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Psalm
Twenty-Seven (27): A Lament of David
©2003 by Amanda
Brooks Home
Psalm Twenty-seven is a personal lament of David, having characteristics common to all lament Psalms. One of the most intriguing qualities of this work is that it is an inverted lament. While most lament Psalms begin with the invocation, he begins this Psalm with assurance: "The Lord is my light... / of whom shall I be afraid? / Though an army besiege me, / my heart will not fear...." (vv 1, 3) David moves on in an attempt to arouse God; to motivate Him to answer his supplication: "I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; / I will sing and make music to the LORD." (v 6) In verse seven, David continues his lament with an invocation/supplication: "Hear my voice when I call, O LORD." Finally as the Psalm winds to an end, David voices his complaint in verse twelve: "Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, / for false witnesses rise up against me, / breathing out violence." David ends this beautiful prayer with a decree to the reader to "wait for the LORD" and in doing so "be strong". (v 14)
As is common to most laments, David addresses the Lord directly in verses eight through twelve and relies on God's provision for his deliverance. His prayers are "grounded in trust and faith" (Creech, p 15.) David's writing also displays evidence of a relationship with the Lord: "The Lord is my light.../my salvation.../[my] stronghold." In verse four, the reader detects the writer's longing desperation to be with God "all the days of [his] life"while in verses four, five, and six, the author reveals his familiarity with the dwelling place of God. The characteristics discussed in the last two paragraphs perfectly illustrate the composure of a personal lament Psalm.
Many
poetic features are used by the author to intensify the message he is
conveying. Verse one
begins with synonymous parallelism as the second line restates the
thought of the first. David also uses
beautiful metaphors to describe God's relationship with him in this
passage: "The LORD is my light",
"[the LORD is] my salvation," "The LORD is the stronghold of my life"
(v 1.) He is implying
comparisons between the LORD and other things (light, salvation, and
stronghold) that are essentially
different from one another. Verse two continues the Psalm with more
synonymous parallelism. An
example of hyperbole: "When evil men advance against me to devour my
flesh" (v 2). David is over
exaggerating to get his point across that he is in severe trouble. He
continues his use of hyperbole in verse
three referring to an "army besieg[ing]" him and "war break[ing] out"
against him. Again the author is
using synonymous parallelism. In verse four, David's tone changes
somewhat as the Psalm turns into a
personal contemplation. The reader can almost imagine him speaking this
verse to himself. David
continues verse five with more synonymous parallelism: "He will keep me
safe in his dwelling; / he will
hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle." The triumph in verse six is
exemplified in hyperbole.
An example of synecdoche: David's head will not likely literally be "exalted over his enemies." Verses seven and eight begin David's prayer, which in poetic terms is an apostrophe as he is addressing something that is nonhuman. Verse nine exemplifies a stair-like parallelism in which the second line builds on the first: "Do not hide your face from me"... "do not hide your face from me" and "turn your servant away in anger." At the same time, the author is once again using synonymous parallelism as the next line restates the former two lines. David is using hyperbole in verse ten when he says, "Though my father and mother forsake me...." It is possible that he is trying to paint the picture that in even the darkest and hardest trials, God will always receive his people. Verses eleven and twelve go back to an apostrophe as David once again addresses God. The psalmist uses synthetic parallelism in verse thirteen when he uses the second line to build on the foundation of the first line. Finally, David concludes his Psalm with an oxymoron: "Wait for the Lord; / be strong and take heart / and wait for the LORD" (v 14). It is rather odd to tell some one to be strong and yet wait. Strength is used to fight, not to sit and wait. What a wonderful picture it paints for people of the LORD's soon coming provision!
In
comparing five translations of Psalm Twenty-seven, I found some
interesting differences, none
of which drastically alters the meaning of the Psalm but they do affect
people's perceptions. I compared
the New International Version (NIV), the New American
Standard Bible (NASB), the New Living
Translation (NLT), the Young's Literal Translation (YLT),
and the New American Bible (NAB). The
most fascinating difference is in verse one. They all started with "The
LORD is my light and my salvation"
(except the Young's Literal Translation uses "Jehovah" in
place of "LORD"). The next line which starts
"The Lord is" is the one in which all five split paths. The NIV fills
in the gap with "stronghold ," the
NASB uses "defense of my life," NLT says "protects me from danger," YLT
uses "strength," and the NAB
continues with "my life's refuge." I found this fascinating because
each phrase or word gives off different
connotations. The word "stronghold" connotes a more vivid and stronger
sense of who God is were as
"defense of my life" illustrates a role that God plays in the life of
each person. The NLT gets more
descriptive with "protects me from danger" because it tells who is
defended and is self-explanatory. It
makes sense to the average reader. YLT's translation of "strength" does
not relate to the LORD's
protection at all.
The New
American Standard Bible illustrates God's life-long protection
with "my life's
refuge," but what does that mean? It seems to be the most unclear of
the five translations in this regard. Another interesting difference
was found in verse two. The NIV and NLT both use a future tense verb
when saying "they will stumble and fall" when talking about the future
of their enemies. In the two
translations the falling of the foe is yet to come. The YLT and NASB
both use past tense verbs indicating
that in the past David's enemies have fallen when they had risen up
against him. Perhaps this suggests he
is basing his confidence on what he has seen in the past. We do not get
this view from the NIV and NLT. The NAB is on its own in this verse as
the verb is in present tense: At the time of the Psalm, David is
witnessing his enemies falling about him. In verse four, each
translation gives a different description of
what David wants to do in the temple. "Seek him in his temple" in the
NIV implies that David is searching
himself to know the LORD. The NASB and the NLT use the verb "meditate"
with similar connotations of
searching, but it seems to be more of a thoughtfulness or prayer. Here
David seeks to meditate on the
presence of God. The YLT uses "inquire" to describe David's desired
actions within the temple. This
translation implies that David is seeking to learn more about God as he
dwells in the temple of the Lord.
The next important difference in the five translations comes in the last verse. Although all are conveying the same thought, they do it differently. For example, the NIV translates the scripture the following way: "Wait for the Lord, / be strong and take heart / and wait for the Lord." Waiting seems to be the key in this translation. "Wait for the LORD; / Be strong and let your heart take courage; / Yes, wait for the LORD. / A prayer for help, and praise for its Answer" is the translation of the NASB. Here too, waiting is a key but the language is not very strong. Whereas the NIV is straight to the point, though a little more wordy. The New Living Translation says to "Wait patiently for the LORD. / Be brave and courageous. / Yes, wait patiently for the LORD." I love this translation. The word "brave" connotes that David is addressing soldiers. He is using terms that bring to mind military men- "brave" and "courageous"-- all the while saying to be patient, "the LORD will deliver you." YLT says, "Look unto Jehovah-be strong, / and He doth strengthen thy heart, / Yea, look unto Jehovah!" This translation instructs the reader not to "wait" but instead to "look to Jehovah." The final translation is from the NAB which says, "Wait for the LORD, / take courage; be stouthearted, / wait for the LORD!" There is not much significant difference in the translation except that the language is similar to NIV and conveys the same thoughts.
Key words
are an intricate part of understanding this psalm of David. A few
translations such as
the NIV use the term "stronghold" as opposed to "strength,"
"fortress," or some of the more common terms
used in other translations for this passage. According to Ryken,
Wilhoit, and Longman, a stronghold is a
place where, in this case, the Lord dwells. In His presence is where
His people find safety. "Rather than
necessarily a walled fortification, though, a stronghold may be any
inaccessible place of refuge, especially
an elevated one" (Rykin, Wilhoit, and Longman p 822). Second Samuel
chapter twenty-two verse three
may be a good example of the word "stronghold" being used as a military
fortification. David had just
been "delivered from [his] enemies and from the hand of Saul (v 1): "He
is my stronghold, my refuge and
my savior-from violent men you save me." Some may argue that David
makes no distinction, that this
military fortification is also a holy place in which that presence of
the Lord dwells. They go on to point out
that "in the narrative and prophetic books strongholds are literal
places of military refuge, while in Psalms
they tend to be metaphors for God" (Rykin, Wilhoit, and Longman p 822).
Oftentimes the presence of God is portrayed in a tabernacle, temple, or a stronghold. In Psalm twenty-seven verses two, four and five the author may be describing the stronghold he has mentioned: "The house of the LORD,...the shelter of his tabernacle...high upon a rock." Vine gives a more psychological view of a stronghold as: "used metaphorically of the things in which mere human confidence is imposed" (Vine p 85). In comparing these two definitions to see how they fit together in this scripture, one can conclude that a stronghold is not necessarily a physical place but it can be psychological or spiritual habitat in which the Lord dwells. On a side note, the Bible also makes reference to wicked strongholds such as in Micah chapter five verses ten through fifteen where God is destroying the wicked dwelling places of other gods. The reference is also made in the New Testament in Second Corinthians chapter ten verses three through five as Paul instructs believers on how to demolish wicked strongholds.
"Dwell"
and "dwelling" are used a couple of times in the psalm and seem to
carry a good bit of
significance. Vine defines dwell as "to inhabit as one's abode"
(Vine p 344). According to Richards, in the
Old Testament the term "yasab" is translated "dwell" and means
"to sit," or "to remain," and is found
"some 1090 times in the Old Testament" (Richards p 239). Another writer
states beautifully what is meant
by "dwell": The word here indicates the manner of life of the believer
who walks with God" (Wilson p
129). This is the case in Psalm ninety-one verse one: "He who dwells in
the shelter of the Most High will
rest in the shadow of the Almighty." When laying these definitions side
by side, a lovely picture is painted
of a believer who learns to make his residence in the presence of God.
These definitions describe not just a
coming into God's presence for a short time, but living and permanently
establishing oneself in the presence
of the Almighty. At a glance it may be easy for the reader to miss the
strong implications of what David is
conveying: He seeks to live in the presence of the Most High.
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Another word that
is used often in Psalm Twenty-seven worthy of noting is seek.
This word has
many different meanings throughout the Bible. The most likely meaning
of the word for this Psalm passage
is "to seek after, to search for," "to reach out, or after" (Vine p
340). When you plug this definition into
the verse, it develops a strong intensity: "One thing I ask of the
LORD, this is what I [search for or reach
out for] that I may [live] in the house of the LORD." In the New
Testament the word "was used of the
search of knowledge," (Richards p 545) such as in Matthew six verse
thirty-three.
As is true of every scripture, this psalm has been interpreted differently by many scholars. The commentaries used for this paper agree that it is a psalm displaying a lack of fear in the midst of danger. Also, they agree that the psalm is "composed of two orginally independent poems" that go well together and actually build on each other (Eiselen, Lewis, Downey p 528). Bruce calls it "a psalm of confidence in the protection of Yahweh (vv. 1-6) followed by an individual lament (vv. 7-14) appealing to Yahweh for deliverance," (Bruce p 574). Exell describes the psalm as an expression of the "fearlessness of the good," (Exell p 133). Bruce says the term dwelling refers to a tabernacle "used of the sanctuary" claiming that it is a physical place (Bruce p 575). "[T]he LORD will receive me," is interpreted by Bruce to mean that though his father and mother forsake him, the LORD will "adopt" him (Bruce p 575). This illustrates a beautiful picture of God as a father.
Eiselen, Lewis, Downey go into more detail about the history of the psalmist. "The psalmist is one of the Dispersion, far away from Jerusalem, and his soul is filled with longing for the Temple worship," (Eiselen, Lewis, Downey p 528). They claim that it is his longing for the traditional worship of his people that causes David to lament and cry out to the Most High. They also claim that it is his faith that has "cast out his dread" (Eiselen, Lewis, Downey p 528). According to the three authors, there are three things that David seeks from the temple: To behold the beauty of the LORD, to inquire of the LORD, and to gain assurance that Jehovah will keep him" (Eiselen, Lewis, Downey p 528). Finally, they put a new spin on the last verse by saying that David is summoning his own heart to wait on the LORD as opposed to David summoning the reader to wait.
Exell
breaks the Psalm down into three parts. First, "the fearlessness of the
good" in verses one
through three which is described as springing from personal faith
(Exell 129). This indicates a relationship
with God. David is "strengthened by the remembrance of past
deliverances" (Exell p 130). Verses four
through six encompass Exell's second section: "the saint's refuge"
(Exell p 130). Here "God is greatly to
be coveted, and should be sought not as the privilege of special
seasons, but as a daily blessing; not as the
pleasure of an hour, but as a joy forever" (Exell p 131). The
commentator refers to "inquir[ing] in his
temple" as a "deep instinct of the soul" (Exell p 131). And finally,
verses seven through twelve end with a
"prayer for a time of need" (Exell p 132). In humility and earnestness
David cries out to the LORD. In
verse nine, the psalmist displays a "grateful recognition of God's
favor" (Exell p 132). "The great lesson
of the psalm comes at the close, 'Wait, I say, on the LORD'" (Exell p
133).
Many scholars break Psalm Twenty-seven into several categories all of which are appropriate and give new perspectives to what the psalmist is trying to convey.
The message of this psalm is clear. It describes God's relationship to his people. He is our "light," and our "stronghold," He hears His people and "receives" them. David continues the psalm with his unyielding desire for the presence of God. Here David provides a model for every believer of the passion and zeal a child of God should have. David also demonstrates God's provision in the midst of great trial and hopelessness. He conveys the LORD's response in such time as being quick to help and deliver his people. The basic message of the psalm is that in times of great trouble, the LORD delivers His people.
BibliographyCreech, Jerome. Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press, 1998.
Eiselen, Carl, Edwin Lewis, and David Downey. The Abingdon Bible Commentary. New York: Abingdon Press, 1929.
Exell, Joseph. The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible. Volume II. New York: Funk and Wagnall, N.D.
Richards, Lawrence. Expository Dictionary of Bible Words. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Regency Reverence Library, 1985.
Ryken, Leland, James Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter Varsity Press, 1998.
Vine, W.E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Old Tapan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revel Company, 1971.
Wilson, Walter. A Dictionary of Bible Types. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999.
New International Version Bible
New American Standard Bible
New Living Translation Bible
Young's Literal Translation Bible
New
American Bible