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. Romans 8:26 “…the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” God has already taken into account our lost, broken, fallen nature, our every need provided for from His storehouse of riches and glory, mercy and grace, love and forgiveness. David reveals the true desires of his heart in verse 4, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I 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 inquire in His temple.” This is a yearning, a deep and intimate relationship with God. It is one thing, the best thing, and at the end of the day, the only thing that will matter. “Seek…dwell…all the days of my life.” The Apostle Paul captures this in his Epistle to the Philippians in 3:12-14 “…but I press on, that I may lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me…but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” There is one thing, it’s a call, a desire, a prize that requires our forgetting, seeking, pressing forward. David did it, Paul did it, we can do it. Divided aims tend to distraction, weakness, disappointment. Keep it simple, one book, one pursuit, one affection. We could desire a million things, herein one thing, “Of the Lord”.

-4-

It is difficult to leave the blessedness, the beauty of verse 4, the one thing, the desire, the seeking, dwelling, beholding, inquiring, the entirety of it is a safe place, a happy place, indeed, a beautiful place. There is a name that is above all other names, a word that became flesh and dwells among us, a song to be sung, a Savior to behold, a house to inquire in. Psalm 91 cannot remain silent in the light of Psalm 27, herein a few highlights. “Those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust…Because you have made the Lord…even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor any plaque come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways…Because they have set their love upon Me…I will deliver them; I will set them on high because they have known My name. They shall call upon Me, and I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble. I will deliver them…satisfy them, and show them My salvation.” Both Fanny Crosby and Helen Keller are poster child’s for our lesson, both blinded as infants. Fanny was blinded by medical incompetence at 6 weeks old, her dad died at 6 months. Although the odds were stacked against her, she went on to write over 8,000 hymns, among other things. One of her famous quotes: “If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind, for when I die, the first face I see will be the face of my blessed Savior.” Vs. 5 “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” Helen Keller: “If the blind put their hands in God’s, they find their way more surely than those who see but have not faith or purpose.” Christ has us covered, make your secret place under the shadow of the Almighty and He shall hide you. Amen!