Adonai /Artist: Avalon
…Adonai, I lift up my heart and I cry
My Adonai
You are the Maker of each moment
Father of my hope and freedom
Oh, my Adonai
…One trembling heart and soul
Becomes a servant bold and courageous
…And today You're making miracles in me
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Adonai-lyrics-Avalon/DCF5643E830CB31048256E630005257F
The Lord then led me to read Psalm 27 (NIV 1984) for my quiet time with him:
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?
When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
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 seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
My Understanding: The name “Adonai” means “Lord.” And, this Psalm of David begins: “The LORD is my light and my salvation…” And, “Lord” means “master; boss; ruler.” So, if Jesus is truly our Lord, then he is also the boss and master of our lives, and he is the one who calls the shots and decides for us what we are to do and who we are to become.
Because the Lord is my Lord and master, and because he is the one who has given me his light and truth and salvation, and because he is the stronghold (fortress; refuge) of my life, I have no reason to fear man or what man might do to me. Even if evil men advance against me for the purpose of devouring my flesh, or if I am attacked by those who stand opposed to me, and though an army besiege (overwhelm; surround) me, I will choose to not withdraw in fear, but to put my trust and confidence in the Lord Jesus to deliver me.
David only wanted one thing that he asked of the Lord. He just wanted to be with the Lord forever and to stand and rest always in his abiding presence, and to seek the Lord always. It is sad to say that adversity or trials often are what move us closer to our Lord and to our desire for him and for his presence with us. We can often be guilty of taking our Lord, his word and his abiding presence with us for granted in our lives when things are going well for us. The Bible teaches us that the Lord allows trials and difficulties in our lives to draw us closer to him, and to a greater dependence upon him in our lives, so that we will make him our Lord and master, and so we won’t keep trying to be the master of our own lives.
Then, David proclaimed truths in which he was confident in the Lord. When we are in trouble due to no sin of our own, the Lord will keep us safe in his dwelling, i.e. he will keep us close to his heart, and will fill us with his peace, even when all around us is not peaceful. He will hide us in the shelter of his tabernacle, i.e. he now dwells within those of us who are truly his, so we are hidden in him and in our relationship with him, and so we rest in him. Jesus is our Rock and our fortress, so our lives are set upon Jesus, the Rock, who is our firm and solid foundation for our daily walk with the Lord. And, our head, as well, is Jesus Christ, who is head over the church, his body, and he will be exalted above all his enemies who come against him and against us, his servants. So, we are able to sing and be joyful!
Then, David prayed a prayer for the Lord’s mercy in his life and for the Lord to hear him when he called. David was obviously being oppressed by his physical enemies. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:10-20 that our true enemies are not flesh and blood, but our real enemies are the spiritual forces of evil and darkness (of the devil) in the heavenly realms. Nonetheless, the devil and his evil forces do use human instruments to do their dirty work, so we, too, will have physical enemies who will war against us. Yet, our true enemy is the devil and the evil that is at work in their hearts and lives, not the people themselves. So, we don’t war against man with the weapons of this world, but we war against those evil forces with spiritual weapons the Lord has given to us to use, i.e. this spiritual armor that we must daily put on if we are going to be able to take our stand against the devil’s schemes, for truly he is scheming against those who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience.
When we go through great times of tribulation, it may often feel as though the Lord has forgotten us or that he has forsaken us, but he said he would never leave us or forsake us. So, even if he is silent, and we don’t hear his voice speaking to us in a given situation, we must rest in what we know of him, what we have been taught from his word concerning him, and we must rest in the hope of eternal life with him. Even though our own family members (represented here by “father and mother”) may forsake us, the Lord will receive those who truly have made him Lord and Savior of their lives. And, he will be our helper in time of need.
Then, David prayed for the Lord to teach him his ways because of David’s oppressors. We need the Lord daily to teach us his ways, and to lead us in a straight (upright) path, yet when we are being oppressed severely by our enemy, the devil, we need the wisdom of God like no other times before, and we need to know the right way to go so that we don’t give in to the enemy of our souls, and so we keep following that straight (upright) path of righteousness the Lord Jesus has given us to follow. Then, if we remain faithful to the Lord and we do not give in to our enemy, the devil, who desires to sift us as wheat, we will not be turned over to the desire of our foe, the devil, for truly his desire is that we not put our trust in the Lord Jesus, and his desire is to try to break us down so that we deny our Lord. So, even if our enemy should raise up false witnesses against us, we put on the armor of God and we stand on the truth, and if we stand on the truth, then the enemy is defeated.
David was confident that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, i.e. he was confident that this attack of his enemy would not result in his death, but that he would live through this and would see the goodness of the Lord in how the Lord chose to intervene on his behalf. The Lord may not always come to our physical rescue, because he does allow his servants to be persecuted, imprisoned and even killed for their faith in Jesus Christ, but he will come to our spiritual rescue and he will give us the strength, courage and hope we need to stand up against the devil’s schemes against us, and he can turn any situation in our lives around for good so that his purposes are accomplished, and so that through our trials we will grow stronger in our faith, and, as well, he can use what we go through and how we respond to it in the lives of others, to bring about his purposes for their lives, too. Sometimes miracles hide in difficult situations, and the miracles for which we are praying and hoping are wrapped in trouble and hardship, yet within these troubling times we can experience the blessings of God that are hidden within the trials.
Finally David proclaimed that we should wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. We cannot fight these battles in our own strength. We must wait on the Lord for him to come to our rescue, to give us the strength and courage we need in our trials, and for him to accomplish all his purposes in our lives and in the lives of others that he had determined should take place through our difficult times. So, we need to hang tough in his strength, keep the faith, and wait for him to intervene on our behalf for his glory.
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