Mahalia Jackson sings Psalm 27.
27:1
Of David.
Yahweh is my light and my salvation
Who will I fear.
Yahweh is the safe-place of my life.
Who will I dread.
27:2
When evil ones approach me to eat my flesh,
My foes and my enemies to me, they stumble and fall.
27:3
If she declines again me a camp,
My heart will not fear.
If she rises up against me a battle,
In this I am trusting.
27:4
One thing I ask from Yahweh.
I seek it.
My dwelling in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life,
To gaze in the pleasantness of Yahweh
And to seek in his palace.
27:5
For he hides me in a thicket in the day of badness,
He hides me in a hiding place, his tent
With a rock/cliff [eerie, the place where an eagle nests] he raises me up.
27:6
And now he raises my head over my enemies surrounding me,
And let me sacrifice in his tent with a sacrifice of shouting/praise.
I will sing and I will make music to Yahweh.
27:7
Hear, O Yahweh, my voice. I call and be gracious to me and answer me.
27:8
To you. My heart said, “Seek my face”.
Your face Yahweh, I am seeking.
27:9
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn against your servant in anger.
You are my helper.
Do not forsake me and do not leave me, God of my salvation.
27:10
For my father and my mother forsakes me, and Yahweh gathers me.
[See David’s photo of the convent where the unwanted babies were given, and this verse was quoted above the ‘bin’ in which the babies were placed.]
27:11
Teach me your ways, Yahweh and lead me in an upright path for the sake of those who watch me.
27:12
Do not give me with the soul of my foes,
They raise against me a witness of deception.
And they breathe out violence.
27:13
Unless I believe I will not? see with the good of Yahweh in the land of the living.
27:14
Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong and bold, your heart,
And wait for Yahweh.