¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
²  When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
³  Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.
⁴  One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: 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 meditate in His temple.
⁵  For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.
⁶  And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
⁷  Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.
⁸  When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”
⁹  Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!
¹⁰  For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.
¹¹  Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes.
¹²  Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
¹³  I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
¹⁴  Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

1) Who wrote this Psalm and what was going on in his life that compelled him to cry out to God?
We know that King David wrote this Psalm. He’s the same David that killed the giant, Goliath with a simple sling and stone (1 Samuel 17:37-50). Many theologians believe that he wrote this psalm before he became king during the time when King Saul was seeking to kill him (1 Samuel 19-31); however, in the Jewish tradition, it is believed that he wrote this toward the end of his life, after his own son Absalom sought to take his life and reign in his place.

2) Who are the enemies that he’s talking about in verses 2 and 3?
King David calls his enemies many things in these verses: Evildoers, adversaries, and enemies. He likens them to wild animals in verse two when he says that they come upon him to devour his flesh. In verse three he says that they encamp against him. Back in those days, an army would surround their enemy and cut off all supplies until the enemy was starving to death and would surrender. These enemies could have been King Saul and his army, or they could have been his own son and the men that he had gathered to overthrow David’s reign. Either way, they were a fierce, tactical enemy!!

3) Why did he choose this “one thing” to ask from the Lord in verse 4?
He asked that he might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple. During the time of King David, the temple was an essential place of worship. In fact, it was the only place where people went to worship God because that’s where His presence dwelt, in the Holy of Holies. His glory was like a cloud over the ark of the covenant. To truly worship God, one would have to go to the temple and make sacrifices. This would be the place that a Jew would truly feel the presence of God. So basically, David was longing to feel the presence of God. He was probably hiding out in a cave as he wrote this psalm. It would have been too risky to go to the temple, but he still longs for that closeness and presence of God. He believes that God’s presence will truly bring him peace.

4) What compelled him to wait for the Lord in verse 14?
In verse 14, he is talking himself into waiting on God. He says, “Be strong and let your heart take courage.” We see from verse 13 the compelling force behind this waiting. He believes that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He believes if he waits on God, God WILL come through for him!!

1) Who wrote this Psalm and what was going on in his life that compelled him to cry out to God?
You might not have someone chasing after you to kill you, but what are those circumstances in your life that compel you to cry out to God? David truly believed that God was capable of saving him from anything that came against him. When your relationships are drowning, do you cry out to God? When you lose your job, do you cry out to God? When your health is failing, do you cry out to God? Is He the One you run to when life seems to be falling apart around you? He is your light in the midst of darkness! He is your salvation when the enemy is on the prowl! Let those things drive you into His presence!!

2) Who are the enemies that he’s talking about in verses 2 and 3?
Life is HARD!!! Sometimes it feels like our very own family members are our enemies. It might be a co-worker, or a neighbor, or (God forbid) a fellow church member that you feel like is just out to ruin you, but God’s Word assures us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). I believe that those that we view as enemies are simply tools that our true enemy uses to blind us to the spiritual battle that we are in. If you are lacking peace in any area of your life, you are in a battle…a spiritual battle. Jesus said that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but He came to bring us abundant peace (John 10:10). He says in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world.”  Your true enemy is the devil, and comes to steal your peace. Don’t get blindsided by people. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!!

3) Why did he choose this “one thing” to ask from the Lord in verse 4?
It is interesting to me that David didn’t ask God to remove his enemies. He asked Him for more of His presence. We don’t have to run to church (AKA the temple) today to seek God’s presence. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He resides inside of each believer. All we have to do is cry out to Him like David did and ask for more of Him in our present situation. I have learned in my lifetime that God doesn’t always want to remove those things from my life that I feel like are trying to devour me. He places those situations or people in my life, so that I might run into His arms and rest peacefully, knowing that He is sovereign and powerful and able to save me from anything that the enemy throws against me. He is sufficient for every need!! There is peace in His presence!!

4) What compelled him to wait for the Lord in verse 14?
Ugh!! The waiting game…I believe the reason we despise the waiting is because we honestly don’t trust that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living unless we take control and make things work out according to our agenda. Here’s the problem with that kind of thinking, the situation then becomes an idol in our lives. We are begin playing god, so to speak. I can promise you from personal experience, if you’re seeking peace in a certain situation, the LAST THING you want to do is play god!! These times of waiting on God are times of testing, times of strengthening our faith muscle, times of growing closer to the One Who holds us in the palm of His hand. If we try to control the situation ourselves, out pops a golden calf, and God REALLY doesn’t like golden calves (AKA idols!!) God is faithful! He will come through for you if you wait on Him. He might not do things exactly like you would, but the outcome will be far above your wildest imagination, and the peace you feel…it is indescribable!! Trust Him! Wait on Him! In doing so, you WILL find peace!!

Don’t miss today’s other Journey Study, Armed With Peace
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Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

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