I was reading Psalm 27 this morning. It’s begins with a very familiar verse – “The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” Whom, indeed.
One of my translations describes this song as “An Exuberant Declaration of Faith.” David expresses his confident faith in the LORD God Almighty even in the face of being surrounded by evil men. He trusts the LORD to rescue Him. Then David says, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD….” [vs 4]
One thing. David wanted to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life for one purpose, simply to behold, to gaze upon his beautiful Savior. As I meditated on that verse this morning I realized that David sought that one thing – to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD – because he knew that is the only way his faith would remain strong “when evil men advance[d] against [him] to devour [his] flesh.” [vs 2]
David knew that he would be safe in the day of trouble if he remained in the presence of the LORD, if he kept his gaze on God and not on the evil, the danger around him. The writer of Hebrews tells us the same thing when he urges us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” [Heb 12:2]
The world is a dangerous place, it always has been, and will continue to be so for those who profess faith in Christ Jesus as LORD. Persecution and martyrdom have always accompanied faith. The only safe place is in the presence of the LORD, fixing our eyes upon Him, gazing upon His beauty.
