Psalm 27- The Lord is My Light

 Psalm 27- Light

Psalms 27:1 NKJV

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?

There are many good things in psalm 27, but thinking of the relationship of the Old Testament to the New, let us just look at verse 1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation…” There is hardly a more New Testament concept than that the Lord is my light. In John’s gospel, he starts off with creation and shows us how the Lord was “in the beginning” and that He was the Word of creation and that He is the light of men.

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

In John’s description, Jesus is light and life and indeed is the very Word of creation. He is such a powerful light that darkness itself cannot comprehend or overcome it. This is the very basis of salvation. He is such a light that no evil or darkness can in any way overpower or overcome it! So indeed, “Whom shall I fear” and “of whom shall I are afraid?”

Jesus himself testifies that He is the light of the world and HIs followers will walk in the light of life. Again this speaks of light as salvation.

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

And most powerfully, Revelations shows us a picture of the eternal kingdom of heaven where there is no need of any other light, even from the sun or the moon, since the glory of God and the light of the lamb is all the light necessary to illuminate all of heaven!

Revelation 21:23

The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

I love the descriptions in the book of Revelation about heaven. It is a glorious place, filled with glory, praise and wonder. When you fully comprehend the true nature of heaven, you can agree with the psalmist that it will be good to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalms 27:4

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.

The psalmist does not only look to this eternal glory however. He ends the psalm with a prayer that he may see the goodness of the Lord in this life.

Psalms 27:13 NASB

13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the LORD.

I think that many times we (and I mean I) tend to dwell on the darkness all around us and we tend towards despair. This is not what we should do.  Instead, we (that is I) should look to the light and believe that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Sometimes, this requires waiting, but waiting is worthwhile when at the end we see the glorious light and salvation of the Lord. So, be strong and let your heart take courage, for the light shines into the darkness, and there is no darkness that can dispel the light.

Now interesting example of the power of light over darkness is a simple little experiment that you can do yourself. Set up a candle and a bright light in a dark room so that the shadow of the candle appears on the wall. Then light the candle. Is there a shadow of the flame? Why no! Light cannot cast a shadow. Darkness cannot comprehend of overcome the light, even the light of a single candle can overcome the darkness of this blacked out room. How much more will the light of the Lord dispel the darkness in your life if you put all your trust in Him. Take courage and wait for the Lord, for he is our light and our salvation!