Word of Salvation – January 2011
THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION
By Rev. John Haverland
(Sermon 1 in a series on texts related to the Heidelberg Catechism)
Readings: Ephesians 5:8-20; Romans 8:28-39
Text: Psalm 27:1-6 (read whole psalm)
Heidelberg Catechism LD 1
Theme: David’s confident prayer that he will be delivered from his enemies & know God’s presence
Purpose: To urge you to find your confidence and strength in God our light and salvation.
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The first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism is well known and much loved; “What is your only comfort in life and in death?”
The question introduces one of the great themes of the catechism, that of comfort. The word comfort comes from a Latin word, confortare, meaning, to strengthen.
The question is not asking, “What makes you comfortable?” or “What will soothe you?”
The question is asking; “What is your only strength in life and death? What sustains you? What is your fortress?”
The answer: “That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.”
This truth gave strength to the Christians living in the persecution of the 16th century when the catechism was written. It has sustained believers in all ages and places.
This is the truth David expressed in OT terms in Psalm 27: “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?”
We are going to consider the first six verses of this psalm and as we do so draw in the statements of the catechism.
These verses teach us that:
1. You can be confident of God’s salvation
2. You can live in God’s presence
3. You can be assured of God’s protection.
1. YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT OF GOD’S SALVATION
David wrote this psalm out of a situation of great trouble. He described that in vs 2-3…
We don’t know the exact situation he was in but his enemies were attacking him. He pictured them as a pack of wild animals seeking to devour his flesh. This recalls a variety of situations in his life.
There were many times when King Saul pursued him through the desert seeking to kill him.
After he was crowned as king he was often fighting battles against the nations around Israel.
And later in his reign his own son Absalom rebelled against him.
Protestant Christians living in the 16th century in the time of the Reformation experienced these attacks of their enemies. They were hunted and captured, tortured and killed.
And as believers today we can anticipate times of ridicule and mockery from unbelievers, hatred and antagonism from those who oppose the gospel.
In this situation David expressed his confidence in God
“The Lord is my light.”
Light in the Bible is a picture of God and everything positive that comes from him – life, salvation, truth, goodness and joy.
It is the opposite of all we associate with darkness – fear, anxiety, danger and evil.
Jesus announced; “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Jesus gives us the light we need to guide us through the darkness of this world. So we can say; “The Lord is my light.”
“…and my salvation.”
Salvation meant that God delivered David from his enemies.
The Lord does the same for his people today as he delivers us from our spiritual enemies and rescues us from the punishment we deserve for our sins.
He has does that through our “faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.”
The Lord is my light and my salvation and…
“The Lord is the stronghold of my life.”
We are only human and we are weak and feeble, easily crushed and broken – physically, emotionally and spiritually. By ourselves we can’t hold our own against the spiritual forces of darkness. But we can say; “The Lord is the stronghold of my life.” He is our defence, our support, our refuge.
Notice that these are personal statements of trust.
David used the first person singular pronoun: my, I, me. He did not state these merely as general truths but as his own personal conviction. God was not an impersonal, faraway abstract being, but rather an ever-present helper and friend. David knew the Lord personally and intimately.
Can you say with David; “The Lord is my light and my salvation…the Lord is the stronghold of my life….”?
Can you use the words of the catechism as your statement of faith; “I belong…to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ…He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood.”?
David’s confidence in God meant that he was not afraid.
He expressed this in rhetorical questions:
“Whom shall I fear…of whom shall I be afraid?”
The answer was obvious – he wasn’t afraid of anyone or of anything. The Lord was so impressive, majestic and powerful that no one could stand against him.
This reminds us of the stirring rhetorical questions in Romans 8:
“If God is for us who can be against us?” (Verse 31b)
“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” (Verse 33)
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Verse 35a)
If God is for us no one can be against us; no one can condemn us; and nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)
We are not afraid of the darkness because the Lord is our Light; nor of the punishment of hell because the Lord is our Salvation; nor of our enemies because the Lord is our Strength.
David also declared that when his enemies attacked him they would “stumble and fall”. (vs 2)
We read a striking illustration of this in the life of our Lord when he was in the Garden of Gethsemene. Soldiers came to arrest him and when he declared whom he was “they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:6)
We know from the life and death of Jesus, and for the lives of many believers, that God does not always rescue us from physical danger. But we also know that he is in control of all that goes on; “that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my father in heaven.”
This is our “only” comfort as expressed in the catechism. It is our total and complete comfort; this is what gives us strength. It is the comfort David expressed in this psalm.
It also provided comfort to James Hannington, the first bishop of equatorial Africa. In October 1885, on reaching Lake Victoria Nyanza, he was seized and imprisoned. His biographer wrote; “Consumed by fever, at times delirious with pain, devoured by vermin, menaced every moment by the prospect of death, he found strength in the psalms.” On October 28, the day before he died a martyr’s death he wrote in his journal; “I am quite broken down and brought low. Comforted by Psalm 27.” May you also find much comfort in this psalm.
It teaches us that you can be confident of God’s salvation and secondly,
2. THAT YOU CAN LIVE IN GOD’S PRESENCE – Vs 4…
“One thing I ask of the Lord.” This was his goal, his aim, his primary focus, his one request. If your aims are divided then you will be distracted and often disappointed.
Spurgeon wrote; “The man of one pursuit is successful.” David had one pursuit and he was going to seek it.
It is one thing to desire something, but it is another thing to actively pursue it. A lot of people have general wishes and desires which never come to anything. David took steps to fulfil his desire. Are you doing the same?
He wanted to “dwell in the house of the Lord.”
During the reign of King David the “house of the Lord” was a tent. The ark of God was placed there. The magnificent temple of Solomon had not yet been built.
David did not mean that he wanted to live in that tent all the time; nor did he mean that he wanted to exchange his position as the king and serve there a priest.
Rather he wanted to enjoy the constant presence of God, he wanted to be with God face to face, to experience communion with him, to know a spiritual fellowship with the Lord. He wanted to enjoy that every day and for his entire life – “all the days of my life”!
The catechism describes this as belonging to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ – a belonging experienced in a genuine fellowship and communion with Jesus each day.
Is this your aim, your goal, your desire? Is this communion with God your experience through faith?
This isn’t all David desired. He wanted to “…gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.”
The beauty of God is not physical because God has no material shape or form. Rather his beauty is in his character. David wanted to meditate on God’s attributes – on his holiness, his glory, his mercy, goodness and grace.
Each one of these gives us much to think about and admire, but even more so when we see them all together. You could compare this to looking at a rainbow. Each colour is beautiful on its own, but seeing them together is even more so; it is the same with the attributes of God.
One of the benefits of coming together in worship is that we can think about who God is. This is part of our preparation for heaven. One writer asks; “How can a man be prepared for an eternal heaven who finds the worship of God on earth irksome and tedious?” Do you find joy in gazing upon the beauty of the Lord?
David also wanted “to seek him in his temple.”
The Psalter Hymnal version has; “…and in his temple to inquire.” That is a good explanation of the word used here. (also in ESV)
We come together to meditate on God and his word, to inquire about his will for our lives, to seek instruction from the Bible.
We come asking that the Holy Spirit will inform our minds, remove our perplexities, and guide our lives in his will.
Is that your desire? Is that what you pray for before you read the Bible? Is that what you want when you come to worship?
This life in the presence of God is always going to be partial and incomplete in this life on this earth. David’s desire directs our eyes towards heaven, to that New Jerusalem, the golden city, to “that sweet and blessed country that eager hearts expect.” (PH 471)
You can be confident of God’s salvation;
You can live in God’s presence; and thirdly,
3. YOU CAN BE ASSURED OF GOD’S PROTECTION.
In verse 5 David is assured that the Lord “will keep me safe in his dwelling.”
The word used for dwelling here means a shelter or a booth. Spurgeon describes how the royal pavilion was set up in the centre of the army camp; mighty men guarded it day and night. We are, as it were, kept safe in the tent of God, guarded and protected by him.
The Lord “will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle”.
The NASB translates “shelter” as “secret place” which makes us think of the innermost room of the temple, the Most Holy Place. In the Old Testament times that was as close as any man could get to God; only the High Priest could go there and then only once a year. Again it is a picture of security and safety in the presence of God.
And the Lord “will set me high upon a rock.”
For years David had been on the run from King Saul. The word “rock” brought to his mind many places of safety in the desert where he was out of Saul’s reach, “exalted above the enemies who surround me.”(vs 6) David felt sure of God’s protection.
In response to all this he wrote; “At his tabernacle I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.” (vs 6b)
Think of how David did this when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem for the first time after he had been appointed king. He danced and sang before the Lord! (2 Sam 6:14-16)
In Psalm 26 he declared that he would “go about your altar, O Lord, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.” (vs 6b-7)
This must be our response to the Lord for his gracious salvation, for the joy of his presence and for his ongoing protection.
The catechism explains that if we are to live and die in the joy of this comfort we must know how we are “to thank God for such deliverance.”
And the New Testament calls us to express our thanks to God in song: “Speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5:19-20)
We do this in the joy of knowing that “The Lord is my light and my salvation…the Lord is the stronghold of my life.” (Ps 27:1)
May this be your only comfort in life and in death.
Amen