Psalm 27:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.

NIV: Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

NASB: For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

CSB: Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.

NLT: Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.

KJV: When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

NKJV: When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.

David does not suggest in this verse that his parents had actually abandoned him. According to 1 Samuel 22:3–4, when David was fleeing from Saul, his parents were with him. Out of concern for them, David placed them in the care of the king of Moab. His request to the king was, "Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me."

Here, David uses poetic expression to show how sure he is of God's deliverance. His prayer simply notes that the Lord's care of him exceeded that of his parents. The tone of this sentence, in context, is something like saying "even if…"

Truly, the Lord loves and cares for His children. The apostle Peter instructs us to take all of our worries to God, knowing He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Further, Hebrews 13:5–6 assures us we can count on the Lord as our helper because He has promised He will never leave us or forsake us.

Psalm 27:7–14 reveals that David, while he commits his faith to God, is not immune from fear. In the prior section of this psalm, David stated his reasons to be confident in the Lord. Here, however, David seems to be pleading for those exact protections. Like anyone else, David experienced anxiety. Rather than succumbing to fear, however, David chose to trust God, remind himself of God's protection, and come to the Lord in prayer. This is concluded with another expression of trust in God.

David lays out the reasons he should be confident in God's protection. David then transitions, almost abruptly, into heartfelt pleas for God to rescue him from his enemies. The impression is that David is experiencing natural human anxiety and responding by reminding himself of God's goodness. The psalm ends with the same assurance expressed when it began.

Most Bible scholars believe David wrote Psalm 27 when he was in exile, with King Saul in hot pursuit. If so, the psalm aligns with other writings David composed during this time. Psalms 21, 26, and 28 are good examples. Others think this might have been written when David was fleeing from his violently rebellious son, Absalom. For the most part, Psalm 27 expresses David's confidence in the Lord as his guide and deliverer, but he also demonstrates his human fears by pleading with God for the exact thing he has been so confident of.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.

Accessed 12/18/2024 1:11:10 PM