The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. (Psalm 27:1-3)
Seeing that David wrote these words, let us consider them in light of events that occurred in his life, events that may have inspired these words. Specifically, I am thinking of his battle with Goliath of Gath and how, on that day, the enemy who came against him stumbled and fell. Interestingly, the Hebrew word that is translated as “came against me” (קרב karav — “to draw near”) is related to the word that means “battle.” In other words, David’s point was, “When the wicked came against me to do battle.” Taking this notion into account, it is easy to see how David may have been reminiscing about his dramatic contest with Goliath when composing this psalm.
The Bible does say, in fact, that as this battle took shape, Goliath “drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening” (1 Samuel 17:16). Later when David approached him, Goliath said to him, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” (1 Samuel 17:44). In other words, it is very likely that this was exactly what David had in mind. And if so, then he could say with confidence that there is no need to fear our enemies because the LORD is our light, our salvation, our strength and our life. When David hurled the stone toward his foe, “it struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth” (1 Samuel 17:49).
Few, if any of us, will ever have to face such a giant; but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to face our own giants. We can and should have the same trust that David placed in the LORD when he went and stood before his enemy. It was not bravado but confidence in God that provoked him to say, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand” (1 Samuel 17:45-46). If we truly believe this, then we can be assured that God will deliver us from all our enemies because He is our strength, our light and our salvation. Whatever you may be up against today, do not fear man or circumstances; believe God to win the battle and cause all your adversaries to stumble and fall.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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