Psalm 27 Of David. ¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? ² When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. ³ Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. 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. ⁵ For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. ⁶ Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. ⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. ⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. ⁹ Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. ¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. ¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. ¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. ¹³ I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

A boss or coworker is telling lies about you, saying you didn’t do your job properly when you did.

A family member is spreading vicious rumors about you that have no basis in reality.

Kids at school tease you about having done something that you did not do.

The Eighth Commandment says “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

 Luther offered this explanation of this commandment in his Small Catechism.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

Even with this admonition, the things I listed at the beginning of this devotion still happen every day. And more. King David had the same kinds of issues in his life. And more. In today’s Psalm he complained: Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

Even with this happening, David affirmed his confidence in God.

The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock

And he encourages us to do the same when we are attacked and accused.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

We do so knowing that God’s promises are not empty words. He came down here and paid for our sin. He died in our place. He conquered death so that we could have life with Him now and life with Him forever. God keeps His promises. Be strong. Take heart. Wait for the Lord.