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Pope John Paul II met with more than 20,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square for his general audience April 21. He resumed his series of teachings on the psalms and canticles found in the Liturgy of the Hours' evening prayer with a reflection on the first part of Psalm 27.

The backdrop for Psalm 27, the Holy Father pointed out, is the Temple of Zion, the “house of the Lord,” which is a place of refuge and security. But the main theme of the psalm is trust in God, both in times of joy and peril. Assailed by evil from all sides, believers do not give in to fear. Rather, they place their trust and hope in the Lord, who is their source of strength and peace.

“The life of the believer is often subject to tension and conflicts, and at times it is also subject to rejection and even persecution,” the Pope noted. “The way in which the just man conducts himself is a source of irritation, because it resounds as a warning to the arrogant and the wicked.”

The Holy Father said communion with God is like an oasis: “The Lord creates around his faithful an atmosphere of peace, shutting the door on the din of evil. Communion with God is the source of peace, joy and tranquility; it is like entering an oasis of light and love.”

Recalling the words of a fifth-century Syrian monk named Isaiah, who used this psalm as the basis for a teaching on prayer in times of temptation, John Paul urged believers to turn to the Lord, their protector, in times of spiritual attack.

Our journey through the Liturgy of the Hours' evening prayer resumes today with Psalm 27, which the liturgy has arranged into two distinct passages. We will now examine the first part of this poetic and spiritual diptych (see verses 1-6), whose setting is the Temple of Zion — Israel's seat of worship. In fact, the psalmist speaks explicitly of the “Lord's house” and of the “Temple” (verse 4), and of the “shelter, tent and house” (see verses 5-6). In the Hebrew original, these terms are used more precisely to designate the “tabernacle” and the “tent,” which is the very heart of the Temple where the Lord reveals himself through his presence and his word. The “rock” of Jerusalem is also mentioned (see verse 5), a place of security and refuge, and reference is made to the celebration of sacrifices of thanksgiving (see verse 6).

Trust in God

If a liturgical celebration is the spiritual setting for the psalm, then the main theme of this prayer is trust in God, both during times of joy as well as times of fear.

The first part of the psalm, on which we are now meditating, is characterized by a great peace, which is based on trust in God during the dark day when the wicked launch their assault. Two types of images are used to describe these adversaries that symbolize the evil that contaminates history. On one hand, there is the image of a fierce hunt. The wicked are like wild beasts that rush to seize their prey and devour its flesh, but they stumble and fall (see verse 2). On the other hand, there is a military symbol. An entire army is waging an assault and a battle rages furiously, sowing terror and death (see verse 3).

The life of the believer is often subject to tension and conflicts, and at times it is also subject to rejection and even persecution. The way in which the just man conducts himself is a source of irritation, because it resounds as a warning to the arrogant and the wicked. Wicked men, who are described in the Book of Wisdom, recognize this in no uncertain terms: “To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, because his life is not like other men's, and different are his ways” (Wisdom 2:14-15).

The Just Man

The faithful man knows consistency creates isolation and even stirs contempt and hostility in a society that often chooses personal advantage, external success, wealth and unbridled pleasure as its standard. Yet he is not alone and his heart retains an amazing inner peace, because — as the splendid opening “antiphon” of this psalm says — “The Lord is light and salvation, he is life's refuge” for the just man (Psalm 27:1). He repeats over and over again: “Whom do I fear? … Of whom am I afraid? … My heart does not fear … even then do I trust” (verses 1, 3).

He almost seems to be hearing St. Paul's voice as he proclaims: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). But interior calm, strength of spirit and peace are gifts that are obtained by taking refuge in the Temple and by turning to personal prayer and prayer in community.

Communion With God

Indeed, the psalmist entrusts himself into God's hands. His dream is also expressed in another psalm (see Psalm 23:6): “I will dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” There he will be able “to gaze on the Lord's beauty” (Psalm 27:4), to contemplate and admire the divine mystery, and to take part in the sacrificial liturgy and lift up his praises to God his deliverer (see verse 6). The Lord creates around his faithful an atmosphere of peace, shutting the door on the din of evil. Communion with God is the source of peace, joy and tranquility; it is like entering an oasis of light and love.

As a conclusion to our reflection, let us now listen to the words of a monk named Isaiah, of Syrian origin, who lived in the Egyptian desert and died in Gaza around 491. In his Asceticon, he applies our psalm to prayer in times of temptation: “If we see our enemies surrounding us with their cunning or with their indolence, whether it be by weakening our soul with pleasure, causing us to fail to contain our anger against our neighbor when he acts against us, tempting our eyes with sexual desires, leading us to taste the pleasures of gluttony, turning our neighbor's word into poison for us, making us disparage the word of another or leading us to create disagreements among our brothers saying, ‘This one is good, that one is evil’ — if then we are surrounded by all these things, let us not lose courage. Rather, let us cry out like David with a firm heart, saying: ‘Lord, protector of my life!’ (Psalm 26:1)” (Recueil ascétique, Bellefontaine, 1976, p. 211).

(Register translation)