The Land of the Living

(Psalm 27:13)

Mike Johnson

In Psalm 27:13, the Psalmist (thought to be David) said, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”   What is meant by the land of the living?  Today, if someone has not seen someone for a long time, he might say, “I am glad you are still in the land of the living,” i.e., still alive.   Old Testament writers use this expression many times, and it always seems to be used in the sense of life here on this earth, i.e., not in the grave. (Some contend that David is looking toward the afterlife and calling it the land of the living.  However, this does not seem to be the case.)  The verse says that David fully expected to see the goodness of the Lord at some point in his life. This confidence kept him going.

There is another way to look at the phrase “the land of the living.”  When John Newton (an Anglican Cleric and writer of the hymn Amazing Grace) in 1807 was on his death bed, someone asked him how he was doing and if he was still in the land of the living.  He responded with what ended up being his last words saying, “I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon.” So, in one sense, we are in the land of the living during our life on this earth.  However, in another way, we are in the land of the dying.  Consider the following quote.

The land of the living. Alas! What a land of the living is this, in which there are more dead than living, more underground than above it; where the earth is fuller of graves than houses; where life lies trembling under the hand of death; and where death hath power to tyrannize over life! No, my soul, there only is the land of the living where there are none but the living . . . — Sir Richard Baker. (from The Treasury of David)

Yet, while we are alive, in one sense, we are in the “land of the living. Therefore, as with David, we must allow our faith to sustain us and have complete confidence in God. If we do so, then we can go to a place where there will be no death (Rev. 20:14), i.e., Heaven, which can indeed be called the land of the living!