Do Not Leave Me

Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 

Psalm 27:9 

We all have our fears. We may articulate them or hold them close because they are so deep we find it painful to even refer to them. David was a man of faith. He believed thoroughly in God, and more specifically in Christ, Whom he called his Shepherd. David feared being left to himself by God. He was bold enough to articulate his fear. Our text is his utterance of it. This sheep did not want his Shepherd to leave him. Thus this verse is his pitiable cry, like the bleating of the forlorn sheep on the hillside. We may have the same fear that David had. We believe. We are people of faith. We have rested by faith in Christ, our Shepherd. We know the doctrine and trust the promises. Yet within us resides the nagging fear that God will run out of patience with us, that He will hide His face and turn away from us in anger for our weakness, our willfulness, and our many failings. God has been our help. We will be desolate if He leaves or forsakes us. What is our assurance? The writer of Hebrews has the answer, ‘Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ The writer is not merely making an assertion, but rather is quoting Christ Himself. These are not our words but His words. This is the answer to our fears. This is the answer to David’s prayer and ours. Christ has purchased us with His Own blood. He has married us and will never divorce us. He will not abandon us.  

O, Great Shepherd of the Sheep, 
we rejoice that You are ever watchful over Your flock. 
We praise You that You have given us the blessed assurance, 
that You will never leave us.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning