“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,” Psalm 27 is one of my favorite psalms. The context of this psalm is that David is surrounded by enemies and is fearful.
He begins the psalm by declaring who God is. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom will I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom will I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1).
This deliberate focus on his great defender doesn’t start with intercession, but rather intimacy. This crescendos in verse 4: “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that will I seek after—for me to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to see the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” This “one thing” desire and focus awakens the longing and passion in my heart like few other verses in Scripture.
This intimate relational focus leads to warfare. As I was reading through this passage, I was startled to see the context and connection that verse 4 has with the next two verses. Verse 5 says, “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.” The word “for” means reason.
The reason that David sought to dwell in the presence of the Lord, to gaze on his beauty and to ask him questions was because this would keep him safe in trouble and set him high on a rock. The next verse elaborates, “Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.”
So David is saying that the result of his intimacy-fueled prayer would lift his head—his position of authority and power—above his enemies! And then he bursts into joyful praise with the full band accompanying him! I pray that you will enter into prayer through the door of intimacy and then walk in your God—given authority over the enemies that surround you! {eoa}
Don Finto is a key figure in the movement among evangelicals to support the evangelism of the Jewish people. He has authored the books Your People Shall Be My People and God’s Promise and the Future of Israel.
