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Psalm 27

The Stronghold of My Life

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By David.

Safe in God’s Stronghold

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 evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.

Happy in God’s Temple

One thing I ask from the Lord. This is what I seek:
that I live 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.[a]
Yes, he will hide me in his shelter on the day of trouble.
He will hide me in his tent.
He will set me high on a rock.
Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Confident in Prayer

Hear me, O Lord. With my voice I call.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
When you say, “Seek my face,” my heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me.
10 If my father and my mother abandoned me,
    the Lord would take me in.

Walking in God’s Path

11 Lord, teach me your way,
and lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not give me up to the desire of my foes,
because false witnesses rise up against me,
and so do those who breathe out violence.

At Home in God’s Land

13 Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living—[b]
14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart,
and wait for the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 27:4 The Hebrew word hekal, usually translated temple, means big house. It can refer to a palace or a temple. It can apply to the tent sanctuaries built by Moses and David and to the temple building constructed by Solomon.
  2. Psalm 27:13 As it stands, the Hebrew text is an incomplete sentence which calls for a conclusion such as “I would have lost hope.” As the text stands, the construction breaks off and jumps to a positive affirmation. Some Hebrew manuscripts omit the initial word unless and have a positive statement: I am confident that I will . . .

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John was put in prison, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 He did this to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    along the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,
    and on those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death a light has dawned.[a]

17 From that time, Jesus began to preach: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”

“Come, Follow Me”

18 As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

20 They immediately left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

23 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

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