Chapter Twenty-Seven

The psalm may have been written by David during the persecutions from Absalom, when he fled from Jerusalem and was far from the sanctuary (Ps 27:2); he was already anointed king over all the people (“the anointed one” Ps 27:8), and his enemies under the pretext of concern for the people’s welfare and peace actually concealed and pursued personal goals (Ps 27:3). Such was David’s position during his flight from Jerusalem from Absalom.

O Lord! Hear my prayer, which I direct to Your temple (1–2). Do not let me perish along with the wicked, but punish them for their contempt of Your deeds (3–5). In confidence that the Lord will protect me, David blesses Him and asks for mercies for his people (6–9).

Psalm 27:1. To You, O Lord, I cry; my rock! do not be silent to me, lest I become like those descending to the grave. “Do not be silent to me”—do not be inattentive to my prayer, listen and render me aid.

Psalm 27:2. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy temple. “I lift up my hands toward Your temple”—the custom of praying with uplifted hands in the direction of the temple, as the place of the Lord’s dwelling.

Psalm 27:3. Do not take me away with the wicked and with those who do wrong, who speak peace with their neighbors but harbor evil in their hearts. Because God is righteous and just, and David’s enemies act unworthily and sinfully, he is confident that they will be punished by God. David’s present position, pursued by these enemies, is so difficult and dangerous that it threatens his life. His destruction at the hands of lawless enemies would as it were equate his fate to theirs, and he would appear impure. Accordingly, David’s present prayer has the following meaning: do not destroy me, so I may not be equated with the wicked.

Psalm 27:5. Because they are inattentive to the deeds of the Lord and to the work of His hands, He will tear them down and not rebuild them. “Inattentive to the deeds of the Lord and to the work of His hands”—David’s enemies in their actions are guided by personal inclinations, unconcerned that their deeds may go against and oppose God’s deeds. By the latter are meant God’s determinations regarding David, whom He anointed king (see v. 8) and to whom, therefore, the people have been commanded to show obedience. David’s enemies do not wish to heed this “deed” of the Lord, but desire to overthrow him, and thus provoke God’s wrath upon themselves, and He will “tear them down.”