God’s Word for You
Psalm 27:10-12 A smooth path
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, October 13, 2022
10 Even if my father and mother abandoned me,
the LORD would take me in.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a smooth path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my foes
for false witnesses rise up against me,
and they breathe out violence.
Now David asks God to protect him from three points of view. First, as a caregiver who never fails. Second, as the one who watches over him and the road ahead. Third, as his defender against people who falsely accuse him and conspire against him.
1, God is the caregiver who never fails. David thinks of the unlikely possibility that his mother and father would abandon him, although life with his brothers was not happy: “I am a stranger to my brothers,” he said, “an alien to my mother’s sons” (Psalm 69:8). Yet there is no record of Jesse or his wife, David’s parents, ever disowning him or scorning him in any way. We know that Jesse was proud when three of his sons served in Saul’s army. He even sent them provisions and looked for news about them (1 Samuel 17:17-18). Yet family connections can be broken. Leaders, even kings, can turn in a rage on their subjects (1 Samuel 18:10, 19:10). Enemies can appear at any time from anywhere. But God’s care does not fail. There are times when a parent may turn on their own child, imagining that disowning them, driving them away, cutting them off in some way, is good for them. More often it’s just to the momentary advantage of the parent. But the Lord looks after such sons and daughters just as he looks after the widow and the orphan (Psalm 146:9; Deuteronomy 26:13).
2, God watches over each of us and the road or path before us. This applies to the smallest events, and even the smallest creatures: “Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:7-10). God’s hand is present in every part of our lives. Surely the same God who cares for the hatchlings of the ravens and whether or not they have food (Job 38:41) cares about us, and our children, and whether or not they have enough to eat and drink, and a roof over their heads. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus assures us. “You are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).
When David says, “Lead me on a smooth path,” he means spiritual as well as physical roads. Yet we know that sometimes the Lord permits troubles to come to us that serve to strengthen our faith. An opponent who questions his own faith may teach me to walk the perimeter of my own, to notice how far and how thoroughly I trust in the Lord to take care of me. Maybe I would not have known how small my own needs are and how richly God provides for me if I had not met a greedy man who complained so much about not having this and about not having that. God’s enemies test our faith, but they also give us the chance to show our faith at the same time.
The ancient Church father Hermas also passed down to us these “profitable and gentle” words: “God Almighty, whom I love, by his mighty power and his great wisdom created the world and by his glorious pleasure surrounded his creation with beauty, and by his mighty power he ‘made the heavens and spread out the earth upon the waters,’ and by his own wisdom and forethought established his holy church and blessed it. Behold! He changes the heavens and the mountains and the seas. All things are becoming level for his elect, to fulfill the promise he made” (Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 1).
3, God defends his people when attacks and false accusations are made. He does this through the protection of his angels: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). He also does this through his word: “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies” (Psalm 119:98). When we trust in the Lord and we have learned what his word says, we can easily answer attacks when they come. Enemies of the gospel do nothing but expose their own unbelief when they attack us for our belief. Luther wrote: “I am very glad that… books are written against me, for it makes me tingle with pleasure from head to toe when I see that through me, poor wretched man that I am, God the Lord maddens and exasperates both the hellish and worldly princes, so that in their spite they would burst and tear themselves to pieces—while I sit under the shade of faith and the Lord’s Prayer, laughing at the devils and their crew as they blubber and struggle in their great fury” (Against Hanswurst, LW 41:185). There are many comforting verses in the Great Psalm about this, the guardianship of the Scriptures over God’s people. For example: “Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart” (Psalm 119:69). Also: “The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes” (Psalm 119:95). And again: “The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts” (Psalm 119:110). And permit just one more: “Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word” (Psalm 119:161). These passages stand like stone arches supporting an arched and gabled dome of stone and brick, smoothed over with plaster, and the name of Jesus written in gold high above. We are reminded that the Lord is our firm foundation and the his word is the buttress that supports the church on every side.
What greater defense do we have than the word, the message of the cross? “It is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). In simple words such as “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), and, “This is my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26) the grace of God comes flooding into our hearts. Our sins are forever forgiven in Jesus.
A hand held up can protect our eyes from too bright a sun. A scarf can protect us from a biting wind. A wall or a closed door can protect us from freezing temperatures. But it’s the gospel of forgiveness that protects us against every attack of Satan. He can growl and snarl and gnash and bite, but we have Jesus to guard us with his gospel and his word. Trust in him always.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.