Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 23

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 evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
³ If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord. This is what I seek:
that I live 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. ^[1]
5 Yes, he will hide me in his shelter on the day of trouble.
He will hide me in his tent.
He will set me high on a rock.
⁶ Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear me, O Lord. With my voice I call.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ When you say, “Seek my face,” my heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
⁹ Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me.
¹⁰ If my father and my mother abandoned me,
    the Lord would take me in.

¹¹ Lord, teach me your way,
and lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not give me up to the desire of my foes,
because false witnesses rise up against me,
and so do those who breathe out violence.

¹³ Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living— ^[2]
14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart,
and wait for the Lord!

Footnotes

1. Psalm 27:4 The Hebrew word hekal, usually translated temple, means big house. It can refer to a palace or a temple. It can apply to the tent sanctuaries built by Moses and David and to the temple building constructed by Solomon.
2. Psalm 27:13 As it stands, the Hebrew text is an incomplete sentence which calls for a conclusion such as “I would have lost hope.” As the text stands, the construction breaks off and jumps to a positive affirmation. Some Hebrew manuscripts omit the initial word unless and have a positive statement: I am confident that I will . . .