Psalm 27 Jan. 12 By David.  1Yahweh is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? 2When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. 3Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. 4One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in His temple. 5For in the day of trouble He will keep me secretly in His pavilion, under the shadow of His tabernacle He will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. 6Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.  7Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me. 8When You said, Seek my face, my heart said to You, I will seek Your face, Yahweh. 9Don’t hide Your face from me; don’t put Your servant away in anger. You have been my help, don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation. 10When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up. 11Teach me Your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies. 12Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. 13I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. 14Wait for Yahweh, be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh.   

Commentary

27:9 Don’t abandon me- Contrast this with the utter confidence expressed elsewhere in this Psalm. We can have the emotions of fear, even of panic, and yet at the same time feel deep faith in God. In this time of need, David reflected how God had earlier delivered him (:2), and this should feature in our response to crises.
27:10 The classic middle aged crisis of loneliness as parents die, the links with the past are cut, is here resolved in the feeling of God’s personal parenthood toward us.
27:14 Wait- So often the Psalms speak of the need to “wait” for God. We assume His response must be immediate, but the ‘gap’ between our prayer and His response is necessary, for the sake of the development of our faith. It maintains that appropriate distance which has to be between God and man at this stage.