Key Text: Psalm 27:5-6
If we were to try and sum up this psalm in two words, they would be the words ‘Confident’ and ‘Seek’.
v.5a He shall hide me in His Shelter (His tabernacle). in the day of trouble. We would make His temple our residence; We would dwell with God and be in continual safety.(Pavilion) It signifies a tent made of cloth stretched out on poles. v.5b He will conceal me under the cover of His tent
God’s heart desire, is that His friends should find Him at home in a particular place, in an actual tent or house. It’s the idea that God is not intentionally moving around to make it difficult to find Him. ‘Well He was here yesterday but He’s moved.’ David in this psalm talks about God being our stronghold, house, temple, shelter, tent even Figurative places where we can find and encounter God.
It’s important to remember that, in finding God, the promise of Jeremiah 29:13 -14aYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord…’ is never nullified or invalidated by our subjective feelings. Just because we feel that God is far from us doesn’t mean He is. In fact, He has told us that He will never leave us or forsake us Hebrews 13:5
Since God never lies, we reject incorrect conclusions about our circumstances when those conclusions contradict what we know about God from His Word. Why? because We walk by faith not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7
Many people have experienced the feeling that finding God is difficult or impossible.
After C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia/ The Screwtape Letters) lost his wife to cancer, he called out to God for comfort but sensed no reply. Confused, he asked, “What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?”
At times, finding God seems difficult, even for those who have a relationship with Him. Changes in life bring uncertainty: the loss of a job, a divorce, a job promotion, the birth of a child, economic uncertainty, global pandemic, threat of world war. Some have referred to these unexpected changes in life as ‘divine interruptions’
Even when the change is positive, it can interrupt our feelings of well-being and leave us feeling alone. The question then arises, ‘Where is God in the circumstances of my life? Why am I having such a difficult time finding God?’
v.5b He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent He will conceal me under the cover of His tent
Were there no other place, He would put us in theHoly of Holies, so that an enemy would not dare to approach us.
He will lift me high upon a rock. Jesus is recorded as saying in Matthew 7:24 ‘Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.’ A place of safety, He shall sostrengthen and establish us, that our enemies shall not be able to prevail against us.
He will hide us where they cannot find us or He will put us out of the reach of the fiery darts of the enemy. The person who lives nearest to God is least affected or influenced by temptation. ‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you: Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts you double minded.’ James 4:8
Submit yourselves therefore to God. resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:
It was David’s experience, as no doubt it has been ours, that time spent with God in times of trouble is always time well spent. Sometimes the trouble will seemingly evaporate, sometimes it remains exactly what it is but we find we have a new courage, clarity and confidence in facing it.
And like David at times we are simply thrown back onto the facts that we have known about God all along ‘You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.’ Psalm 23:5 and so the confidence of 1-6 does not fall apart in our circumstances.
v.6 and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.