21 Feb Summer Psalms – Psalm 27: Prayer for the anxious

Psalm 27:1-14

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? ² When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. ³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. ⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. 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.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! ⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” ⁹ Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! ¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. ¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. ¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.

¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! ¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

How many of you have ever felt anxious about life? Those of you who do not raise your hand, you are anxious right now about what people might think of you if you raised your hand. I don’t know if it’s true or not that you can develop a sixth sense over time, but if anyone has a sixth sense, I’m sure it is my mom. Her sixth sense is to detect lies. She can smell my lies from far away. Because of this unique gift that my mom has, I was anxious every time I went out on a date in high school. I knew I was not allowed to date at such a young age. My parents had told me that the purpose of dating is marriage ever since I was like 14 or 15. They told me, “If you are not ready to get married, then don’t date.” The emphasis was on the part, “don’t date.” But today it is the opposite. The emphasis is not on “don’t date” but “when will you be ready to get married?” So, every time I went out on a secret date, I was anxious thinking what if my mom found out. So, I would consider many different scenarios where I might get caught and covered those bases before I went out on a date. Eventually, I became very good at lying. Anxiety and worry, if not handled properly, can be a doorway to many other sins.

Do you notice that people start to worry more as they get older? The older you are, the worrier you become. Older people worried all the time. They worried about their husband, wife, children, retirement, bank account, dog, friends, neighbours, cousins, second cousins, cousins they never met, and ultimately, they worried about themselves. I used to think, “Old people, you need to relax. Chill out. Enjoy life. Stop eating salad for once and have KFC for a change. Worry does not get you anywhere. It is useless. So, stop worrying and start enjoying life.” But of course, I get older. And before I knew it, I became one of them. Today, I worried more than I used to. Why? Is it because the world is getting worse? Not necessarily. I worried more because I am more aware of what is happening in this world. I have more information than I had before and that created anxieties in me. For example, I had one of my wisdom teeth extracted a few days ago. My dentist told me that I would be fine. It was just a mini surgery that would take 10 to 15 minutes and I did not have to worry. So, I did not worry. I planned my schedule as usual. On the night of the surgery, I was to meet someone for discipleship, then the next day I would teach at LOGOS. No problem. Life as usual. As they say, ignorance is bliss. But the night before the surgery, I chatted with Nate and he said, “I had my wisdom teeth out and I was out for a week.” And just like that, I suddenly got anxious. And let me tell you, Nate was right. My dentist lied. It was painful. I cried during the surgery. Isn’t true that the more information we have, the more anxious we become? People are not as nice as we thought. We see people around us start dying, laid off from work, relational backstabbing, global pandemic, diseases, and many others. The world that we live in is broken and it is filled with broken people. Bad things happen all the time and there is no way to stop them from coming into our lives. That is why many of us live in fear and anxiety.

So, how do we overcome fear and anxiety? If you go to a bookstore, you will see that books on fear and anxiety are extremely popular. People want to know how to overcome their fear and anxiety. And let me tell you the world’s answer to this problem. They tell you, “All you have to do is to think positive. Do not waste your time and energy thinking about “what if” scenarios. Nine out of 10 things you worry about does not happen. Thinking and visualizing your fear will only drain your energy. What you need to do is to direct your mind to the positive things in your life. Visualize the positive and remove the negative.” Does that sound familiar to you? There is some truth to it, but it is not realistic. Because 1 out of 10 things we worry about does happen. What happens when it happens, and we are not ready for it? Positive thinking does not work. Let me offer you a different way to deal with the problem of fear and anxiety: The Bible’s way. And it is very different from the world. The Bible is very realistic. Get this. The Bible says that we can assume the worst may happen and yet not overcome by fear and anxiety. It is very possible to experience the worst in life and yet have confidence. It is possible to have unshakeable confidence even when our world turn upside down. How many of you want that? This psalm will give that to us.

Let me give you the context of Psalm 27. This psalm is known as a psalm of confidence. It is written by King David. It is one of the best-known psalms and it is one of the most comforting. We do not know when David wrote this psalm and what exactly happened. But we do know that David was in some kind of trouble. In this psalm, he asks the Lord to be with him in the midst of trouble. He wants the Lord to protect and guide him. And throughout the search for protection and guidance, David remains confident. Psalm 27 encourages us to trust the Lord in the day of trouble. It tells us that the answer to the problem of fear and anxiety is to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. What does it mean? Let’s look into it.

I separate this psalm into four parts. David’s source; David’s plea; David’s despair; David’s confidence.

David’s source

Psalm 27:1-3 – 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? ² When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. ³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

These verses tell us the source of David’s confidence in life. His confidence is not in his own abilities or strength but in the Lord. The Lord is David’s source of confidence. Pay attention to the imageries David uses in these verses. David describes the Lord as his light, salvation and stronghold. What does it mean for the Lord to be his light? Light is used in the Bible as a symbol for about everything that is positive. But the main function of light is to illuminate darkness. And when the Lord is David’s light, he is also David’s salvation. How? Because when light illuminates darkness, it saves him from potential harm that might happen in the dark. Let me give you an example. How many of you used to be afraid of darkness when you were little? I am. Why were we afraid of darkness? We were afraid of darkness because of the potential harm that might happen to us. I was afraid of darkness because I was afraid of ghosts. For many years, I could not sleep with lights off. I was convinced that if I turned off the light, then ghosts would invade my bedroom. But when the light was on, I could see my surrounding and I felt safe. But the Lord is not only light and salvation, but he is also a stronghold. A stronghold is a place of refuge where you find protection from your enemies. Let’s put these three imageries together. The Lord is light, salvation and stronghold. The Lord not only illuminates darkness and saves David from potential harm, but he is also the place of refuge where David can find protection from his enemies. And notice that David does not say that the Lord gives light, salvation and stronghold. David says that the Lord is his light, salvation and stronghold. And when the Lord is his light, salvation and stronghold, the question is, whom shall he fear? Of whom shall he be afraid? The answer is no one. Nothing.

It does not mean that David has no enemies. David then imagines the worst-case scenario where he is surrounded by evildoers who want to eat up his flesh. These evildoers are not zombies, but enemies who want to kill David. David says that his enemies might surround him with their army, trying to kill him. Think about it. I think it is safe to say that all of us have people in our lives who do not like us. I am sure that there are people who would be delighted when something bad happens to me. But I don’t think I have people in my life who hate me enough to kill me. At least, that I know of. I don’t think I’ll ever be surrounded by a group of people who want to kill me. But that is the kind of situation that David is talking about. And yet he says that his heart shall not fear. He will remain confident. How? Because David’s confidence is not in himself but in the Lord. David is saying, “The Lord is my light to guide me. He is my salvation to deliver me. He is my stronghold to protect me. And if the Lord is for me, I have no reason to be afraid of my enemies.” So here is the first thing that we must get. Friends, if the Lord is our light, salvation, and stronghold, if the Lord is for us, who can be against us? But the question is, who or what is our light, salvation, and stronghold? Where or whom do we go to when life seems too much to handle? Is it our spouse? Children? Work? Netflix? ESPN? Game? Porn? Hobby? The bad news is whatever we place our confidence in beside the Lord will fail us. The good news is if we put our confidence in the Lord, he will not fail us. Listen to what David says next.

David’s plea

Psalm 27:4-6 – ⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. ⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. 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.

What a beautiful plea. There is one thing that David has asked of the Lord. In English, you can’t really see it. But in Hebrew, the phrase “one thing” carries the idea of the most important thing. David is saying, “I don’t care what it costs, I don’t care how long it takes, there is one thing that I want more than anything in life. There is one thing that I will continue to seek after. And if I have this one thing, then everything will be okay. But if I do not have this one thing, I can have everything else and it is meaningless.”

Imagine if one day you meet Jeff Bezos and he asks you, “What do you want? Ask me for one thing. Whatever it is, I will give it to you.” What is your answer? I mean, Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. I did some research and a very trustworthy source, Wikipedia, wrote that his total net worth value is US $8 trillion. That’s trillion with twelve zeroes. Most of us only have 4 to 6 digit numbers on our bank accounts. 3 if you are college students. So, what would you ask from Jeff Bezos? You could have anything your heart desires. Now imagine if the Lord asks you the same thing. Whatever it is the one thing that you want, he will give it to you. What is your answer? Would you ask for a fat bank account? For you to marry a certain person? Happy family? Successful career? Worldwide recognition? Healing? Or maybe like Solomon, wisdom? What is the one thing you would ask for? Do you know what David asks for? David asks for the presence of the Lord. I mean, out of all the good things that David could ask for, David asks the Lord that he may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. It does not mean that David wants to quit being a king and become a priest. What David wants is to experience the constant presence of the Lord. Why? Because David understands that if the Lord is his source of confidence, then what David needs above all is the presence of the Lord. Listen. The cure to fear and anxiety is not to have more things but to have the presence of the Lord.

However, David does not stop there. He says that he wants to dwell in the house of the Lord so that he can gaze at the beauty of the Lord. The word gaze means to stare intently. David wants to stare intently at the beauty of the Lord. In other words, David not only sees the Lord as useful but also as beautiful. We know this. We do not stare intently at someone who is useful. We stare intently at someone who is beautiful. Oh yes, the Lord is useful for David. The Lord hides David in his shelter on the day of trouble. The Lord exalts David high upon a rock in the presence of his enemies. But the goodness of the Lord toward David only makes David more captivated at the beauty of the Lord. For David, nothing is better, greater, grander, more satisfying, more enjoyable, more dependable, more lasting, more rewarding than the Lord himself. What David seek after is not only what the Lord can do for David but the Lord himself. David is saying, “My greatest need is the Lord. My greatest joy is the Lord. And if I have the Lord and if what I want the most in life is the Lord, then I am safe. I am fearless. I have no reason to be anxious.”

This is deep. Let me show you what David means. St Augustine had an amazing insight on anxiety. Think about it. Why are we anxious? By the way, little anxiety is a good thing. It means that we care. If we never feel anxious about anything, it means we have no feeling. We do not care about anything. We are zombies. But why are we overly anxious? Why are we sleepless and constantly filled with fear and worry? Here is why we are overly anxious. All of us have things in our lives that we treasure. We love them and we desire them. And they are good things. Parents and children are good things. Career is a good thing. Sex is a good thing. All of us have lots of good things in our lives. But when good things become the one thing we must have for us to be happy, we gaze on them. We seek them. We desire them. And we believe that we cannot be satisfied unless we have it. So, when the good things become the one thing, that’s when anxiety hits. Anxiety is like smoke that we can trace down to the fire. When we are overly anxious about something, and we trace down the root of that anxiety, we will always find good things that have become the one thing. At the root of our anxiety, we will find a counterfeit god that has become our source of confidence. When good things become the one thing, we will be very anxious.

Let me give you an example that David uses. Psalm 27:10 – For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Is there anything wrong with the love between parents and children? Of course not. It is God who invented the love relationship between parents and children. It is good for parents to love their children and for children to want to be loved by their parents. But what happens if our parents do not love us? And this happens all the time in Korean drama. I watch Korean drama enough to know that almost every orphan that was forsaken by their parents would ask the question, “Why? Why did my parents leave me? Why did they forsake me?” There is nothing more painful than being rejected by your own parents. And this not only happens in Korean drama. There are many people we know in our lives that say, “I will not forgive my parents for what they did to me. I will never forget that they forsake me. I will never be okay. I will always be unhappy.” They refused to be comforted. What happened? It is because a good thing, parental love, has become the one thing. They crave it. They desire it. But they don’t have it. As a result, they become overly anxious. They begin to look at other things to fulfil that desire to be accepted by their parents and they are never satisfied. Do you see that? That is why Augustine said that anxiety can be a very helpful thing. Our deep anxiety tells us a lot about ourselves. Because we can follow the trace of the smoke and discover our counterfeit god. Our deep anxiety will reveal to us our source of confidence.

But hear what David says. “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.” This is what it means to gaze at the beauty of the Lord. David is saying, “My parents might forsake me, my career might forsake me, my lover might forsake me, my health might forsake me, but the Lord will not forsake me. The Lord will take me in.” That is to say, the Lord is David’s one thing. And my friends, if the Lord is our one thing, we will not be overly anxious about anything. This is David’s plea and I hope it is our plea as well tonight.

David’s despair

Psalm 27:7-12 – ⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! ⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” ⁹ Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! ¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. ¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. ¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.

If the Lord is David’s one thing, do you know what his despair? To not have the Lord. There is a sudden change of mood in these verses. If verses 1 to 6 describe David’s confidence in the Lord, verses 7 to 12 describe David’s desperation for the Lord. And this is something that we must understand. Just because we have confidence in the Lord, does not mean we are not struggling. Again and again, throughout the book of Psalm, we see examples of people being confident in the Lord and yet desperate for the Lord at the same time. We do not know the exact situation that David is in, but we know that he is in the midst of a dire situation. Verse 12 suggests to us that David has been falsely accused by those who want to hurt him. And amid this difficult situation, the Lord seems absent. Have you ever experienced that? You are in the midst of a difficult situation and the Lord seems absent from your life. If you do, you are not alone. David knows exactly how you feel.

Pay attention to what David does. When David feels like the Lord is absent from his life, he does not walk away from the Lord. But rather, David presses in even more. David seeks the Lord all the more. In verse 7, he asks the Lord to hear him. In verses 8 and 9, he asks the Lord to not forsake him. In verse 11, he asks the Lord to guide him. In verse 12, he asks the Lord to protect him. He is desperate for the Lord. And he asks all these while remains confident in the Lord at the same time. Despite the continued experience of the Lord’s absence, David is confident that the Lord has not abandoned him. Even when earthly parents might forsake their children, the Lord will never forsake his children. This is what it means to see the Lord not only as useful but as beautiful. In his despair, what David seeks is the Lord himself. When we see the Lord as beautiful, we not only seek him for what he can do, but we seek him for him.

Let me give you an example. Last month, I celebrated my birthday and received many gifts from you guys. And interestingly, I received 7 different gifts cards and all for the same store. Any guess what the store is? Koorong. One person told me that when he thought of a gift for me, he immediately thought of Koorong. I am like Koorong’s brand ambassador. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he said that men shall not live by bread alone. Maybe if I can rewrite that verse, it will say that Yosi does not live by Koorong’s gift cards alone. But why did many of you get me Koorong’s gift cards? Because most of you know that one of my favourite things to do is to read theological books. I love and enjoy learning more about God. But it was not always so. There were days in the past that I hated reading theological books. Let me tell you a secret that I’m not proud of. I graduated from my first Bible college in Dallas without finishing a single book. Every time I had reading assignments, I just skimmed through them. I read just enough to pass the subject. So, I read so that I can pass the subject. I needed to pass the subject so that I can graduate. I needed to graduate so that I can have a degree. I needed a degree so that I can have a career and make money. That’s how it was. Reading was useful to me. So, I skimmed through books to make money. But today, it is very different. Today, I spent a lot of money to buy books. Now I read theological books for the sake of enjoying them. Reading books was useful to me but now reading books is beautiful. It is an end in itself. It is pleasurable.

And this is the biggest difference between religious people and gospel people. Religious people seek the Lord to get things, but gospel people seek the Lord for the Lord. Religious people serve the Lord so that he might give them the things that they want. Gospel people serve the Lord because they want the Lord. Gospel people just want to be near the presence of the Lord. The Lord is the ultimate beauty. The Lord is the one thing. The Lord is the ultimate good. And this is the reason why David continues to seek the Lord even in despair. He is not angry or bitter. David is struggling but he perseveres. Because the Lord is not only useful but also beautiful to David. Look at what he says next.

David’s confidence

Psalm 27:13-14 – ¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! ¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

David is very confident. Even though he has yet to experience his breakthrough, he does not lose hope. He is confident that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. The Lord will not abandon him. And then he tells himself and others who listen to his psalm to wait for the Lord. How many of you know that waiting is hard? I consider myself a patient person. But if there is one thing that triggers my impatience, it is waiting. I hate waiting. I like yes and no. But I don’t like to wait. I would rather take things into my own hands than to wait. But the Lord loves to make us wait for him. Did you realize that? Because it is in the season of waiting that we find out our true source of confidence. It is in the season of waiting that we find out whether we have genuine faith or not. It is in the season of waiting that we find out whether the Lord is only useful or if he is also beautiful to us. When the Lord is our source of confidence, we will wait for the Lord in the days of trouble because we know that the Lord will not forsake his people.

The question is, how can we have David’s confidence? How can we wait for the Lord in the days of trouble? The answer is the beauty of the Lord. Let me explain. Psalm 27:4 – One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. David says he wants to inquire in the temple of the Lord. He wants to look at and investigate the Lord’s temple. There is something about the presence of the Lord in the temple that intrigue David. David knows that he can experience the presence of the Lord anywhere. The Lord’s presence is not limited to the temple. But there is something about the temple that reveals the beauty of the Lord. What is it? Here is what David sees. Two things. First, David sees the holiness of the Lord. More than anywhere else, the temple shows the holiness of the Lord. You cannot approach the Lord just because you feel like it. The Lord is absolutely holy. He cannot tolerate even the smell of sin. For you to draw near to the Lord, you have to offer all the sacrifices for sins. The temple shows that the Lord is not to be toyed with. If you approach his presence without offering the right sacrifices for sins, he will kill you on the spot. But that is not the only thing David sees in the temple of the Lord. David not only sees the holiness of the Lord. Second, David sees the mercy of the Lord. Although the Lord is holy, he makes provision so that he can be with his people. He makes a way so that sinful people can draw near to his holy presence. In the temple of the Lord, David sees the holiness of the Lord and the mercy of the Lord kiss each other. And it is beautiful.

But for us today, we no longer look to the actual temple of the Lord because the temple of the Lord has come to us. Jesus calls himself the temple of the Lord. If we want to see the beauty of the Lord, we do not look to the actual temple, but we gaze on Jesus. What do we see when we look at Jesus? Listen to what Isaiah says when he writes of Jesus. Isaiah 53:2-6 – For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

When we see Jesus, we see the holiness of the Lord. We see how the Lord cannot tolerate sin and we see the price of sin. We see how the glorious God of the universe became ugly. We see how the most beautiful one became un-beautiful. Isaiah says that Jesus had no beauty that we should desire him. Why? Because at the cross, Jesus got what we deserved. Jesus died at the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. He became ugly. It was extremely costly. But we also see the mercy of the Lord. We were the ones who should have died because of our sins. We were the ones who should have been crucified at the cross. But the Lord is rich in mercy that he took the punishment of sin upon himself so that we can draw near to him with confidence. The Bible tells us that when we put our faith in Jesus, everything that Jesus deserved became ours. He received the punishment that we deserved, and we received the credit that he deserved. Jesus became ugly so that we might become beautiful. So right now, in all our imperfections and weakness, the Lord sees us as beautiful. We who were spiritually ugly is now absolutely beautiful because of what Jesus has done at the cross. We who had no right to draw near to the Lord can now approach the throne of mercy with confidence. At the cross of Jesus Christ, we see the holiness of the Lord and the mercy of the Lord kiss each other and it is stunningly beautiful. When we see Jesus lost his beauty so that we might have beauty, that is the beauty that will cure our anxious hearts. It is our source of confidence that the Lord will not forsake us. That is why we can tell ourselves, “My soul, wait for the Lord. Be strong. Take courage. The Lord is worth waiting for.”

Let me end with this. There is nothing more practical to cure our anxious hearts than to gaze at the beauty of the Lord in Jesus Christ. And there is no quick fix. Every day we are tempted to make other good things become the one thing. That is why there is nothing more practical than to constantly immerse ourselves in the gospel. Nothing brings greater peace to our troubled soul than to constantly meditate on what Christ has done. Nothing puts life in the right perspective than seeing the surpassing greatness of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Nothing empowers us to make the hard and painful choice to say no to the pleasures of sin than savouring the glory of the cross of Jesus Christ. It is only when we make Jesus Christ our one thing that we become less anxious about other good things. It is as one hymn says. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

Discussion questions:

1. Explain the weakness of positive thinking in dealing with fear and anxiety.
2. How does having the Lord as our light, salvation and stronghold enable us to deal with fear and anxiety?
3. Think about the last time you were overly anxious. Trace down the smoke to the fire. What is at the root of your anxiety? Share it with your group.
4. What is the difference between seeing the Lord as useful and seeing the Lord as beautiful? Give examples.
5. How does gazing at Jesus Christ cure our anxiety?
6. Spend time to pray for one another, specifically in their struggle with fear and anxiety.