Read
Psalm 27:9
Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation.
7Hear, LORD, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me.
8When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “I will seek your face, LORD.”
9Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation.
10When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
11Teach me your way, LORD. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
Notice
The plea against God's hidden face carries a hard tension: past help has not removed the fear of being abandoned by him.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What past help, if any, could you name before asking God not to abandon you?
Write on thisWhat would asking God not to hide his face mean in your life today?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Hebrews 13:6So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”Both name God's help: the psalm remembers help while pleading, and Hebrews names the Lord as helper with courage.
Mark 15:34At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken …The psalm pleads with God against being forsaken; Jesus cries to God asking why he has been forsaken.
Psalm 63:7For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.Both recall that God has been their help, though Psalm 27 continues pleading and Psalm 63 speaks of rejoicing.
Psalm 10:1Why do you stand far off, LORD? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?Both address God about his hiding: Psalm 27 asks him not to hide, while Psalm 10 asks why he does.
Psalm 69:17Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily!Both speakers call themselves God's servant and plead with him not to hide his face.
Psalm 55:1For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by David. Listen to my prayer, God. Don’t hide yourself from my supplication.Both prayers ask God not to hide, seeking his attention rather than leaving their distress unspoken.
Isaiah 46:3–4“Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been carried from their birth, that have been carried from the womb.Both look back on God's care: the psalm recalls his help, and Isaiah describes Israel as carried from birth.
Hebrews 13:5Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”The psalm asks God not to forsake his servant; Hebrews records God's promise that he will not forsake his people.
2 Timothy 4:17–18But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear. So I was delivered …Both recount the Lord's help: the psalm names past help, while Paul describes strength and deliverance.
Job 34:29When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? He is over a nation or a man alike,Both speak of God hiding his face, with Job stressing that no one can see him when he does.
Jeremiah 32:40I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good. I will put my fear in their hearts, that they …Both concern God's continued care: the psalm pleads against abandonment, and Jeremiah records God's covenant promise not to turn away.
Isaiah 50:1The LORD says, “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, with which I have put her away? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Behold, you were sold …Both speak of being put away by God; Isaiah names transgressions as the cause, while this psalm verse names no offense.
Where this verse fits
Feeling distant from God. loneliness. doubt.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The fear of being forsaken does not silence this prayer. Even here, the speaker addresses the God who has helped him and remains his hope of salvation.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 27:9. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 27 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).