A CONTEMPLATIVE’S PSALM
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Opening Prayer
On this day set apart, Father, I come before you with gratitude and love. I come to worship you for showing me who you are and making me your child.
Read PSALM 27
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm
Psalm 27
1 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?
2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.
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, God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Reflect
Hopefully, you can join others today for worship or connect online. Make David’s prayer your own as you come before God to delight yourself in him. Give him your full attention.We don’t usually think of David as a contemplative, yet this warrior had a poet’s heart, as we see in this psalm, and was a great lover of God. It seems to come from a more settled period in his life, yet the memory of being besieged and under threat is still with him (vv. 2, 3).
Contemplation has been described as the act of loving attention, the gaze of the soul upon God. Essentially, it is about knowing we are loved by God and loving him in return. The spiritual hunger in David’s soul is expressed in this longing for intimacy with God, to know him more deeply and to be fully known in return.
The busy and noisy world in which we live is a constant threat to a deeper life in God, but we must establish this place of quiet rest if we are to be fruitful and effective in our service. It is as we abide in the vine that we can bear much fruit (John 15:5). We must find ways to incorporate times of stillness and silence into our lives so we can grow closer to God.
Apply
Meditate on verse 8: ‘My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.’
Closing prayer
Lord God, I ask that you give me a greater hunger for you. Help me to grow in my understanding of who you are in ways that only increase my desire for you.
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