Personal Worship
Devotional Newsletter - January 2024
Even under the most catastrophic circumstances, when his life and nation are in danger, David's primary desire is to engage in personal worship.
Psalm 26 may best be described as a miniature personal worship liturgy. It is a guide for a person to prepare to enter into God's presence, to abide in God's presence, and then to respond to that experience.
| David examines himself |
Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; |
| David declares his trust |
I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. |
| David asks God to confirm that he's prepared |
Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. |
The moment of worship is the picture of walking, perhaps dancing, around the altar, while singing aloud praise of the Lord's deeds—all the things that make David's heart sing. Most likely this has become a regular, perhaps even daily, mental and spiritual picture that David relives. The basis would be actual processions around the altar, which became an image David could replay in his mind for personal worship, even when far from the altar.
When we continue and read Psalm 27 in light of Psalm 26, we see an even larger picture. In Psalm 27, David is in the middle of a military crisis, with images of an army besieging him and war breaking out. His response to the danger of the crisis is to seek God's help, but how he seeks that help is remarkable. In the context of crisis, this is his attitude:
| Psalm 27:4 | One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: |
| that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. |
In the middle of the battlefield, David is not talking about physically being in the house of the LORD. The ark would accompany the army in battle, but not the altar.
What does this mean?
He probably means that, in the middle of crisis, his greatest need is the same as when not in crisis – to enter into personal worship, as exemplified in Psalm 26.
His trust in the LORD is not merely sufficient for day-to-day life. It is also all he needs, even in the direst need where his life and his nation are at stake.
This one thing is all he needs: to enter into worship and seek the aid of the LORD, who provides for all his needs.
About the author
Elizabeth Robar
CEO and Founder
Scriptura and the Layer by Layer™ projects