NORTHERN STYLE NEWSWATCH No. 28
CREDO
` He will hide me in His Pavillion '
In the unsettled period of time we now find ourselves moving into there would seem to be
a clear warning of the Holy Spirit that we need to be very sure of our position in Christ Jesus
so that `what remains cannot be shaken'. At such times many find a new strength in the
Psalms, and so we too will turn to Psalm 27.
As most disciples are aware the Psalms are separated into five Books which find their
corresponding counterpart in the first five Books of Torah (or the Pentateuch), which leads
us to the understanding that the principal message in the Books of the Law are expressed in
detail in the corresponding Book of Psalms. Indeed Paul says in his Epistle to the Galatians
that `the Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ', and in the Psalms the Law (which
as Paul says in an earlier Epistle is holy and righteous) reveals the intimacy of the desires
of David's Greater Son, the Lord Jesus, to do His Father's will in walking in obedience to
outwork His holy and righteous salvation for all who would trust Him. This understanding
of the Psalms removes the selective use of certain verses of various Psalms which so often
gives a brief emotional relief but little ongoing spiritual deliverance.
Psalm 27 is placed in the First Book of Psalms, and again we need to be reminded that in
the original manuscript there was no numbering of the Psalms such as we find in our Bibles
today. The narrative was separated by super and sub-scriptions which were part of the
original work and which give an indication of a change in emphasis in direction of thought.
Sadly with our modern use of the Psalms these insertions are often ignored in our desire to
find a verse to give relief to our fears and anxieties, but in so doing we lose precious insight
that lies within the words that follow on. As Psalm 27 is within the First Book of Psalms
its primary message in what unfolds in the narrative is something that has its beginnings, its
Genesis, in God's will and purpose and is therefore fixed and eternal - it cannot be shaken
by any natural or spiritual event! The opening words show that it is (a Psalm) of David,
prophetically pointing forward to David's Greater Son, and is in response to earlier events
in David's life (seen in Psalm 18) where David was saved from the soldiers and the wrath
of King Saul who was seeking his life.
Psalm 27 could well be given the title `Confidence' for it is that sense which continually
bursts through the narrative. As we have said many times previously, we so often use words
without giving any real thought to the depth of meaning that lies within the word. To have
confidence in someone or something must mean that a real fear exists which makes us look
for a rock in which we can have confidence . . something that is unchangeable and
unshakeable no matter what bursts out all around. As David faced the wrath of Saul, so
David's Greater Son Jesus faced continual threats from the Rulers of Israel and from the dark
spiritual powers driving them on. David and, later, Jesus, had to have total confidence in
the midst of great and constant danger that what they had embarked on had been established
and anointed by God from the beginning, and the outcome was never in doubt. They had
total confidence in an unchanging God! The opening verses reveal this:
"The LORD is my light and my salvation -
whom shall I fear? "
Once again we must turn to words, and in this case to titles: The title `LORD' which opens
the Psalm is written in order to convey the nature of the One in whom David is confident.
It is the covenanted name of the God of the nation of Israel, the LORD, or as it is known in
Hebrew `Yahweh' - the One who has spoken and covenanted by Himself to outwork His
purposes. Nothing can stop the ultimate end intended by God! This LORD is David's light,
which means far more than just a metaphorical expression. The light to which David alludes
is the effect that comes from the LORD's Covenant with His anointed one which leads to
ultimate salvation, and as it is a prophetic word it is not only for David, but through the
salvation won by Jesus is for all who follow on in that same confidence:
" The LORD is the strength of my life -
of whom shall I be afraid? "
This double use of the wording reveals the cetainty of David's confidence even though `evil
men advance against me to devour my flesh . . . they will stumble and fall'.
David's confidence is firm because he believes in the call of God upon his life, called and
anointed by God . . . `in the beginning God said, and it was'. David, pointing forward to
Jesus, knew and trusted completely of a Genesis announced by God, and those who are in
Christ Jesus and called for His purposes can have that same confidence, for the covenanted
name of the LORD is their certainty! As David continues in that confidence so his
understanding grows with it:
" Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war breaks out against me,
even then will I be confident. "
David had need of that Confidence . . and following on Jesus too had need of that
Confidence . . and we who are in Christ Jesus and called into our own anointed work for the
LORD also have need of that Confidence, and once certain of it (because the Law has led
us to Christ, Who is our Confidence) we too can turn from looking at our `enemies' to the
LORD as `His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared
in advance for us to do'. The result of that confidence now bursts out in the following
verses:
" One thing I ask 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. "
The NIV translation goes on to say that God will keep David safe in His dwelling, but the
KJV is nearer to the original understanding when it says that `He will hide me in His
Pavillion. The pavillions of the East were the private domain of powerful kings or rulers.
In the midst of the lands of the king's realm was a secret place, a pavillion, in which no
stranger could enter on pain of death, and inviolate in this privacy and safety those `hidden
within' were under the total protection and provision of the king! David knew that because
of his anointing he was hidden in the LORD's Pavillion and `set high upon a rock':
" Then my head will be exhalted
above the enemies who surround me. "
Even though David's thoughts might occasionally slip from that high place he knew that his
call and anointing were safe, hidden in the LORD's Pavillion:
" Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me. "
Those closest to him, those who had given him succour and strength in his early days when
he was a helpless child, could not provide that confidence which David knew lay in Yahweh
alone - the LORD of Israel - and he concludes this Psalm with that sure and certain
awareness as to where his LORD had led him:
" I had fainted unless I had believed
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living. "
David's concluding verse has that full confidence expressed for him . . for his Greater Son
who followed on . . and now for all who are called and secure in Christ Jesus:
" Wait for the LORD;
be strong, He will strengthen you
wait, I say, on the LORD. "
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