Psalms 27:1

“The Lord [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? etc.] The Targum in the king of Spain’s Bible explains it, “the Word of the Lord is my light”; and so Ainsworth cites it; that is, Christ the eternal Word, in whom “was life, and that life was the light of men”, (<430104>John 1:4); and the psalmist is not to be understood of the light of nature and reason, with which the Logos, or Word, enlightens every man that comes into the world; nor merely in a temporal sense, of giving him the light of prosperity, and delivering him from the darkness of adversity; but of the light of grace communicated to him by him who is the sun of righteousness, and the light of the world; and by whom such…”

“With a general strain of confidence, hope, and joy, especially in God's worship, in the midst of dangers, the Psalmist introduces prayer for divine help and guidance. (Psa 27:1-14) light--is a common figure for comfort. strength--or, "stronghold"--affording security against all violence. The interrogations give greater vividness to the negation implied.”

“The Lord is my light - He is to me the source of light. That is, He guides and leads me. Darkness is the emblem of distress, trouble, perplexity, and sorrow; light is the emblem of the opposite of these. God furnished him such light that these troubles disappeared, and his way was bright and happy. And my salvation - That is, He saves or delivers me. Whom shall I fear? - Compare Romans 8:31. If God is on our side, or is for us, we can have no apprehension of danger. He is abundantly able to protect us, and we may confidently trust in Him. No one needs any better security against the objects of fear or dread than the conviction that God is his friend. The Lord is the strength of my life - The…”

“Ps 27 This psalm mixes two genres—a psalm of confidence (27:1-6) and an individual lament (27:7-14)—held together by the theme of longing for the Lord’s presence. The psalmist focuses on the Lord; his circumstances are secondary. The strength of the psalmist’s faith is expressed in his openness to the Lord’s instruction, timing, and priorities. 27:1-3 The psalmist acknowledges the Lord at the center of his life (27:1). Because of God’s presence, he engages his adversaries with confidence. They cannot intimidate him or penetrate his inner security. 27:1 Light expresses the Lord’s goodness (27:13; see 4:6; 23:6; 31:19; 38:10; 43:3; 56:13).”

“light: Psa 18:28, Psa 84:11; Job 29:3; Isa 2:5, Isa 60:1-3, Isa 60:19, Isa 60:20; Mic 7:7, Mic 7:8; Mal 4:2; Joh 1:1-5, Joh 1:9, Joh 8:12; Rev 21:23, Rev 22:5 salvation: Psa 3:8, Psa 18:2, Psa 62:2, Psa 62:6, Psa 68:19, Psa 68:20, Psa 118:14, Psa 118:15, Psa 118:21; Exo 15:2; Isa 12:2, Isa 51:6-8; Isa 61:10; Luk 2:30, Luk 3:6; Rev 7:10 strength: Psa 18:1, Psa 18:2, Psa 18:46, Psa 19:14, Psa 28:7, Psa 28:8, Psa 43:2; Isa 45:24; Co2 12:9; Phi 4:13 of whom: Psa 11:1, Psa 46:1, Psa 46:2, Psa 56:2-4, Psa 118:6; Mat 8:26; Rom 8:31; Heb 13:6 Psalms 27:2”

“In this first strophe is expressed the bold confidence of faith. It is a hexastich in the caesural schema. Let darkness break in upon him, the darkness of night, of trouble, and of spiritual conflict, yet Jahve is his Light, and if he is in Him, he is in the light and there shines upon him a sun, that sets not and knows no eclipse. This sublime, infinitely profound name for God, אורי, is found only in this passage; and there is only one other expression that can be compared with it. viz., בּא אורך in Isa 60:1; cf. φῶς ἐλήλυθα, Joh 12:46. ישׁעי does not stand beside אורי as an unfigurative, side by side with a figurative expression; for the statement that God is light, is not a metaphor.…”