Explanations From 'The Grapes Of Wrath'

Psalm 27

1 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? 2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. 4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell 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. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround
They simply tell us that we have no reason to fear anything on this Earth because God will keep us safe. Verses 1-3 give us confidence in God. With Him on our side, no one can touch us. Verses 4-6 tell us that we should yearn to live in God’s presence because when something bad happens he will be there to protect us. The second eight verses are an immediate application of the first six. In his time of need, the author calls on God to do everything he knows God can, and to not leave him in his time of peril. This applies to us today in two ways. First, it shows us how to pray to God when we need to call on him for help. Second, it encourages us. In verse 10, the author states that God’s love and support is longer-lasting than that of parents. A certain amount of trouble might force a mother and father to turn away from their child, but it only makes God chase after them more (Mays). If there was any question as to what Psalm 27 is about, however, it is put to rest with verse 14. It is a short summary of the entire psalm, and is what the psalmist intended we would receive from it. He wanted us to know that all we must do is stand our ground and wait on the
I love the, “If God is with me than whom shall I fear” ideals that the first half of the psalm features. I also find it interesting how the psalmist describes everlasting life as an ideal reward despite the fact that the concept of everlasting life (derived from John 3:16) has not been written about yet. The way that Psalm 27, in the Old Testament, connects to John 3:16, in the New Testament, helps strengthen my faith in the “realness” of the Bible and gets me excited about it. In addition to this, in the second half of the psalm, there is a perfect example of how to pray to God if one is ever caught up in a similar situation. I occasionally struggle with finding the right words to say to God and verses 7-12 give an outline of how to speak to God. Lastly, the final two verses are extremely encouraging for me because I interpret them as being written to all believers. The author is relating back to me and in a way is saying, “I get what you go through, but trust me, just wait on the Lord. He had your back. Plus, there is a greater reward for all of you suffering.” This is a reassuring thing to hear and makes me feel understood and supported. All in all, Psalm 27 is about one thing: trusting in God and having no fear of the people and things found on