Sunday Scripture

 

 It's time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Psalm 27:1-6.  

S= "The LORD is my light and salvation: whom shall I fear?   the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
"When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 
"Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; 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.
"For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.
"And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD."  (Psalm 27:1-6)

O= Psalm 27 is a Psalm of David.  In the Scofield Study Bible, C.I. Scofield hast titled this Psalm "Triumphant faith."

I have a title scribbled in my Bible that the theme of this psalm is "Confidence in God."  And confidence in God is surely what we see David describing and exhibiting here.

He says: "The LORD is my light and my salvation."
THEREFORE,
"Whom shall I fear?"

He says: "The LORD is the strength of my life."
THEREFORE,
"Of whom shall I be afraid?"

 
God deflected the wicked intentions of David's enemies and foes to destroy him.  God caused them to stumble and fall.

David says: Even if a host encamps against me, my heart shall not fear.
                    Even if war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

David says he has desired one thing of the LORD and will seek after that one thing:
* To dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life
-- to behold the beauty of the LORD
-- to inquire in God's temple.

To me this suggests both worship and instruction in the house of the LORD.  I've read that David's "one thing" is essentially the same as Mary of Bethany's "one thing" described in Luke 10:

"But one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  (Luke 10:42)

In the time of trouble, David says God ...

* shall hide me in His pavilion.
* shall hide me in the secret of His tabernacle.
* shall set me up upon a rock.
* shall lift mine head above mine enemies round about me.

All those "shalls"!  David is confident indeed!

Therefore, David says he will offer sacrifices of joy in God's tabernacle:
* he will sing
* he will sing praises unto the LORD.

Cross-references for "light" (v.1) -- "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory.  No good thing will He withhold from them who walk uprightly."  (Psalm 84:11)

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God, thy glory.
"Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."  (Isaiah 60:19-20)

"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me."  (Micah 7:8)

Cross-references for "the LORD is the strength of my life" (v.1) --"He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved ... He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved."  (Psalm 62:2,6) 

"The LORD is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation ... I will praise Thee, for Thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation."  (Psalm 118:14, 21)

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the LORD, even the LORD, is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation."  (Isaiah 12:2)

Cross-reference for "though an host" (v.3) -- "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, who have set themselves against me round about."  (Psalm 3:6)

Cross-references for "dwell in the house of the LORD" (v.4) -- "LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth."  (Psalm 26:8)

"Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple."  (Psalm 65:8)

"And [Anna] was a widow of about fourscore and four years, who departed not from the temple, but serve God with fastings and prayer night and day."  (Luke 2:37)

Cross-references for "hide me" (v.5) -- "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of man; Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."  (Psalm 31:20)

"He who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."  (Psalm 91:1)

A= For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"I long to see God's beauty and crave it." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course fits with verse 4, which declares, "One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; 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."

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "desire". 

 

Our own desire should be to see the beauty of the Lord and to worship and learn of Him.

The question was asked: How can I realign the eyes of my heart to see the Father's gift of everyday elegance?

My response in 2018: It can be hard.  Sometimes I think the only real way to do this is to tear our eyes away from ourselves and our circumstances -- and to stay our minds on God instead.

Answering this same question in 2024:  Purpose to see God in every situation and learn to look at circumstances through Him.

I have had this quote by F.B. Meyer in my quote journal for many years:

"Unbelief sees God through circumstances, as we sometimes see the sun shorn of his rays through smoky air; but faith puts God between itself and circumstances, and looks at them through Him."

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter;  the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 for the words I read, I can take note of Psalm 119 and its amazing structure, along with its variety of terms extolling God's Word.

For the places I go, I would have to say the incredible beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

For the music I hear,  I mentioned the singing of familiar and unfamiliar birds.  There were several in North Carolina whose song I couldn't identify.

For the weather I experience, I noted the gentle summer rain we were experiencing as I worked on this study.

A journaling prompt was this:  Everything God made is beautiful.  Where have I noticed God's beauty in the last 24 hours?

My response in 2018: The beauty of God's Word, especially the poetic imagery of the Psalms; the gorgeous beauty of blue skies; the warmth of sunshine and hot water.

For my response in 2024, I added: In the refreshing scents of lavender and lemon in handmade soap.  Also, here in the North Carolina mountains on vacation, there is so much beauty everywhere we look.

P= "Lord,  I thank and praise You today for the beauty that can be found if we will open our eyes to look.  Thank Yu for the beauty of Your Word which confirms to us that we can count our trials as joy.  I pray that You will help me to offer the sacrifice of joy to You when I undergo trials, and that You will help me to count my blessings and thank You for them in the good times.  I thank You for how You will help me, in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.