Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 10: Wednesday

Wednesday’s Bible reading is Psalms 27–29. Psalms 27 and 28 are personal ones of David; in Psalm 29 David writes about God’s power and glory displayed in a storm.

Here are prayers for help, and gratitude and praise for God’s strength and deliverance. M’Caw and Motyer have this helpful insight into prayer in Psalm 27:

“The difference between the first and second halves of this psalm is very obvious, and the changes after v. 6 from exuberant praise to earnest petition may appear to be an inversion of mood. But it is sound, spiritual practice to strengthen oneself in God, before launching on supplication. In this way, we pray to a God whom we see clearly, and we finally share even our gravest crisis into the hand of a known and loved God.”¹

We easily get wrong and distorted ideas of who God is. We each have our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. God has revealed Himself in His Word. As the Holy Spirit opens our eyes through His Word we come to know Him as He is.

M’Caw and Motyer note that as David opens Psalm 27:

“There is triple parallelism. The Lord is my light, my salvation, my stronghold.”²

Notice David’s questions in 27:1. Because Yahweh is his light and his salvation, whom shall he fear? It’s a rhetorical question, because the assumed answer is no one! Because Yahweh is the strong defense of his life, whom shall he dread? Again, the answer is no one! His psalms certainly tell us that David was afraid and in dread of losing his life, but he knew to pray and remind himself, as he prayed, who God is.

Circumstances and the times can lead us astray. We have to God to teach us, and to enable us to see Him clearly. Using psalms like Psalm 27 will help us and give us words to pray. The next time you pray remember Psalm 27, and remind yourself who God is.

M’Caw and Motyer also discuss David’s supplication to God in Psalm 27.

“Following the division in RSV, the prayer displays the three essentials of true intercession. 7–9a It rests upon the invitation of God, 9b, 10 cast the whole burden upon God alone, permitting no human help, and 11, 12 whil seeking the specific request of deliverance it seeks primarily to know and do God’s will.”³

Psalm 27 is a very special psalm to me because of what it meant to my friend Lisa and to me.

Because of my hearing loss, I have had to have numerous MRIs done. I’m slightly claustrophobic, and it was an endurance test to go through one. Soon after I had been memorizing Psalm 27, it was time for another MRI. As I lay there, I decided to go over the psalm as a way to concentrate my attention away from the machinery. While I was thinking over the words, it occurred to me that God, the Creator of the universe whose Presence reached beyond all boundaries of space was right there with me inside that small machine.

With that realization my feeling of being closed-in was completely gone, and I was able to relax. Since that time I’ve continued to have MRIs, but each time the Lord of the Universe, the Living God, has been there with me to help me.

I don’t tell you this story to give you a formula or talisman, because God is a Person, not a superstition, and He knows the times and days of each of His children. I wanted to tell you this story as a record and witness of God’s providential help on my behalf through His Word. My mind was not empty nor was I seeking an experience—I was turning to God for help. Why He has continued to deliver me and ease my mind when I have this testing done, I do not know, but I am grateful that He has chosen to work in this way on my behalf.

God’s power and strength are key ideas in these psalms.

While the word powerful is not repeated the way strength is, God’s power is evident in His acts, in how He rescues, shelters, and delivers David, and in His acts of power in His creation.

What does knowing who God is mean for David and for us?

David encourages us to hope in God; to be strong and take courage. He speaks of God being his strength, trusting in Him, and being helped. He assures that God will give us strength and bless us with peace.

Ask God to help you see clearly who He is. He is our light, strength, and salvation. May your heart exult in Him and with your song may you thank Him.

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For a brief overview of the structure and poetry of Psalms see my post, The Five Books of Psalms.
Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Hubble Peers into the Storm: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. (CC BY-SA 2.0). Public Domain.
^1,2,3Leslie S. M’Caw and J. T. Motyer, “Psalms,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds., (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 468, 468, 468.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.

Copyright ©2011–2023 Iwana Carpenter