Read Psalm 27:1-6. 1The 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? 2When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. 4One 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. 5For 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. 6And 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.
What is the cure for our fear? For David the cure for fear was not found in the absence of trouble, but in the presence of God – the one thing David desired more than anything else.
Psalm 27 may reflect the Tabernacle of David. The Tabernacle of Moses was built in the wilderness to house the presence of God. But when David brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem he didn’t return it to the Tabernacle of Moses. Instead the Bible says that David pitched a tent at his home and placed the Ark in that much smaller but much closer tabernacle where he could dwell all the days of his life. David then employed round the clock singers and musicians from among the Levites to sing and make melody to God (see 1 Chronicles 16).
David yearned to be in the presence of God all the time. He longed to gaze upon the Lord’s beauty in the holy of holies with his own two eyes. He needed to be able to inquire of Yahweh without a priestly mediator. He wanted to live his life in front of God, hidden in the shelter of praise, concealed under the cover of thanksgiving.
To live is Christ means that you and I have what David foreshadowed – the fear crushing presence of God dwelling forever in the tent of our hearts.
Prayer. Jesus, you are the one thing I desire. I will gaze upon your beauty on the cross of your love, and sing of your salvation as long as I live.
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To Live is Christ 