Lanse Evangelical Free Church
January 4, 2026 :: Psalm 27:1-14
What are you asking the Lord for in 2026?
What are you praying for as we set out into a new year? What do you want?
Many of us start the year by making some goals. We’re going to lose the weight we put on during Christmas, and we’re going to get “shredded.” We’re going to read our Bibles from cover to cover. We’re going to get our finances under control. We’re going to pray more.
These are all good things to aim at.
I’m asking, “When you are praying more, what are you going to pray for?”
What are you asking the Lord for in 2026?
As I thought about where to start our study of the Bible this first Sunday of the year, I quickly settled on Psalm 27, one of the psalms by King David.
It’s a beautiful psalm. One of the boldest and brightest in whole Psalter. And it starts with one of the most exuberant and positive expressions of confidence in the Lord in the whole Bible. Verse one is one that every single Christian should have committed to memory and stored up in our hearts.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear?The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?”
What a great declaration to begin a new year!
But the main reason I settled on Psalm 27 for us today is that King David also has one big prayer request. He’s got one main thing that He is praying for with his whole heart. He sings it in verse 4, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek.”
If you want to know David’s heart, it’s right here.
And I think that the one thing that David wants should be the one thing that we want, too, in 2026.
The one thing that we pray for in 2026. The one thing we seek. What is that? We will see....but let’s start where David starts his song. Psalm 27, verses 1 through 3.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident” (vv.1-3).
Doesn’t that sound great?!
Psalm 27 is a psalm of:
#1. GLAD-HEARTED CONFIDENCE.
David is scared of no thing. At the start of his song, David is not afraid of anything that is coming at him in life.
That doesn’t mean he won’t have trouble. He can foresee lots of trouble in his future. David had enemies left, right, and center. He was constantly under attack, nearly his whole life. And not just from other nations. He was attacked by members of his own family. His father-in-law. His son! David looked out on his future and can imagine evil men coming at him like a pack of wolves to eat up flesh. He can imagine war coming at him with enemies on every side.
But he is not scared in the slightest. “My heart will not fear.” He sings! Because he expects to win. He expects his enemies to stumble and fall. They might rise like Haman did (boo/hiss!), but they are going to fall like Haman did, too. "It doesn’t matter what they throw against me!" (V.3) “...even then will I be confident.”
Is that how you are going into 2026? Some of you are. You are busting into the new year and saying, “Do your worst 2026! My heart will not fear!”
I want to be like that. I want to feel that glad-hearted confidence and sing it out.
What was David’s secret? He didn’t focus on his enemies. He focused on the LORD. Right? David doesn’t say, “I’m not afraid of my enemies. I’m strong than them. I’m going to be tough this year. I’m going to be unbeatable.”
No. What does he say? “The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?” David is confident, not in Himself, but in the LORD, Yahweh.
He says that LORD is his light. What a beautiful declaration. That’s right up there with the, “LORD is my shepherd,” isn’t it?
Notice that the LORD doesn’t just provide light to David. He doesn’t just send light to David. He IS David’s light! Personally. And that means so much. Light stands for everything that is good. Light stands for everything that is positive. Warmth, guidance, blessing, holiness, wonder, glory. The LORD is all of that for David and so much more.
I’ve been walking in the dark this winter. I get up before the sun does and head out in the snow and ice to get my steps in. And it’s good for me even in the dark.
But a few days last month, especially because of the holiday, I got to sleep in a little bit, and when I was coming back from my walk, the sun was coming up.
And it was on my back and on the trees of Lanse, and it just lifted my heart to see the light. One day, I turned around and took this picture (12/15/25).
“The LORD is my light!”
“And my salvation.” Again, the LORD doesn’t just send salvation to David. He is his salvation.
The light dispels the darkness. The light saves the king from the danger.
Then David asks a question, “Whom shall I fear?” What’s the answer to that question? ... Nobody!
And then he has another metaphor for the Yahweh. “The LORD is the stronghold of my life...” What does that mean? It means the LORD is his protection. The LORD is the place that David goes to feel safe. A mighty fortress is David’s God. He runs to the LORD and is safe.
Question. If this is true, “of whom shall I be afraid?” Answer? Nobody.
In other words, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” No one. Lots of people can be against us, but none of them will prevail.
Now, David felt that way for good reason. He was the anointed king of Israel. And he had been promised success against his earthly foes. He had been promised by God in 2 Samuel 7 that his kingdom would prosper and he would have rest from all his enemies.
The LORD would be his light, salvation, and stronghold. And David, as he trusted and obeyed the LORD would just win, and win, and win and win.
Does this mean that Christians today will never lose a battle? That all we’re going to do in 2026 is win, win, win, win, win?
No...and yes. Because the LORD has promised that, ultimately, we will never lose to our true enemies.
Our enemies are not quite like David’s. They are not flesh and blood. They are more spiritual than that. Darker and more sinister but just as defeated.
The Apostle Paul said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? .... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).
Because He is our light and our salvation and the stronghold of our life! Whom shall we fear?
I want to sing like this. But it’s not always easy.
Sometimes I have to sing verse 1 like this, “The LORD is my light and mys salvation (Don’t forget, O my soul!). The LORD is the stronghold of my life (even though it doesn’t feel like it right now). Help me, Lord, to not be afraid.”
The key is to focus on the LORD and not on our enemies. And that is the number one thing that David prays for in Psalm 27. That he would focus on the LORD like no other. Look at verse 4.
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
Psalm 27 is a song of glad-hearted confidence and also:
#2. SINGLE-HEARTED DEVOTION.
One thing! “One thing I ask of the LORD. This is what I seek.”
Now, David asks lots of things. He is constantly praying for things. He will pray for more than one thing in this song about praying for one thing.
But he means that that there is one central thing that all the other things orbit. He means that this one thing is more important than all the other things. He means that all those other things come from this one thing. He means that there is ultimately just one thing. And that is to truly know God.
He puts it in terms that his fellow Old Testament Israelites would understand.
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
Now, he doesn’t mean that literally. David was never going to move into the tabernacle or (after his son built it) into the temple. And he doesn’t expect to actually see God face to face in there. He knows what the LORD told Moses, “...you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).
But David does want to be with the LORD. He wants to know the LORD. He wants to “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him...” He wants to be close to God. He wants to know what He is like. He wants to ponder God’s glory. He wants to think about how God is His light and salvation and stronghold. And so much more!
And David doesn’t just want to do it a little bit and be done. He wants to linger. He wants to gaze, focus, ponder, and never stop!
“...all the days of my life” Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like Psalm 23 to me. “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6).
And of course, we know that that’s what heaven will be like! Like we learned about last week.
David’s one thing was that he wanted to know God. And I think that should be our “one thing” in 2026, too.
David wanted to keep His focus on the Lord. And that’s where he got his confidence. You see that in verse 5?
“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD” (vv.5-6).
David expects to be rescued and to win not because of his superior wisdom or fighting skills, but because he belongs to the LORD.
David will be safe. Do you hear all the words that express his feelings of safety and security? He uses like lots of different words for a home. “Dwelling, shelter, tabernacle.” David expects to run home safe to the LORD. He is that “stronghold.” And if the LORD is your stronghold, you can’t lose!
David expects to worship with shouts of joy and sing songs like “Amazing Grace.”
“When we’ve been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We’ve not less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.”
-John Newton
And then the song...changes. All of sudden there’s a different kind of vibe to this song, a different mood. David has been so positive and confident and expectant, and then all of sudden, he’s crying out for mercy and help. Look at verse 7.
“Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.”
That sounds kind of different. I don’t know if something has changed in his circumstances? Or maybe in his heart. In his feelings. I know that I’ve gone from highs to lows, sometimes in a very short amount of time.
David does it while singing the same song. But, notice, his focus doesn’t change. He’s still focused on the LORD. He’s crying out to the LORD. And he has the same “one thing” that he’s aiming at, the same one thing that He’s seeking–the LORD’s face. Verse 8.
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
Now, the Hebrew there is kind of difficult to translate. Some of your versions might have the LORD saying to David and others, “Seek my face.” That might be right. (The word for “seek” there is plural.) But either way, David answers back either to his heart or to the Lord’s call, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
"I will make You my top priority. I will make knowing You my top priority. You are my one thing."
Have you said this to God yet this year? Have you told the Lord that you are going to seek His face?
1 Chronicles 16:11, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
2 Chronicles 7:14, “...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Psalm 105, verse 3. “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
Make it your overriding desire to know God. There is no greater thing.
Psalm 27 makes me think about Philippians chapter 3.
Where the Apostle Paul talks about how there is no greater thing than knowing our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul writes, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ [to seek His face!]–yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8-14).
One thing: Seek His face in single-hearted devotion.
The thing that scares King David the most is not losing a battle, it’s losing sight of the face of Yahweh. Look at verse 9.
“Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.”
He’s pleading with God to not leave him alone. That’s the worst thing that could ever happen. And he doesn’t think it will. He knows that God has saved in him the past, and he believes that he will receive in the future. He calls God, “my Savior,” which is call back to verse, “my salvation.” And then he says (v.10)...
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.”
Now, I don’t think that means that his parents had abandoned him. I think it’s just theoretical. It could mean that by then they had died and left him, but the LORD never would. Either way, even if David lost the loving presence of his parents, he knows that, by God’s grace, he will never lose the LORD’s face.
So he will ever seek the LORD’s face.
Do you feel the confidence still thrumming through this part of the song? David knows he’s a sinner. And he knows that he can lose the blessing of the Lord by taking his eyes off Him. He’s done that before. But he also knows that God is full of amazing grace for sinners such as he is.
And he wants to know God more and more. “Your face, LORD, I will seek!” Look at verse 11.
“Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence” (vv.11-12).
King David asks the LORD to give him direction. “Teach me your way...lead me in a straight path.” That’s another great thing for us to pray for in 2026. That the LORD would give us guidance. But David doesn’t just ask for direction. He asks to be shown, “the LORD’s way.”
He wants to do things God’s way. He wants to know God’s will. Part of seeking God’s face is seeking God’s will. And we learn that by learning God’s Word.
Seeking the Lord’s face will change the direction of your life. Some people want to become Christians as long as it doesn’t change anything in their lives. As long as it doesn’t affect their relationships, their money, their habits, what they do with their time. “Show me your face, Lord, but don’t readjust my priorities.” That doesn’t work.
What changes do you know the Lord is calling you to make this year so that you are truly seeking after Him?
Do you dare to pray verse 11? “Teach me your way, O LORD?”
David knows that the LORD’s way is the only way out of his problems. He’s got enemies rising up left and right, “breathing out violence.” But he knows if the Lord makes his path straight, then he will slide right by them.
“Lead me in a straight path.” That’s basically the same words in Hebrew as Proverbs 3:6. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
And then, in verse 13, David’s confidence shines through again. Verse 13.
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (vv.13-14).
Psalm 27 is a song of glad-hearted confidence, single-hearted devotion, and whole-hearted assurance.
#2. WHOLE-HEARTED ASSURANCE.
David sounds quieter to me here at the end of his song that he was at the beginning. He’s not so declarative and boisterous. But he’s still believing. “I am still confident of this. I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”
Now, for David that probably meant rescue from his enemies and winning at warfare. He won’t die but will see the kingdom promises of God be fulfilled in David’s day. But we know that they were only partially fulfilled in David’s day. We know that there was still a Son of David that needed to come and be born in the City of David to bring all of those promises, all of that goodness to the fullest fulfillment forever and ever.
So we can pray, “We are still confident of this: We will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the ever-living.” For all who belong to Jesus Christ. I hope that’s all of us here today.
King David ends his song with an exhortation to wait. I’m not sure if he’s saying verse 14 to other people like you and me who are listening to his song. Or if he’s saying it to his own heart. Might be both.
“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
He will come through.
Remind yourself of this as you walk into 2026. The LORD will come through. Put your hope in Him.
He is your light.
He is your salvation.
He is the stronghold of your life.
Of whom should you be afraid? No one.
Tell your heart “Seek His face!”
And wait for the LORD to appear.
“[B]e strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
Make that your one thing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment