TURN ON THE LIGHTS! (Psalm 27)

(A continuing series on 48 psalms recommended by pastor/counselor David Seamands for getting through depression.)

I was a young teen piano student when I was first introduced to Psalm 27, via the 1897 musical version of English songwriter Mary Frances Allitsen. The piano score I tried to learn (my small hands couldn’t reach all the chords) starts out with grandiose chords, then settles down to reverential quiet before returning to a loud, assuring recap repeating the psalm’s opening verse:

The Lord is my light and my salvation,

Whom, then, shall I fear?

Years later as I read, re-read, and tried to “own” this psalm as hope in my difficulties, I realized how little of its stalwart truths I understood.

This psalm, attributed to David, is full of hope and strength as it expresses how God’s presence leads to the inner resources to overcome fear in difficult experiences. But its most poignant verses start with the simple phrase, “One thing.” The “one thing” the author wants above all else is to stay close to God. How does one do that? David describes it the best way he can, as dwelling in the safety of God’s house, meaning His presence.  

The psalm opens with a panned shot of David's enemies coming at him.  Then quickly, even as war breaks out against him, he finds safety and peace in the presence of God. And it’s not just the sword/knife/spear-wielding wild guys. Verse 12 points to verbal abuse, something I’ve experienced at different times in my life:

They accuse me of things I’ve never done and breathe out violence against me. (New Living Translation)

Unlike flesh-and-blood battles of old, where casualties decided how long a fight would go on, we don’t always see the “end” of our invisible battles. That’s why Psalm 27 leaves us with the reminder to “turn on the lights”—to reaffirm the Lord as our light and salvation:

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD. (v.13-14).

If you want to read this psalm in a fresh and inspiring way, go back through it as an account of the life of Jesus Christ, particularly His suffering and death. Bible teacher and author William McDonald (1917-2007) in his Believer’s Bible Commentary saw many parallels. For example, Psalm 27:2 talks of enemies stumbling and falling when they tried to attack. Even more was that true of Christ’s arrest as recorded in Luke 18:6. When the rascals Judas rounded up came to the Garden where Christ had prayed, He identified Himself. Then, “When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”  

Tracing the parallels to Jesus’ last hours serves as a poignant reminder that He understands and has gone before us through all the mucky and murky stuff that life can throw at us through incidents and people. That’s also the reminder of Hebrews 12:2-3:

Run with perseverance….fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  For the joy set before him, he endured the cross…consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

ENCOURAGE ME! (Psalm 25)

Yellow: symbol for cheer, joy, fidelity, solidarity

(Part of a continuing series on 48 psalms that speak to “feeling down.”)

Whenever I open up my “E-mail” on the computer, I find some regular "feeds": a writers' support group, mission reports, and on-line grocery coupons. It's always a treat when I find a personal note with positive content. The other day someone E-mailed me encouragement for something I’d written. It meant so much to read that! It was like yellow joy splashing on my day.

Yellow—what an uplifting color, suggesting fidelity and solidarity. Years ago there was a popular song about a girl with a yellow ribbon in her hair to symbolize her bonds to a soldier boyfriend. In the 1980s, tying yellow ribbons on trees caught on as a way to support and welcome soldiers of war in the Middle East.  The song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” sold three million records in three weeks at that time.

In reading over Psalm 25, I saw both traits expressed: God’s fidelity to us, and ours to Him, plus His solid presence for whatever trials we encounter. Bible teachers say 72 of the Bible’s 150 psalms speak about enemies. This is one of them. Whenever I read its opening verse, a tune comes to mind—that popularized by the Maranatha! Singers out of Calvary Chapel in Southern California in the 1970s. 

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul (2x)

O my God, I trust in Thee,

Let me not be ashamed, 

Let not my enemies triumph over me.

I didn’t know until researching this psalm that it is an acrostic, using letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It’s not perfect, but author David spent some time finding just the right Hebrew words to start each line.  In reading that, I thought of nights when I wake with the needs of someone on my heart. Rather than toss and turn in frustration, I’ve learned to go through the English alphabet, speaking in my heart the A-B-C-etc. names and attributes of God. 

David covers a lot of ground in this psalm.  He says:

SHOW ME!   TEACH ME! (vv. 1-5). He wants a refresher course in God’s will and attributes. When life’s troubles grind in on us, it’s helpful to be reminded of who God is.

PURGE ME! (vv. 6-7).  David knows he’s not perfect.  Some sins of his “youth” must have haunted him (v.7) and he wanted those forgiven.

HUMBLE ME! (vv. 8-14).  “The humble he guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way” (NKJV). David knew that spiritual arrogance interfered with an authentic view of God. I’ve known people who throw around pet Bible verses, often out of context, to put on a “religious front.” But God knows their hearts, and usually others who are spiritually attuned can figure out they’re phony.

SAVE ME! (vv. 14-15).  David knew how vulnerable he was—except for God:

My eyes are ever toward the LORD,

For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

I have about five blueberry bushes that I cover with a net during berry ripening season. I’m not too keen on feeding the local robins and quail with the morsels I like to sprinkle in my morning oatmeal. Sometimes I’ll discover a bird that found its way under the net to snack, but can’t find its way out. I’ve had to reach under and pry out to send them safely away.  And then I try to tuck in the entry point they found.  Like my local birds got in trouble with the “net,” we’re vulnerable to the hatred and vitriol of our enemies, whatever form that may take (v. 19).

NO SHAME!  (vv. 22). I’ve experienced being “shamed” by false accusations.  It really hurts, and it reminded me that Satan is at work in trying to make me question my relationship with God.  David seemed to feel the same way as he finished the psalm and returned to the phrase he began with: “Let me not be ashamed.” 

He ends with the yellow ribbon: “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you” (v. 21).

And here’s the antidote to feeling down: Follow after God, and wait for Him. He doesn’t always choose the timetable or method we think He should, but His ways and timing are always the best for us--from eternity’s perspective.

ENOUGH (Psalm 23)

"My cup overflows....."

The Lord is my Shepherd.  I have everything I need. –Psalm 23:1 (New Living Translation)

As much as I love the King James translation of Psalm 23:1 (“I shall not want”), I am especially drawn to this version. “Everything I need.”  In my heart, it pairs so well with the apostle Paul’s declaration of contentment: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” He wrote this as part of his thank you to the church at Philippi for a monetary gift for his basic living expenses.  Remember, he was a missionary, living on the erratic First Century version of “support.”  At times he had to go back to work stitching tents in a local business.

Years ago I also read W. Phillip Keller’s A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, and was enlightened further about sheep when I visited a friend during her lambing season. She talked about fractured nights helping ewes in difficult deliveries and keeping the bad-tempered ram in another pen. Other things she shared from her experience with sheep reminded me of how David’s patience was tried in his early occupation as a shepherd.  And yet, his most beautiful picture of God comes from just that.

Being “down” or depressed is like putting on eyeglasses with a bad prescription.  You don’t see clearly and stumble in confusion. Psalm 23 bids us rest and just look to the shepherd, who takes care of our needs.  Not our wants, necessarily, but our needs.

 I’ve been around people who have a pretty long “entitlement” list that they think God should supply. Yet they do not walk in the “paths of righteousness” that God has shown them.  They stumble off the path into the brambles of bitterness and anger. While they’re thrashing in the thorns, the Shepherd is nearby with His crooked staff, waiting to pull them out.

Contentment eludes them because they stray from the shepherd. Pastor and author F.B. Meyer said it so well:

This is the blessed life—not anxious to see far in front, nor eager to choose the path, but quietly following behind the Shepherd, one step at a time.  The Shepherd was always out in front of the sheep.  He was down in front.  Any attack upon them had to take him into account.  Now God is down in front.  He is in the tomorrows.  It is tomorrow that fills us with dread.  God is there already.  All the tomorrows of our life has to pass before him before they can get to us.”*

*F.B. Meyer (1847-1929), a contemporary of D.L. Moody, was a pastor and author who focused on inner city work on both sides of the Atlantic. Quote accessible at AZquotes.com/author/19129/F.B.Meyer

DELIVERANCE! (Psalm 18)

There’s an old folk tale about some blind men trying to describe an elephant. One touched a stout leg and said it was like a tree. The one who touched the elephant’s side called it a strong wall. The one the elephant grabbed by its trunk was sure this mystery was a serpent. The one switched by the animal’s tail thought it was a rope.

Psalm 18 is a lot like that.  It is full of images of God as our rock-solid Protector and Sovereign as David reflects on God’s help in battles against Saul and national enemies. Much of it is also quoted in 2 Samuel 22.

When we’re going through difficult and discouraging times, it’s easy to think God has better things to do than look down and help us. Psalm 18 counters that with a multitude of metaphors of God’s power and care. Its diverse symbols are one reason I keep going back to it to be reminded that nothing is too hard for God. At one of the lowest times of my life, these verses burned into my spirit:

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights….

You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn. (vv. 32-33, 36)

In 1980, two years after both my parents died, I was finishing up a master’s degree at a respected college 2,000 miles from my roots. It had a reputation of placing graduates in Christian publishing, and that was my goal.  I’d saved money for years so I could attend without student loans, and I would graduate without debt. Despite lots of job inquiries, however, I was still jobless just a week before I had to vacate college housing with no place to go and little left for living expenses. I had no car--just my typewriter, books, bedding and clothes. With my parents deceased, going “home” wasn’t an option.

I felt like I was stumbling down a boulder-strewn path, spraining my ankles at every turn. Yet I wanted to claim the image of sure-footedness in this psalm:

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. (v. 20)

The impossible “dream job” offer came just days before I would have been homeless. Another employee provided temporary housing (a mattress on the floor of her bedroom) until I got my feet on the ground.  God-things.

Psalm 18 is for rocky times. It opens with images of strength and military might that involve strong places of protection:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (v. 2)

 It’s also a reminder of the unfathomable love of God:

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (v. 19)

No matter the challenge, Psalm 18 pulses with hope. It nourishes the weary and wary with the rock-solid truth that God can give us the strength to face our problems. “The Lord lives!  Praise be to my rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” (v. 46).