A Beautiful Confession

Minister:	Rev. Audred Spriensma
Date:	1/13/2013 AM
Text:	Psalm 27:1,11
Psalters:	74, 289, 428, 7, 35

INTRO: Psalm 27 is a Psalm of David. It is evident from the Psalm that David was facing great danger from his enemies.
1. This enemy could well have been Absalom and the many in Israel who followed him in his rebellion against David.
2. In this darkness of this danger, David is able to sing a song in the night: ?Jehovah is my light and salvation.?
3. In following Christ, we can expect many enemies to desire our downfall. But we are confident. This is our confession.
A TERRIBLE DARKNESS
1. Darkness is implied in our text
  1. When David confesses that Jehovah is his light, it suggests that there was darkness.
  2. Darkness in the Bible is often a figure of distress, danger, and sin.
  3. Light is a figure of deliverance, relief from distress, hope and salvation.
2. The darkness that David faced:
  1. David?s own son, Absalom was seeking to cut off and kill David. A multitude in Israel followed.
  2. But these enemies are primarily spiritual in nature. The Psalm identifies them as the wicked.
  3. They hate and oppose David as God?s anointed one.
  4. Here we see that the church on earth is often dominated by a carnal &reprobate element.
  5. The intent of these enemies is to kill David, and destroy God?s covenant with his people.
  6. Behind these enemies is none less than Satan, the prince of darkness.
3. This darkness will also descend upon our lives.
  1. We face these same spiritual enemies: should expect it as we confess Christ!
  2. The devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking to devour (I Pet. 5:8).
  3. This world is not a friend to grace, but will come either to woo us or attack us.
  4. The false church will come with false doctrine and heresy or with worldliness.
  5. Our greatest enemy is our own sinful nature at war in our members.
OUR LIGHT
1. ?The LORD? -Jehovah
  1. Jehovah is the covenant name of God, emphasizing that he is faithful.
  2. This covenant is a relationship of friendship and fellowship that God establishes with us.
  3. How wonderful to know that God lives and dwells with his people in blessing.
  4. It is this covenant that the powers of darkness seek to destroy as they attack God?s people.
2. Jehovah is David?s light.
  1. Light is defined by David as salvation or deliverance.
  2. David?s light and salvation is not his army, his own wisdom or strength or alliances with others.
  3. Jehovah is David?s light exactly because He is the strength of his life.
  4. God was the one who strengthened David to do battle with his enemies:
  5. God kept David as his anointed one so that David could care and rule over God?s cov. people.
3. Jehovah is our light.
  1. God is our light in Jesus Christ, God?s Anointed One.
  2. David serves in this Psalm as a type or picture of Jesus Christ, the ?Light of the world?.
  3. Jesus Christ was appointed by Jehovah to be the Defender and Savior of his church.
  4. To do this, Jesus was subjected to terrible darkness all of his life and esp. on the cross.
  5. But he was strengthened for this, and was victorious over all his and our enemies.
  6. Christ is our salvation and our strength, strengthening us against our enemies.
OUR CONFIDENCE
1. I shall not fear.
  1. David asks rhetorical questions: Even though things look dark or lost, he has confidence.
  2. This confidence is solely in his God, nothing else. He turns to the LORD.
  3. This is also true for us. If we looked anywhere else, we could only expect defeat & destruction.
  4. God is our light: In Jesus Christ he is our salvation and our strength.
2. Walking in the light: our request:
  1. ?Teach me thy way.? A good part of David?s struggles was in his own sin. Do you see that?
  2. How we need Christ in his Word to shed light upon our path!
  3. ?Lead me in a plain path.? We need Christ?s Spirit to guide us in our confession and live it!