Psalms 27:1

The Lord [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?.... The Targum in the king of Spain's Bible explains it, "the Word of the Lord is my light"; and so Ainsworth cites it; that is, Christ the

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1-14 -The deliverance which results from waiting on the Lord.

Psalms 27 THE It is apparent from the body of this Psalm, that David was not yet fully delivered from the trouble which his enemies gave him, both by their slanders and other ways. But whether it belong to that history which is reeorded , as the Jews conceive, whom some others follow, is wholly uncertain, and not necessary for us to know. David declareth that God is his only comfort and confidence in all danger, . His hearty desire to be in the house of God, . The advantage of it, ,6. He prayeth for the light of God’ s face, and his salvation, ; and from experience others to wait upon him, ,14. My light, i.e. my counsellor in all my difficulties, and my comforter and deliverer in all my distresses. The strength of my life, i.e. the supporter and preserver of my life.

Psalms 27:1 « [A Psalm] of David. » The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?Ver. 1. The Lord is my light] That is, my comfort and direction, he that dissolveth all my clouds of terrors within and troubles without. To these all he opposeth God’ s all sufficiency, as making for him, and as being all in all unto him, light, salvation, strength of life, what not? and therehence his full assurance; and such a masculine magnanimity as feareth not the power of men and devils, be they who they will, and do what they can. Animo magno nihil est magnum. When a man can out of this consideration, God is my light (in things of the mind) and my salvation (in things of the body, as Aben Ezra expoundeth it), contemn and reckon all things else as matters of small moment, it shows he hath in truth apprehended God; and this is true holy magnanimity. The Lord is the strength of my life,] He that keeps life and soul together, saith Aben Ezra, as the spirits do soul and body; and therefore, Quis potest me interimere, saith Kimchi, who can do me to death? Of whom shall I be afraid] Faith fortifieth the heart against distrustful fears, which it quelleth and killeth. In a fright it runneth to the heart, as the blood doth, and relieveth it, setting it εξωβελωνκαιφοβου, out of the gunshot of creature annoyances. Expertus loquor; for

(1) The Lord is my light.—This noble thought appears nowhere else so grandly, though we may compare Isaiah 60:1. The Latin of the Vulgate, “Dominus illuminatio mea,” is the motto of the University of Oxford, and expands in a new but true direction the thought of the ancient bard. To him, Jehovah was the guiding and cheering beacon-fire, proclaiming his victory and pointing him the happy homeward way. From this to the belief in God as the source both of moral and intellectual light, is a long but glorious stage, along which the world has been guided by such words as Isaiah 60:1, still more by the recognition of the incarnate Son as the Light of men (John 1:5; John 3:19; John 12:46, &c). Strength.—Better, defence or bulwark; Heb., maôz, rendered “rock,” Judges 6:26 (margin, strong place); used in Isaiah 17:9 of fortified cities; as here, Psalms 37:39; Psalms 43:2; LXX., “shields;” Vulg., “protector.”

PSALM XXVII The righteous man's confidence in God, 1-3; his ardent desire to have the spiritual privilege of worshipping God in his temple, because of the spiritual blessings which he expects to enjoy there, 4-6; his prayer to God for continual light and salvation, 7-9; has confidence that, though even has own parents might forsake him, yet God would not, 10. Therefore he begs to be taught the right way to be delivered from all his enemies, and to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, 11-13; he exhorts others to trust in God; to be of good courage; and to expect strength for their hearts, 14. NOTES ON PSALM XXVII In the Hebrew and Chaldee this Psalm has no other title than simply לדוד ledavid: To or For David. In the Syriac: "For David; on account of an infirmity which fell upon him." In the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, and AEthiopic, it has this title: "A Psalm of David, before he was anointed." The Anglo-Saxon omits all the titles. For this title there is no authority in fact. However, it may be just necessary to state that David appears to have received the royal unction three times: 1. In Bethlehem from the hand of Samuel, in the house of his father Jesse; 1 Samuel 16:13. 2. At Hebron after the death of Saul, by the men of Judah; 2 Samuel 2:4. 3. By the elders of Israel, at Hebron, after the death of Ishbosheth, when he was acknowledged king over all the tribes; 2 Samuel 5:3. At which of these anointings the Psalm was written, or whether before any of them, we know not; nor is the question to be decided. Some commentators say that it is a Psalm belonging to the captivity, and upon that system it may be well interpreted. And lastly, it has been contended that it was written by David after he had been in danger of losing his life by the hand of a gigantic Philistine, and must have perished had he not been succoured by Abishai; see the account 2 Samuel 21:17; and was counselled by his subjects not to go out to battle any more, lest he should extinguish the light of Israel. To these advisers he is supposed to make the following reply: - Verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation] This light can never be extinguished by man; the Lord is my salvation, my safeguard, my shield, and my defence; of whom then should I be afraid?

1–3. With Jehovah on his side, he knows no fear. This faith, the constant theme of prophet and psalmist, finds its N.T. extension in Romans 8:31.

The Lord is my light - He is to me the source of light. That is, He guides and leads me. Darkness is the emblem of distress, trouble, perplexity, and sorrow; light is the emblem of the opposite of these.

1. Light… salvation… strength— “The triple shield against sundry terrors, as sufficient to ward them off.”—Calvin.