“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord;Be strong and let your heart take courage;Yes, wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:13-14, NAS)
In Psalm 27, verses 1 through 6, King David expressed his confidence in a God of whom he has had deep communion with. Then in verses 7 through 14, he turned from praise to plaintiff prayer of dependence and hope in a redemptive God. This Psalm has been known as one of “composites” with extreme high of joy and jubilance in the first half and thence sinking to the depth of sadness and near despair in the latter part (Pulpit Commentary).
Read how verse 13, as part of the ending verses, unify these extremes to produce hope in us.
“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!” (Psalm 27:7, ESV)
As David wrote Psalm 27, in verse 7, he pivoted from praise to prayer. There is a sense of plaintiff cry for help in verses 7 to 14. In the original language, verse 7 is succinct and direct: “Hear, O Lord; with my voice I call; pity me, and answer me” (Pulpit Commentary).
“The 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?” (Psalm 27:1, KJV)
This psalm of King David speaks of a personal YHWH who enlightens, guides, protects, and empowers the psalmist and freed him from the fear of others, of the known and the unknown. This ultimately causes him to seek God’s face and presence “all the days of his life” (Ps. 27:4). In poetic form, this three-part psalm consists of confident praise (vv. 1-6), plantiff prayer (vv. 7-12), and waiting hope (vv. 13-14) (Pulpit Commentary).
As children of God, we too know Him who is the way-maker, the truth-teller, and the life-giver. May we likewise pursue Christ with the constancy of heart, mind, and soul. Because He is my God, I need not fear. Shalom.
Organised by Cru Singapore and presented by East Asia School of Theology, a Mandarin webinar on “Job, Suffering and COVID-19” was conducted on 4 June 2020. The speaker was Rev Estella Liu, a Resident Faculty of EAST. Please view the video of the webinar above.
OT511 Old Testament Poetry, Wisdom, and Prophets (3 credits)
Tuesdays, 1.45 pm-5.00 pm
Perhaps, like most believers, you are not familiar with the last half of the Old Testament. This class introduces the history, culture, style of writing, background and reasons for writing of the authors. It is an overview and introduction to the books in the Poetic & Wisdom genre, and the Prophetic genre.
Toe Set, ThM, enjoys helping people understand the Old Testament. Over the years, he has taught various Old Testament books not only in Singapore but elsewhere in Asia to lay leaders, pastors, and full-time Christian workers.
This class is for the semester of 20 July to 20 November 2020. It may be conducted fully online or a combination of online and in-person depending on situation. Registration deadline is Monday, 13 July 2020. You may register online or contact us for registration form.