Pursuing One Thing
September 15, 2024 Speaker: Josh DeGroote Series: The Psalms
Topic: Jesus Christ Passage: Psalm 27:1–14
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Here is the BIG IDEA of Psalm 27: Fellowship with God is the spring of all confident endurance in trials, courage to overcome fear, joyful worship, a lively hope, peace that surpasses all understanding, and love for God and one another.
It is in fellowship or communion that God gives himself to us in his fullness. This is the one thing David asks and desires from God in Psalm 27 and I think this one thing he seeks after and enjoys helps us to understand how he can speak with such bold conviction and defiant faith in the face of the all out assault on his life.
Psalm 27, written by David shows him to be a man in real trouble. That’s clear. He appears to be a man on the run for his life. Many commentators suggest this was written when David was on the run from King Saul who wanted to murder him. Others suggest this psalm was written while David is on the run from his son Absolom, his son. If you are familiar with that story, Absolom conducts a coup, chasing David the King and his administration out of Jerusalem and David is in the wilderness on the run. Could you imagine that? Either way, David is in trouble, and his life is in peril.
But David does something unique… and this is what we all need to do. He doesn’t begin by complaining but by reminding himself of what is true. He does talk about his trouble, but he does so in the context of who the LORD is. David puts his emphasis on the LORD - who He is, on the LORD’s character, and what the LORD will do. Is this how you face hardships? When all you see are your troubles, afflictions, losses, and pressures… and they are right in front of you… and you are blind to Jesus Christ, you are groping in the dark, and really in the worst way, in the dark. But when we see the LORD in truth and He looms larger than our battles and losses, they don’t just automatically go away, but they do fade into the background and we find fresh strength to face them with courage, joy, hope, and endurance.
Outline: Let’s jump into our text. There are four sections and I am going to place one of them at the end, though it’s in the middle of this psalm. In verses 1-3 we hear David’s confession of confidence in the LORD. In verses 7-12 David confesses his need for help from the LORD. In verses 13-14, David confesses his hope in the LORD. And then in verses 4-6, David confesses the ONE THING he desires and seeks from the LORD.
David’s Confession of Confidence (v. 1-3)
In the first section, we hear David’s confession of confidence in the LORD. This section is full of one statement after another of David’s confident trust in who God is, and because of his confident trust, he will not be afraid. So my prayer in the first instance this morning is not that the Lord would remove your fiery trials, but that you would see the LORD Jesus Christ with the clarity of David (and even more - explain) so that you can respond like him.
David sets the stage in verse 1 with this great statement of who the LORD is and makes it personal. He says “The LORD is my light and my salvation…” Darkness surrounds me. But the LORD is my light. Devastation and destruction and death are dogging me… they are chasing me, but the LORD is my salvation. And because David knows this to be true, he can say, “Whom shall I fear”. Truly, if the LORD is our light and salvation, who is there to fear? If he is not, fears abound… and it would be perfectly reasonable to be afraid. We can only do so much to protect ourselves from harm and loss. Psalm 124, also written by David, says,
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, 3 then they would have swallowed us up alive
David knew that God was for Him… God was His light and salvation. There are all kinds of reasons to be afraid. But David confesses his confidence in God and so he is unafraid. Then David confesses again personally, “The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” A stronghold is a place of defense, a place of defense - like a mighty fortress. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (verse 1). If you don’t have the LORD as your mighty fortress, your stronghold, then you are left bare and vulnerable to forces much stronger than you; forces that seek to work woe against you.
But again, because the LORD is David’s stronghold, he will not be afraid of Saul and his army, Absolom and his evil intentions, or the devil at all. Verses 2-3 make it clear that he knows what the intentions of his enemies are - they want to eat up his flesh. They want him dead. And humanly speaking, they had the capability of carrying out their deeds. But again, the LORD comes into the fore. David says in verses 2-3,
When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh (that’s “off with his head), it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
Are these words pie in the sky? Are these merely words of poetic mumbo jumbo? NO! This is David’s confession of real confidence facing real headwinds of real trouble in His real and present LORD. And these words were written for us. We can know the LORD in the same way. This is David’s confession of confidence. [In verses 7-12, we hear David’s cry for help.]
David’s Cry For Help
It is not as though David just expresses his confidence in the LORD… he’s a human being like you and I, he understands the dire situation he is in. And so he cries to the LORD for help. Verse 7 begins,
Hear, O LORD when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
Of course David knows God hears everything. This is humility… David doesn’t presume that God owes him anything. He cries for help based on God’s graciousness. You do sense urgency though. David says, “O LORD, I need help. Hear my cry!”. Then God addresses David. In verse 8, we hear just a short, two sentence conversation between the LORD and David… and this is significant.
You have said, “seek my face.” Your face O LORD, do I seek.
God tells David what to seek. He says, “Seek my face”. This may seem like an obscure statement. What is it to seek the Lord’s face? Well, to seek his hand or for him to bare his arm is to seek for his power for deliverance. But God says first things first, “seek my face”. To seek the face of God is to seek his presence, to seek him for his own sake, to seek his favor. Matthew Henry says this means to “seek God for himself. To make his favor our chief good.” Now think about that. David is in trouble… it makes sense to pray, “Lord deliver me from Saul! Give me back my throne from my rebellious son! Reunite me with these men who want to kill me!” But God commands David to seek his face. To seek Him (God) and his favor, so that David can face these battles aware of God’s love… [makes all the difference]
Then David keys in on this command to seek the LORD’s face and prays, “hide not your face from me. Don’t turn me away in anger. Don’t cast me away. Don’t forsake me!” To have God’s face turned toward us is to live under the smile of heaven. That great blessing of Numbers 6:
24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
David in his present condition wants to know consciously the blessing and favor of God. The worst thing in the world for a person is to have the face of God turned against them. [RC Sproul] Listen to the inversion of the blessing in Numbers 6:
The LORD curse you and forsake you; the LORD turn his face against you and give you judgment without mercy; may the LORD shun you and remove his peace from you forever.
As horrible as that sounds, remember this is the state of all who are without Christ. If you are here today and have not repented and believed in Jesus Christ, this describes your relationship with God at present. But he offers you the blessing of living under his peace and blessing through Jesus Christ. Repent and believe today!
In verse 10, David comes back to the confidence that God will not forsake him. Though his mother and father forsake him, the LORD will take him in. And after praying for God’s face of favor and blessing, David prays for the practical help he needs. Lead me, teach me, and give me victory over my enemies (v. 11-12). In verses 13-14, we hear…
David’s Confession of Hope (v. 13-14)
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Hope is a word we throw around pretty flippantly. Chicago Bears fans are full of hope this year. This is the year! Of course, we know better. But you understand what I mean. We say with our fingers crossed, “I hope _____________”. Christian hope is not a coin toss, wishing for our desired outcome. It is confident expectation of future good. That’s how David speaks. Listen to what David says,
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
The NASB adds a bit to this verse… and I think it’s helpful. It says, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” This is David expressing an eternal hope. Hope that goes beyond this life. And really, despair is the offspring of having no hope beyond the grave. The land of the living, of which David speaks, is not the land in which we live. Matthew Henry says, “earth is a land of death”. We get that. There is one thing that every person living on the face of the earth (8 billion) has in common. We will all die. Every single one of us. The land of the living… the land of no more death is for those who have the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. David was confident that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living… in heaven… he is confident of eternal life. Are you?
And then in the last verse, David pleads for others to enter into this same hope in the LORD, and take courage. Given David’s trouble, we understand his cry for help. That would seem natural. But what accounts for his total confidence in the LORD and his unconquerable hope? Verses 4-6 is the key.
David’s Confession of Desire: One thing… (v. 4-6)
4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: 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 inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
In verse 4, we hear David’s longing to be near God and live near to God. The words “dwelling, beholding, inquiring” are words describing fellowship. Communion with God. David is not describing his desire for some kind of monastic life… hidden away in the woods where he can do nothing but sit and pray. No. This is David’s secret power… and can be ours too. It’s like a superpower, if you will, that empowers everything else we do. And David says “this is the ONE THING I aim at. Spurgeon said,
Divided aims tend to distraction, weakness, disappointment. The man of one book is eminent, the man of one pursuit is successful. Let all our affections be bound up in one affection…
What if fellowship, communion, friendship with Christ was your one supreme aim that every other aim was rolled up into? And the one pursuit is to dwell in God’s house and “behold the beauty of the LORD”. That sounds like “seek my face”. To behold beauty is to see the face of God. It might sound strange to talk about the beauty of the LORD. But we all know what it is to behold beauty. A beautiful woman (when I look at my wife and my daughters, I behold beauty). A beautiful painting. A beautiful panoramic mountain scene. A beautiful sunset. A beautiful thunderstorm as the sky is lit up by lightning.
What is it to behold the beauty of the LORD? This is so important, because it is a gamechanger. It is to see His glory by faith and to delight in it. Specifically it is to see the glory of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4 describes it this way,
the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers… God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This is talking about the new birth. When someone is born again, it is compared to when God said at the beginning, “Let there be light”... except instead of speaking into the darkened expanse, he spoke it into a darkened heart. And we see. If you have experienced this new birth, you know what this was like. All of a sudden, you were awakened to the glory of Jesus Christ. Often it comes with a corresponding awareness of your own depravity. Your sin, guilt, and shame. But then you also saw Christ as a loving, powerful, gracious, and forgiving Savior!
This verse in 2 Corinthians 4, helps to bring together these two key ideas in Psalm 27. We see God’s beauty or glory in the face of Jesus Christ. And the more we seek the face of Christ, the more we will see Him for who He is and be transformed. Not only that, but the more we see of the glory of Christ, the less of a hold this world has on us… and the less the troubles of the world unsettle us. There is a confidence that rises IN Christ. John Owen said this:
On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world.
Okay, but still how do we see the glory of God in the face of Christ? How does that happen? That’s the enormous question! There were thousands of people in Jerusalem who “saw” Jesus and were unimpressed and executed him on the cross. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is revealed in and through the gospel of Christ crucified and risen from the dead. What David longed for in Psalm 27, has been fulfilled for all who are in Christ.
The gospel teaches us that it is only through Jesus Christ that we can live under the gracious favor of God because he has taken away our sin and given us his righteousness. It is only through Christ that we can say, “This I know… God is for me!” It is only Jesus Christ who can bring us into God’s house as forgiven, loved children forever through His shed blood for us. Only Jesus Christ can reconcile you to a holy God and bring you into happy and peaceful fellowship with God through His work on the cross.
Only Christ can give us victory over the great enemies that can actually take us out - the devil and sin and Christ has overcome them through His resurrection. Only Christ can shelter us from the storm of God’s righteous judgment that is coming upon the whole earth and every other smaller storm you face in this life. It is only Jesus Christ who can bring you into the land of the living.
Make this your one, supreme aim. To gaze upon the glory of Christ… with open bibles, prayer and praise on your lips, the Holy Spirit leading and directing. And let this one pursuit inform, direct, and empower every other good and righteous pursuit.

More in The Psalms
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God Is Near To The BrokenheartedSeptember 8, 2024
The Steadfast Love of GodSeptember 1, 2024
Dwelling In The Shelter of the Most High