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Boker Tov! Today, we resume our study in the Psalms with Psalm 27. Grab your copy of the Scriptures and turn there, if you will, as we begin this morning. Scholars believe this psalm was written by David when he was fleeing from King Saul, who was in hot pursuit of him. Psalm 27 is not directly quoted in the New Testament, although it is alluded to in Luke 2, in the character of Anna, when Yeshua was taken by his parents to be presented at the Temple. Luke 2 tells us that she lived in the Temple, serving there. Likewise, in verse 4 of this psalm, David expresses this desire. So, it is an oblique reference, in the New Testament.
In the practice of Judaism, this psalm is recited at the conclusion of services during the month of Elul (the last month of the civil calendar year), and also during the 10 Days of Awe, the first 10 days of the month of Tishri. And, many recite it on through the ensuing festival of Sukkot.
The theme of this psalm is how to prevent a lifestyle of sinning. The answer the psalmist give is essentially this: fill your heart, soul and mind so full of the Word of God that you have no room for anything else. If your spirit is single-mindedly engrossed in God’s ways and in His service, if you refuse to be distracted by the ways of the world, then you have less time and/or inclination to sin. That’s the point David is trying to make in this psalm.
The psalm opens with a very powerful verse. Look with me at verse 1. Quotes today are from the CJB.
1 Adonai is my light and my salvation; who do I need to fear? Adonai is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid?
Many of us turn to the world, taking our focus off of our Elohim and His ways, because deep-down we are afraid that He either does not love us enough or that we are not “good” enough, or for whatever reason, we can’t trust Him to “work all things out for our good”, as promised in Romans 8:28.
Because we don’t fully trust Him, we tend to turn to the false comforts, the false supports of the world, in order to ease our minds. We tend to want to latch onto something more visible or tangible, some worldly thing which requires less faith.
Regardless of our life’s circumstances, though, if we truly believe that “God’s got you.” or “God’s got this.”, we can be delivered from crippling fear.
David certainly had good reason to fear. Not many of us have ever been in a situation where we were having to literally “run for our lives”, being hunted down like an animal. David lived like that for many years of his life, almost the entire reign of King Saul. And, during much of that time, David lived with the knowledge that he was the anointed king of Israel. Can’t you just imagine him figuratively raising his hand and saying, “God, I have some questions?” On the one hand, the knowledge he would eventually be king could have bolstered him; he probably held on to that promise with great tenacity. On the other hand, it did not make a whole lot of sense that, although anointed, God allowed him to be pursued relentlessly by an absolute madman, King Saul. Wouldn’t you have wondered, “Lord, when are you going to do something about this guy?!”
I'm sure that, like me, you have or have had situations in your life where it surely looked like Satan was having the upper hand, and you just could not figure out why God did not put a stop to it. Well, God has His reasons for why He takes His time and does things the way He does, even though we don’t often understand them. I have felt at times in my life that “the timeline was off”. In other words, I’ve said to God, “Shouldn’t this have happened later?” or “I don’t understand why this didn’t happen sooner!” In fact, much of my life has felt like this. At such times, we must simply trust God and not fear.
Let’s read verses two and three.
2 When evildoers assailed me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and foes, they stumbled and fell.
3 If an army encamps against me, my hearrt will not fear; if war breaks out against me, even then I will keep trusting.
I mentioned the Goliath episode a few moments ago, and the Jewish writers say that verse two in this psalm hearkens back to that incident, especially the reference to stumbling and falling, which is exactly what Goliath did, all 10 feet of him, when knocked out cold by a stone David slung into his forehead.
In verse 3, David was so incredibly confident in the power and plans of His Yahweh that he exclaimed “even though an army would besiege me, my heart would not fear”. One man against an army! Whoa. But, you know what? He had already seen God give him the victory when it was one young teenage boy (David) against an armored-up giant (Goliath). Those were improbable odds too.
He had innumerable opportunities to feel like a failure, to feel unqualified, inadequate. Many people in his sphere over the years, including his father and older brothers, likely reinforced these lies. But, like David, who tuned out the naysayers, we must do the same, while at the same time tuning in to God, the Source of our life’s strength.
What if....God is allowing this “misunder-estimation” to purposefully cause us to realize we might be right where we belong, doing exactly what we are supposed to be? What if .. He is about to catapult us to a new level? Frames it in a totally different light, doesn’t it?
Elsewhere, in Psalm 118:6, David declared similarly “With Adonai on my side, I fear nothing - - - - what can human beings do to me?” Fearless!
Verses 4-6 now:
4 Just one thing have I asked of Adonai; only this will I seek: to live in the house of Adonai all the days of my life, to see the beauty of Adonai and visit in his temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of trouble, he will hide me in the folds of his tent, he will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up above my surrounding foes, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.
As Father Yahweh would have it, you know, He works in mysterious ways, I have been re-reading Michael Heiser’s book “The Unseen Realm”, over the past few days. I bought the book not long after it came out, began reading it, did not finish it, loaned it out to someone and, you guessed it, never saw it again. Recently, although I very rarely read for “pleasure” these days, I reordered a copy and began to read. Naturally, I have read some wonderful tie-ins to the psalms because, that’s just what Father does. He routinely brings things into my path which inform my teaching here. At any rate, you may (or may not) find the reference in verse 5 to God the Father having a “tent” curious. You may have just thought this was some sort of Hebrew slang, much like a few years ago, certain Americans referred to their homes as their “cribs”. But, no, this language in verse 5 is deliberate. Here is a quote from that book, page 174. I think it will help explain my point about this tent language.
“The description of the tabernacle as a tent dwelling is significant. Elsewhere in the biblical world, deities and their councils were considered to live in tents ... atop their cosmic mountains and in their lush gardens. The tent of the god or gods was, as with mountains or lush gardens, the place where heaven and earth intersected and where divine decrees were issued. This was a common cultural idea, perhaps akin to how many people think of church ... church is a place you’d expect to meet God, or where God can be found.”
So, reference to God’s holy mountain or holy hill, the tent language, it was not just poetry. Heiser, in his book, makes the point that if you study the stories of other ANE civilizations, you will see similarities to the stories and themes of the Old Testament. This is particularly true of the Ugaritic civilization, of Mesopotamia, whose main god’s name was El and another of their deities was Ba’al. Sound familiar at all? What we have often not realized is that the Old Testament, in the divine allotment of the Hebrew people as God’s holy portion of humanity, was all about distinguishing Yahweh as being the only TRUE God, that all the other pagan false gods surrounding the Hebrew nation, were merely cheap imitators. For instance, one of the reasons Yahweh chose to manifest Himself to mankind in fire (think burning bush not consumed), lightning, storms, clouds, earthquakes, etc., is so that He could identify Himself as the source and controller of all htese forces of nature, the LORD of the heavenly hosts and the king of all gods.
Allright, well, I’ve gotten a little far afield here. Let’s get back to the second half of Psalm 27.
7 Listen, Adonai, to my voice when I cry;
show favor to me; and answer me.
8 “My heart said of you, ‘Seek my face.’”
Your face, Adonai, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
don’t turn your servant away in anger.
You are my help; don’t abandon me;
don’t leave me, God my savior.
10 Even though my father and mother have left me,
Adonai will care for me.
11 Teach me your way, Adonai;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies —
12 don’t give me up to the whims of my foes;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
also those who are breathing violence.
13 If I hadn’t believed that I would see
Adonai’s goodness in the land of the living, . . .
14 Put your hope in Adonai, be strong,
and let your heart take courage!
Yes, put your hope in Adonai!
In verses 7-10, David seems to have lost his earlier confidence and faith. The Jewish sages say that the reason for this “turn” is that previously he was talking about struggles with earthly armies, struggles much more easy that struggling with David’s own evil impulses of his flesh. In the case of the latter, David realized that he would need an unprecedented level of assistance. I know I have felt that way, in my own life, and I imagine you have at times as well. A personal struggle so deep that only God can be your help.
The first word in verse 7 is “shema”, like the most famous prayer in all of Judaism THE Shema. Shema is a command form of the verb root “shama”, which means to hear intelligently, with the heart. The sages point out that the three root letters that form the verb root, Shin, mem and ayin, correspond to the first letter of the names of the three times of prayer in the Jew’s day - - Shacharit, Minchah and Arvit. Sh-M-Ah - - - do you hear it?
Although the English translation here is “face”, in verses 8 and 9, the word is actually a plural “faces”, as I have pointed out to you earlier in our studies. There does not exist a word “face” in Hebrew. It is always plural.
I find verse 10 curious. After David leaves home to pursue his prophesied kingship, we don’t have much mention of his relationship with his parents. Were they dead at the time of this writing? Were they alive and estranged from their son? The Scriptures are largely silent on this point, although we are told in 1 Samuel 22: 3-4 that at one point, while he was on the run from Saul, David asked the king of Moab to protect his parents. Apparently, Saul had threatened them also.
Of course, it is also possible that, since Psalms are poetry, David was speaking with a sense of exaggeration in order to contrast the goodness of God. A similar example of this can be found in Luke 14:26.
When we read verse 13, English readers often interpret “the land of the living” to mean the here and now, among the living people. However, the Jewish sages most often interpret it to be a longing on David’s part to reach the land of the eternally living, the Paradise of souls. I tend to agree with the latter interpretation, although a double meaning could have been intended by the writer. David is saying here that his belief that he will see God’s goodness, both here in this world and more importantly, in the next ... sustains him.
The psalm ends with the admonition from David to not put one’s faith in fellow humans, but rather to trust in God alone.
Let’s move on now to Psalm 28. This psalm’s themes are similar to those of Psalm 27. The psalmist uses metaphors like my Rock, my strength, my shield, the stronghold to describe how God cares for His children, His own beloved ones. While Psalm 28 is not directly quoted in the Brit Chadasha, we find similar metaphors/images used there. For example, the metaphor of shield is found in Ephesians 6:16, as the shield of faith. The apostle, John, records Yeshua using the Shepherd metaphor, in chapter 10:11, thereby claiming to be God. And, finally, the overall theme of the psalm, which is the plea for justice against the wicked is echoed in Romans 12:19, where Paul cautions believers to not seek vengeance on their own, but instead to rely on the Lord to make things right. Let’s read Psalm 28.
Adonai, I am calling to you;
my Rock, don’t be deaf to my cry.
For if you answer me with silence,
I will be like those who fall in a pit.
2 Hear the sound of my prayers
when I cry to you,
when I lift my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.
3 Don’t drag me off with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil;
they speak words of peace to their fellowmen,
but evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for their deeds,
as befits their evil acts;
repay them for what they have done,
give them what they deserve.
5 For they don’t understand the deeds of Adonai
or what he has done.
He will break them down;
he will not build them up.
6 Blessed be Adonai,
for he heard my voice as I prayed for mercy.
7 Adonai is my strength and shield;
in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped.
Therefore my heart is filled with joy,
and I will sing praises to him.
8 Adonai is strength for [his people],
a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9 Save your people! Bless your heritage!
Shepherd them, and carry them forever!
We are not going to parse this psalm, but I do want to reiterate a point I’ve made with you in the past, because it is important and illustrative of the beauty of the Hebrew language. In verse 3, the hearts of evildoers are referenced. There, the word for heart is spelled with two of the letter vayt. In Scripture, sometimes, “heart” is spelled with one vayt, and other times it’s spelled with two. When Scripture wants to picture the two opposite and contradictory elements of the human heart, the desire for good and the desire for evil, Scripture pictures this duality by spelling “heart” with two vayts. Note that when referring to the heart of Yahweh, the double vayt is NEVER used. That is because our God is never in any way double-hearted.
On to Psalm 29. Can you close your eyes for a moment and in your mind hear the voice of your most beloved ones? Can you mentally hear what each one’s voice sounds like? I used to be able to remember the timbre of my father’s voice, but Time has dulled my memory, although I am confident were I to hear his voice again I’d recognize it immediately. Scientists say that unborn babies can hear their mother’s voices and that when they hear mama’s voice right after their birth, it calms them. In Psalm 29, David writes extensively about Kol Yahweh, that is, the voice of Yahweh.
Lest you believe this is a euphemistic reference on the part of David, let me remind you that he had occasion to see the Angel of the Lord, at least once, where it is recorded in Scripture in 1 Chronicles 21:16 that the Angel of the Lord came in battle to destroy the children of Israel and Jerusalem, and Father Yahweh held him back. Upon seeing him, David and his men fell on their faces. Did David hear the Angel of the Lord’s voice at that time? Scripture does not explicitly say.
However, David would have been aware of several OT references to the voice of Father Yahweh or of His Angel, who is Yahweh in a human or other-wise (like at the burning bush) appearance. Here are some of the descriptors of His voice on those occasions, from those who heard it audibly:
***Like the sound of roaring waters - - Ezekiel 43:2
2 There I saw the glory of the God of Isra’el approaching from the east. His voice was like the sound of rushing water, and the earth shone with his glory.
If you have ever heard a roaring waterfall, or a rushing river, you know this sound. A voice with this characteristic would be commanding attention, deafening and resonant.
***Causing earthquakes
Psalm 68:8 speaks of how God’s very presence caused earthquakes, and Hebrews 12:26 reiterates that His voice shook the earth, at Mt. Sinai.
***Like thunder or thunderstorms
Job 37:1-5
“At this, my own heart trembles
and leaps out of its place.
2 Just listen to the rumbling of his voice,
to the thunder that comes from his mouth!
3 He sends it out under all of heaven,
his lightning to the ends of the earth.
4 There follows a sound, a roar —
he is thundering with his majestic voice,
and he keeps releasing [the lightning]
even while his voice is being heard.
5 “God thunders wonderfully with his voice,
he does great things beyond our understanding.
In the Brit Chadasha, numerous people heard the audible voice of God - - at Yeshua’s baptism, at the Transfiguration - - - Peter recalled that event.
2 Peter 1:17-18
17 For we were there when he received honor and glory from God the Father; and the voice came to him from the grandeur of the Sh’khinah, saying, “This is my son, whom I love; I am well pleased with him!” 18 We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
Shaul (the Hebrew name of the apostle Paul) heard Yeshua’s voice on the road, and it was accompanied by blinding light, light so intense that it blinded Paul for several days, until a Gentile believer came to restore his sight.
Other times in Scripture, people heard God’s message through a messenger, that is an angel, even at times the Angel of the Lord, and on these occasions, the Godhead was veiled so that the messenger spoke as a human would more ordinarily speak.
Let’s read this psalm and look for the specific descriptors given within it, of the Voice of God. God’s name is repeated 18 times in this psalm, and it is for this reason that the rabbis included 18 benedictions in the Amidah, which, aside from the Shema and the V’ahavtah in Deuteronomy 6, is the most important daily prayer of the Jewish faith. It is recited by observant Jews every morning. See if you can count the 18 times the name of Adonai appears.
Give Adonai his due, you who are godly;
give Adonai his due of glory and strength;
2 give Adonai the glory due his name;
worship Adonai in holy splendor.
3 The voice of Adonai is over the waters; {waters of the Sea of Reeds (Rashi) or Ibn Ezra - - rainwaters}
the God of glory thunders,
Adonai over rushing waters,
4 the voice of Adonai in power,
the voice of Adonai in splendor.
5 The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars;
Adonai splinters the cedars of the L’vanon
6 and makes the L’vanon skip like a calf,
Siryon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames;
8 the voice of Adonai rocks the desert,
Adonai convulses the Kadesh Desert.
9 The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth
and strips the forests bare —
while in his temple, all cry, “Glory!”
10 Adonai sits enthroned above the flood!
Adonai sits enthroned as king forever!
11 May Adonai give strength to his people!
May Adonai bless his people with shalom!
Moreover, the sages say that there are seven “voices” of Yahweh in this psalm and that each of the seven corresponds to the events of creation during the first five days. For example, here is one such correlation, the first one:
1. The voice ... over the waters corresponds to Gen. 1:2, where the spirit of Yahweh “hovered over the faces of the waters”
2. The second occurrence is in verse 4: “the voice of Adonai in power”, which lines up with the power required to separate the upper and lower waters of the earth on day two of creation. Rain is frequently described as mighty, Scripture.
3. On the third day of creation, the voice of God went forth in splendor, again a correlation to the latter half of verse 4, thus describing the beautiful plant life bursting forth in seemingly infinite varieties.
4. Also on the third day, the trees sprang up. This is analagous to verse 5, “The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars”. These are generally accepted to refer to the beautiful, majestic cedars of Lebanon, which would have been very familiar to King David. Lebanon was famous for those beautiful cedar trees and, indeed, many of them were used to construct Solomon’s palace as well as the First Temple.
5. Another aspect of creation on day four was when God placed the other heavenly bodies into the heavens. This is alluded to, again according to the sages, by the phrase “the voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames”. But, they also add that when God wrote each of the 10 commandments on the tablets of stone, He did so by speaking them out as a flaming fire, in the shape of visible letters and words. Can you just imagine the things Moses heard, saw and experienced? It’s amazing.
6 and 7. Allright, two more of these - - “the voice of Adonai rocks the desert”, or as another translation puts it “convulses the wilderness”. The wilderness of Kadesh is another name for the Sinai area. It is also called Tzin, Kedemos, and Paran.
This verse and the one following, both align with the fifth day of creation, when the birth of animal life occurred. Hence, the translator, Dr. Stern, put it like this: “The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth.”
We human women try all sorts of techniques to get our babies to be born when we want them to be. I remember that I was two weeks late with my firstborn, and even then he had to be induced. I jokingly tell people that if I had not been induced, he’d still be in there! That boy did not want to see the light of day! My goodness, he was almost 10 pounds at birth, as it was! Earlier this week, walking at my local park, I met/passed an expectant mother. I asked her in passing, “Are you trying to walk that baby into the world?” She enthusiasically agreed that that was exactly what she was trying to do! There used to be a restaurant near Atlanta, an Italian restaurant, that claimed if you were at or past your due date, eating their red sauce would put you into labor. It generated for them a lot of business, I can tell you! I can also tell you that it did not always work. (Ask me how I know, lol!)
But, how beautiful is the voice of God that at the sound of his voice, His creatures know to give birth. As much as it often chafes us, His children, we should be very grateful that He brings things to pass on His own timetable, whether it be birth, death, and all things in between.
Verse 10 tells us that, no matter the seeming mayhem going on on the Earth below, God sits above it all, in control of it all. He is permanent and changeless.
The psalm ends with a “mini-bene", as I call a short benediction, in which it is asserted by the psalmist that the Lord will not only endow His people with might, but that He will bless His nation with peace, with shalom.
The ArtScroll commentary on the Tehillim (Psalms) I have used to shape my teaching on the psalms says this in a footnote, on page 355.
“On Friday evening it is customary to usher in the Sabbath by reciting six psalms corresponding to the six days which precede the Sabbath. This psalm is the last of the six, because it speaks of seven divine Kolot (voices), which allude to the holiness of the seventh day. The final words of this psalm capture the essence of the Sabbath delight, “Hashem will bless His nation with peace.” The tranquility of the Saath provides us with a glimpse of the eternal peace of Messianic times and the World to Come when God’s blessing will be completely fulfilled.”
Verse 11 reminds me of the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh, given at Shauot, which we celebrated this week, if you are watching this broadcast in real time. In giving us the Holy Spirit, our Father Yahweh gave us His very own spirit, who does help us, who does give us strength to walk out our salvation with reverence and awe, to endeavor to follow the example of our Mashiach and to walk as He walked on the earth. And, along with that strength, comes the peace that accompanies walking in righteousness. The battle is fierce to “overcome the world”, but when we do have spiritual victories we should celebrate them, thank God for working those works in our lives through His Ruach, and embrace the peace that floods our souls.
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