The Lord is My Light
A Sermon on "The Lord is My Light" from Psalm 27:1-14
Originally preached Sept. 24, 1967
Scripture
A Psalm of David.
1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they …
Sermon Description
Where does one begin when they consider their problems? In this sermon, “The Lord is my Light” from Psalm 27:1–14, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells that most often people begin with their problems and then move toward the Lord. However, Christians ought to follow the psalmist’s example and begin with God and heaven, then move to their problems in light of those things. When they pray, they ought not begin with petitions, but begin with praise and adoration of the Lord, gazing on His beauty and excellence. Why? Dr. Lloyd-Jones unfolds through this psalm that God’s unchanging character, His goodness, and excellence changes the perspective. Nothing is so big and so awful when it is looked at in regard to who the Lord is. Then the Christian must make their requests known to the Lord, having full confidence that He is greater than any problem and fully capable of ruling over them.
Sermon Breakdown
- The psalmist is giving his experience to praise God and help others.
- The psalm teaches us how to face life's problems and battles.
- The psalm can be divided into 3 sections: verses 1-6 (the psalmist's confidence), verses 7-12 (the psalmist's petition), verses 13-14 (the psalmist's conclusion).
- We must have a strategy to face life, starting with God. Never start with problems or people.
- Section 1 (verses 1-6): The psalmist expresses overwhelming confidence and assurance in God. He is not afraid.
- The source of the psalmist's confidence is not himself but the Lord. The Lord is his light, salvation, and strength.
- The Lord gives light in darkness, solutions to problems, and shows the way out. The world is in darkness without God.
- The Lord is concerned for us and invites us to come to Him. He says "seek my face."
- The Lord is unchanging while human help fails. He will "take us up" when we fall.
- We must ask if we have this confidence in God and face life like the psalmist.
- To have this confidence, we must believe in the Lord, make Him the supreme thing, dwell in His presence, gaze upon His glory, and praise Him.
- The psalmist's supreme desire is to worship and adore God. He wants to gaze upon God's being and dealings.
- We must spend time gazing upon God's glory, attributes, and works. This is the secret to being more than conquerors.
- The psalmist starts with worship and praise, then brings his petitions to God. We must pray with adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and requests.
- After praying, we must wait for God's answer. He will answer in His own way. We must wait on the Lord.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.