Psalms 27

Psalms 27:1

Psalm 27: The Arrest and Trial of JesusPsalm 27 is beautiful in any setting, but it takes on a special attraction if we think of it as expressing our Lord’s innermost thoughts during those fateful hours immediately preceding Calvary. 27:1 For example, when the chief priests, the captains of the temple and the elders came to the Garden of Gethsemane to capture Christ, He said to them, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luk_22:53). But at this very moment He may have been consoling Himself with the thought: 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?God was His light as the darkness settled in. God was His salvation, that is, His Deliverer from earthly enemies. God was the stronghold of His life, a refuge in the time of storm. With such protection, He need not be afraid of anyone! 27:2 When men came to arrest the Lord Jesus, He asked them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” As soon as He said “I am He,” they recoiled and fell to the ground (Joh_18:6). At that moment Christ could well have been meditating on these words: When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.They pounced on Him like birds of prey, but the glory of His deity as the Great I AM shone through His garb of humanity, and His captors were knocked to the ground. 27:3 John tells us that the gang who came to arrest Jesus in the Garden consisted of a detachment of troops, several officers from the chief priests, and numerous Pharisees. They came with lanterns, torches, and weapons (Joh_18:3). As He watched them approaching, He could say with perfect composure: Though an army should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.27:4 Poor Peter tried to defend his Master by cutting off the ear of the high priest’s slave. But Jesus replied to Peter, “Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” His one desire was to dwell with God, and since the pathway to glory led first to the cross, He was prepared to endure its suffering and shame. His language was: One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.There is something indomitable about “one-thing” people. They know what they want and are determined to get it. Nothing can stand in their way. 27:5 Finally the band of soldiers with their captain and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and tied Him up (Joh_18:12). To the onlookers it must have seemed like a lost cause for the Lord Jesus. But at this very moment He may well have been saying: For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me, He shall set me high upon a rock.His heart was resting on the protection which God has promised to all those who love Him. 27:6 The soldiers took Christ to Caiaphas, the High Priest (Mat_26:57). It was Caiaphas who had previously given counsel to the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die for the people (Joh_18:14). Though Christ’s enemies planned to have Him lifted up on a cross between heaven and earth, our Lord Himself was anticipating another kind of lifting up: And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.Strange optimism, this, for a Man on trial for His life and knowing that the outcome would be His execution! Yet even now He was delighting Himself with anticipations of glory. Did He not say to Caiaphas, “Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mat_26:64)? 27:7, 8 At this, the High Priest exploded with charges of blasphemy. “What do you think?” he demanded of his onlookers. “He is deserving of death,” was their reply. Here I can picture the Savior praying silently: Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” 27:9 By this time the disciples had all forsaken Him and fled (Mat_26:56). But God had been His help in the past, and now He pleads that God would not forsake Him at this crucial moment either. Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.27:10 As far as we know, David’s parents never forsook him, and neither did our Lord’s. J. N. Darby probably translates the verse more accurately as follows: For had my father and my mother forsaken me, then had Jehovah taken me up. 27:11, 12 At Christ’s religious trial the chief priests and the whole council had solicited false testimony against Jesus in a determined effort to put Him to death. But they couldn’t seem to concoct anything damaging until two witnesses appeared with the accusation, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days’” (Mat_26:59-61). What Jesus had actually said (referring to the temple of His body) was, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Joh_2:19, Joh_2:21). But since the whole trial was a sham anyway, the testimony was accepted. Now we can hear the Savior praying: Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.27:13 Next we hear the frenzied mob outside Pilate’s judgment hall screaming, “Let Him be crucified” (Mat_27:22-23). The blessed Lord Jesus heard the shouts too, and He knew what they meant. Yet He could have truly said at this very time: I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.27:14 But how about the last verse of the Psalm? How does it fit into our interpretation? Well, I like to think that this verse is His parting word to each of usa little personal advice from heaven based on the Lord’s own experiences in trusting His Father. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!