As I said yesterday, the heading in my Bible before Psalm 27 begins, says A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God. Today, we’ll look more into why we can have that confidence. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.” (Ps 27:1-3)

As we look at the first verse, we see that the Lord provides all we need to calm our fears and anxiety, because nothing is too big for the Lord to handle. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”

With that knowledge both in our heads and hearts, let’s look at the second verse: “When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.” (Ps 27:2) The reference is to some period when someone purposed an attack upon David, and he was in imminent danger from such a threatened attack, and they came upon him like ravening wolves, or hungry lions; the comparison is one that is drawn from the fierceness of wild beasts rushing on their prey (see Ps 14:4).

The exclamation point of this verse is that “my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell”. They were overthrown; they failed in their purpose. Either they were thrown into a panic by a false fear, or they were overthrown in battle. Either they differed among themselves and became confused, or God threw obstacles in their way and they were driven back. The general idea is, that God had interposed in some way to prevent the execution of their purposes.

David continues to show why he fearlessly trusts in the Lord. “Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.” (Ps 27:3) Though a host (which is a multitude or great number) of the ungodly, should beset him on every side (see Ps 3:6); David remembers all the times the Lord has previously protected him, and knows He will again: “my heart shall not fear”. For not only the angels of the Lord encamped about him, as they do about all that fear the Lord; but salvation was appointed for walls and bulwarks about him; yes, the Lord himself was a wall of fire around him, and he was kept as in a garrison by the power of God.

And as He remembers what the Lord has done for him in the past, his confidence grows. “Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.” Whatever we face today, let’s think back on all the Lord has done for us in the past, and be confident that the Lord goes with us wherever we go. “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deut 31:8)