Wait ( Joshua 1 V 9 )

 We come to the end of Psalm 27 by considering the last verse 14,which reads,' Wait for the Lord ,be strong,and let your heart take courage wait for the Lord'.Here is a man facing difficulties,as indeed you may be,here is what is required,simple, 'Wait for the Lord', but of course one thing we human beings find difficult, is waiting. Yes  waiting, but it is not just waiting it is waiting in faith. When Israel came out of  Egypt they came to a place were they were being pursued by a  powerful Egyptian army,we read about it  in Exodus 14 .It appeared to them that they had been led into a place of destruction,it looked to them that their fate was sealed.Bur Moses the man of God spoke,'Do not be afraid,yes they were afraid,yet God would not desert them ,Moses continues to speak,' Stand firm and you will see the deliverance  the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be  still'.We must wait,and show a degree of courage,if  we but wait and trust,all will be well'Yes the battle was the Lords. Let us remember we are pilgrims,that will involve times of testing,but in spite of the challenges,  as you wait for the Lords deliverance,you will hear God's voice saying ,'go forward'  'Workman of God, O loose not heart, but learn what God is like,and in  the darkest  battle field,thou shalt know where to strike,' remember,'Thrice blest is he to whom is given,the instict that can tell,that God is on the field,when he is most invisible.  (Words by F.W.Faber)

Mine is thine. ( Isaiah 26 v 3 - 4 )

 We carry on looking at Psalm 27 ,we now consider v 12- 13'  Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I've never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence.Yet I am confident I  will see the Lords goodness,while I am here in the land of the living.' I would like us to  focus  on the last part of that reading ,here is David and he is under great pressure,it would have been so easy to give into despair,and like Jacob of old cry out,'everything is going against me  ', but he didn't instead ,he makes a statement of faith,' Yet I am confident I will see the Lords goodness,while I am here in the land of the living'.Why ? ,because his God had not changed,he had experienced so many providential deliverances in his life. As a young shepherd boy he had overcome a lion and a bear,and as a young lad he had faced a giant ,and slew him.Likewise the Lord had preserved him when King Saul had sought to kill him, and had failed,because God was with him,and as the scripture says, 'if  God is for us who can be against us' ,  (Romans 8 v 31) The sun shall shine again for David,his enemies will be defeated,as God had promised  he would become King of Israel, (1   Samuel 13 v 14 ).  Remember dear child of God you are precious to Him, Gatesby Paget  wrote the following,'So dear, so very dear to God, more dear I cannot be; The love wherewith He loves the Son, such is His love to me.  Why should I ever anxious be,since such a God is mine?, He watches o'er me night and day,and tells me mine is thine.'.

A threefold request. ( Ephesians 6 v 10 - 18 )

We continue to consider Psalm 27, we are going to look at v 11,which reads,' Teach me how to live,O Lord ,Lead me along the right path,for my enemies are waiting for me'. First let us consider his requests,for God to teach him how to live,the AV puts it like this,'Teach me thy way o Lord'.He wanted to live God's way. A popular song goes,'I've done it my way'.no wonder it was popular,because most people are on a road called,'My way'.but when you trust Christ, we hear him speaking to us,and He says very simply,  'Follow Me' . Are you prepared for that?,are you prepared  for what that may mean?.Next he says',  'Lead me along the right path',or a plain path,we live in a world of great confusion,when our Saviour looked at the multitudes,he described them as sheep without a shepherd,in those  days the shepherd walked before the sheep,in other words he led them,. If we are following Jesus, hear this ,it will not be into confusion,he will guide and direct us,and will lead us on a road that is going somewhere to heaven.Lastly we consider,' For my enemies are waiting for me',for every  child of God there are enemies ,one comes to mind, I would call him the enemy within,there is a saying which goes,'you are your own worse enemy', and we are, so often.we let down our guard,and let so many things in,we play with fire forgetting that we can get burnt. and then we have the sins that so easy trip us up ( Hebrews 12 v 1  ),the wandering eye,yes we are, our own worse  enemies.,Here is a little prayer we could pray,'  Lord save me from myself, in Jesus name Amen.'

Never. ( Matthew 28 v 20 )

We move on in Psalm 27 to look at v 10, which reads 'Even if my father and mother abandon me, the  Lord will hold me close'. Earthly parents can fail us and even forsake us,for different reasons,many children in these days have no idea who there father is, Spurgeon  writes ,' Some of the greatest of saints ,have been cast out by their families'. When many Muslims come to Christ their families disown them, for that to happen to anyone  is devastating .David brings to our notice something that is unthinkable,being  abandoned by ones parents, especially at a time of deep trouble..That is the bad news,now the good news, ,he writes ,even if that happened ,the Lord would not forsake him.As an old man David could write ,'Once I was young,and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned'. ( Psalm 37 v 25 ) ,he could write this ,because of God's faithfulness.In  Hebrews 13 v 5- 6, we read,'For God has said,I will never fail you,I will never abandon you.So we can say with confidence. The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear'.Dear child of God remember,God will never forsake you.

I carried you. ( Isaiah 63 v 9 )

We continue looking at Psalm 27 ,so let us consider the last part of v 9,and v 10,in v 9 we read,'Cast me not off, forsake me not,O God of my salvation' ( E S V).He prays the unthinkable that in this, his time of need, he would be left alone, bereft of the very presence of His God. For any believer this is the worse  possible scenario,how could they cope?,the fact is they couldn't,some times for Christians who are suffering great trials ,they must identify with the words of the Psalm,or like Job who cried out ,'Oh, that I knew where I  could find Him'  (  Job 23 v 3 ). There is popular poem I will leave it with  you,It is called, 'Footprints in the sand'.'  'One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes   from my life flashed across the sky. each scene I noticed footprints in the sand,sometimes there were two sets of  footprints,other times there was one only. . This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,when I was suffering anguish , sorrow or defeat. I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, you promised me Lord, that if   I  followed you,you would walk with me always.         But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life,there has been one set of  footprints in the sand.. When I needed you most, have you been there for me.?. The Lord replied,''The years when you have seen only one set of  footprints, my child,is when I carried you''. 

He will not Fail you. ( Psalm 121 )

We considered Psalm 27 v 8,were God invites David to talk to him,so what did he say to God?,v9  we have him feeling very conscious of his faults and failings, he does not come to God on the high ground of perfection,but that of a saved sinner,who needs his Gods help.I heard a so called preacher who said that one should not pray that you are not worthy,one of the greatest hymns ever written was ,'Just as I am',the writer was Charlotte Elliott.It  was at a time of great weakness, she felt so unworthy,so she wrote that wonderful hymn,the first verse starts with these words,'Just as I am without one plea,but that Thy blood was shed for me,and that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,O Lamb of God, I come ' In Revelation 5 v 4,we read,'no one was found worthy'. The fact is, are acceptance with God is depending on Jesus ,righteousness, ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 30 ) .David further declares to God ,'You have always been my helper', God does not get tired of helping us,He does not say,O here they come again,no He does not say that,rather throughout scripture God assures His children of His help.  CP Isaiah 41 v 10/ Psalm 50 v 15, reads ,'Then call on me when you are in trouble,and I will rescue you,and you will give me glory'.I end with a verse from a hymn by John Newton,'His love in times past,forbids me to think.,He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink. Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review,confirms His good pleasure ,to help me quite through'.

It is good to talk. ( Psalm 27 )

Psalm 27 v 8 in the,New Living translation', reads, 'My heart has heard you say, '' Come and talk with Me'',And my heart responds, ''Lord I am coming''. This Psalm starts with  words of real confidence,that the Lord is his light and salvation,so right away we are made aware that he knows God,he is light,Jesus said if we follow Him ,we will not walk in darkness ( John 8 v 12 ).He speaks of God as his salvation ,can you say that you are saved that you have  asked  Jesus for forgiveness?.If we are to have confidence that the Lord will help us,we need to be in a right relationship with Him. He goes on to say that the Lord was his, fortress and protector, ,and no matter what comes against him  he will be confident.this is followed by his desire after God and to be always near him.and will preserve him and he will offer praise and thanksgiving.Then we come to v 8 God speaking to his heart,inviting him to come and  and talk to him,it obvious that he was facing real difficulties, if you are a Christian you will face difficulties, real difficulties. The question is this, what do you do?,the answer ,go and pour your heart out to your Lord, make him your first port of call,hear his voice speaking to your heart,go and talk to God.