PSALM 27
This Psalm is the word of Christ as in the tried Remnant of the latter day, as identifying Himself with their feelings, founded on His expressed experience of the Lord’s faithfulness when He stood alone.
Observe, the time of trouble is the time of God’s deliverance; compare Psalm 32. Mercy acted on is the foundation of fuller prayer. It is needless to observe the moral principle which gives confidence.
Here the Lord’s pavilion, from all that surrounds His life outwardly here, is specially in His mind.
Christ here takes up the question, in their conflict, consequent upon the intercession and integrity uniting itself to them, so that, with His foot in an even place in the congregations, He should bless the Lord. The result is plain — His enemies and foes stumbled and fell. “Jehovah is my light and my salvation” is its thesis; “enemies” and “foes” are the words. Love of the temple for delight in His beauty, and enquiry, makes a pavilion in trouble; and meeting enemies is only to lift His head above them. The character, in such a place, is “Hear when I cry” — next is the answer of Jehovah, I conceive, “My heart said unto thee” (Messiah) “seek ye” (His people) “My face”. Then the answer of Messiah for them, or on their behalf, as their given representative of Jehovah; if He said to Him “Seek ye” — wait on Jehovah is the result from Messiah to the body. Such is the position of Israel in Him.
— 1. I-ra (shall I fear) and pa-khad (he feared) are nearly the same, but it seems to me that pa-khad is more “terror”, even if used of Jehovah; ya-re (he feared) more “fear” in a godly sense, as in Proverbs 1:7. Still, as in verse 3 here, it means simply “fear”.
— 8. Query, is amar libbi (my heart said) something like amar b’libbo (he said in his heart) and lil’vavam (in their hearts) employed in the sense of “as to”, “about”? So that the sense would be “I recalled” or “thought upon”, “in my heart that thou saidst — seek ye my face”.
— 12. “Enemies”. Oppressing enemies within are worse than without — not open; nor is integrity of avail here in the same way.