Fear part 2: Psalm 27:7-14

Psalm 27:7-14

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
    be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, do I seek.
    Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,
    you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
    O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will take me up.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on a level path
    because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they are breathing out violence.

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

Pastor Mark Singh-Hueter of my congregation of St. Paul's, pointed out something very interesting to me about this Psalm that I've been mulling about ever since.

This is the Psalm that begins: "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?" It begins with such faith and confidence.

And yet, look how it moves toward the end:

Do not hide your face from me.

Do not cast me off.

Do not forsake me.

And finally: Wait for the Lord.

The bursting confidence of the beginning seems to falter. In most Psalms or stories of faith, we seem to see the opposite: question and doubt grows to faith and confidence.

But here: a strong conviction seems to begin to question and wonder.

David, the Psalmist here, begins to waver.

And if David can waver, what about us?

The Lord is indeed our light and our salvation. Whom should we fear? No one perhaps. 

But who WILL we fear? 

Well, we will fear someone in our lifetime.

And when we do, we can know that we can wait in surety for God to lead us through the valley to the other side.

Courage is not once and done. Courage is something we pray for over and over again.

Lord, light my way to courage. Amen.