Psalms 27:9 (ASV)

Passage

Hide not thy face from me; Put not thy servant away in anger: Thou hast been my help; Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

Nearby Context

Psalms 27:7 Hear, O Jehovah, when I cry with my voice: Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

Psalms 27:8 [When thou saidst], Seek ye my face; My heart said unto thee, Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek.

Psalms 27:9 Hide not thy face from me; Put not thy servant away in anger: Thou hast been my help; Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

Psalms 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then Jehovah will take me up.

Psalms 27:11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; And lead me in a plain path, Because of mine enemies.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hide", "face", "servant", "away", "anger", "thou", "hast", and "been". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hide" and "face", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "When thou saidst Seek ye my face..." into verse 10's "When my father and my mother forsake...", so "hide" and "face" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hide" and "face" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.