Psalms 27:13
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
BSB
ASV
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah In the land of the living.
KJV
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Faith as what keeps the psalmist from fainting under present trouble, fixed on a goodness not yet seen.
Faintness of heart is a common infirmity; even he who slew Goliath was subject to its attacks. Faith puts its bottle of cordial to the lip of the soul, and so prevents fainting. Hope is heaven's balm for present sorrow. In this land of the dying, it is our blessedness to be looking and longing for our fair portion in the land of the living, whence the goodness of God has banished the wickedness of man, and where holy spirits charm with their society those persecuted saints who were vilified and despised among men.
The living - David was thus earnestly desirous of this mercy in this life, not because he placed his portion in these things; but because the truth and glory of God, were highly concerned in making good the promise of the kingdom to him.
(2.) In the land of Canaan, and in Jerusalem where the lively oracles were. In comparison with the heathen, that were dead in sin, the land of Israel might fitly be called the land of the living; there God was known, and there David hoped to see his goodness; see 2 Sam. xv. It is that alone that may truly be called the land of the living, where there is no more death.
The strong emotion is indicated by the incomplete sentence, for which the English Version supplies a proper clause; or, omitting that, and rendering, "yet I believed," &c., the contrast of his faith and his danger is expressed. to see--is to experience (Ps 22:17).
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Psalms 31:19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
leads to
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Through
Psalms 56:3When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
leads to
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
Through
2 Corinthians 4:16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
leads to
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
