Psalm 26 (27)
Of David; before he was anointed.

The Lord is my light and my savior;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defender of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
When the wicked drew bear against me to eat up my flesh,
Those who afflict me and are my enemies, they weakened and fell. Though an army should array itself against me, my heart shall not be afraid;
Though war should rise up against me,
In this I shall hope.
One thing I ask from the Lord; this I
Will seek,
That I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life,
And behold the delights of the Lord,
And visit his temple.
For He hid me in His tabernacle in the
Day of my troubles;
He sheltered me in the secret place of His tabernacle;
He set me high upon a rock.
And now behold, He has lifted up my head above my enemies;
I went around and offered in His
Tabernacle a sacrifice of joy;
I will sing to the Lord, and praise Him with the harp.
O Lord, hear my voice, wherein I cry;
Have mercy on me and hear me.
My heart speaks to You; my face seeks You;
Your face, O Lord, I will seek.
Do not turn away Your face from me;
Do not turn away from Your servant in wrath;
Be my helper; do not utterly cast me away,
Nor forsake me, O God my savior.
For my father and my mother forsook
Me,
But the Lord laid hold of me.
Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of Your
Law;
Set me on a straight path because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the souls of those
Who afflict me,
For unjust witnesses rise up against
Me;
And injustice lies to itself.
I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living,
Wait on the Lord;
Be courageous, and strengthen your
Heart,
And wait on the Lord.

Commentary

Psalm 26 is a prophecy concerning baptism, which is a declaration of war against the devil and his angels. This war is declared by the church in the prayers at the reception of catechumens.
In this psalm, these fallen angels are called the wicked, my enemies, an army, and unjust witnesses. And in this war, St. Paul describes them as principalities, Powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore, in baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ becomes my light, my savior, and my defender in relation to this war. And with the Lord’s help, these enemies are overcome in battle. So as a result, the fruit borne in the church is freedom from the fear of death, a strong relationship with the Lord, and an earnest expectation for the land of the living.

Comments

I woke up at 5:30am by some sort of internal alarm, which doesn’t usually happen for me on a Friday morning, so I thought, back to the psalms I go.

It’s felt like two weeks in one. I have definitely felt like I wanted to be there for my family and friends, but it is constantly hard to know how much to give to one and how much to the other. Family is most important, but there are definitely competing priorities. I love the part of the psalm that says “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be courageous, and strengthen your heart,
And wait on the Lord.”
Calms my heart. Stay the course. Be courageous. Wait on God. God, please help me do that.