Psalm 27 Continued…
Psalm 27:2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
This refers, no doubt, to some particular period of his past life when he was in very great danger; when his enemies planned to attack him, and he was in imminent danger from such a threatened attack, but God intervened to save him. They were wicked men, men with evil spirits (evildoers), who are the enemies and foes, not only of David, but of the people of God, and who hate them with a ruthless hatred and do everything they can to disturb and afflict them. David had such enemies, who were many and mighty; and here he says that they “advance against” him for the purpose of making war with him, or they attacked him in a hostile manner.
To David, it seemed as if they wanted to eat him up. That is, they came upon me like ravening wolves or hungry lions. We are not to suppose that they literally meant to eat up his flesh, or that they were cannibals; for the comparison is one that is taken from the fierceness of wild beasts rushing upon their prey. In Psalm 14:4, David asked, “Will evildoers never learn —
those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord?” Perhaps he had in mind the Amalekites at Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:1-6), who wanted to destroy his life, to strip him of his substance, to take away his wives and children.
They were overthrown. They failed to accomplish their purpose. Either they were thrown into a panic by a false fear, or they were overthrown in battle. The language would seem to favor the former as if by some frightening experience they were unnerved and thrown into a state of disarray. Either they had differing opinions and became confused, or God threw obstacles in their way and they were driven back. The general idea is, that God had intervened in some way to prevent the execution of their plans. The Lord may have put stumbling blocks in their way, and retarded their march, and hindered them from executing their battle plans. Thus, they fell into the hands of David, and were captured by him, or died in battle. The psalmist calls these past experiences of divine goodness to mind, in order to keep up his spirit and courage and enliven and strengthen him against the fears of men, of death and hell.
Psalm 27:3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
By “army;” he means, any army, or any number of men in battle array. The past intervention by God in similar times of trouble and danger was sufficient security for him, and therefore, he had nothing to fear. The Targum calls them a host of the ungodly, since there seems to be so many of them, even ten thousand of them, as in Psalm 3:6: “I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.”
He would not tremble, because he didn’t feel that there was anything of which to be afraid. God had shown Himself superior to the power of hostile armies, and the psalmist felt assured that he might confide in Him. He felt safe, for not only the angels of the Lord encamped about him, as they do about all that fear the Lord; but salvation formed the walls around him; and, the Lord himself was a wall of fire around him, and he was kept as in a fortress by the power of God;
Before the actual battle is engaged, the warrior’s heart is kept in suspense and is very liable to become panicked and flustered. The anticipation of the battle and the sight of the encamped enemy often inspires greater dread than the same host arrayed for battle.
Though war should rise against me in all its terrible shapes, in this will I be confident: When it the actual fighting begins, faith’s shield will ward off the blows; and if the first brush should be but the beginning of a war, yet faith’s banners will wave in spite of the foe. Though battle should succeed battle, and one campaign should be followed by another, the believer will not be dismayed at the length of the conflict, or the fierceness of his foes.
David is confident that should a situation arise such as he has just described, or any other extreme emergency, that he would calmly trust in God. He would feel he was in no danger, for he had seen that the Lord could deliver him, for to David He was light, salvation, and strength (v. 1). Saints don’t need to be afraid, though there is a war within them between the flesh and spirit; and without, they are fighting with Satan and his principalities and powers; since they may be confident of victory, and that they are more than conquerors, through Christ who has loved them.
PRAY
Father thank you that you are in me and greater than he who is in the world!