Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
    ‘God will not deliver him.’

3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

5 I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
    assail me on every side.

7 Arise, Lord!
    Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
    break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
    May your blessing be on your people.

We do know something of the life-situation out of which this psalm arose. It is there in the title: ‘A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.’ This was a dangerous, and heart-breaking, time for King David. He had ”many” people against him, not least his beloved son who was leading an internal rebellion. But I am reminded that ‘one with God is a majority’. Also, as someone observed, ‘God is not on the side of the big battalions.’ A David, trusting in the Lord, will fell ‘Goliath’ over and over, if necessary.

”What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.

When Elisha and his servant were surrounded by enemies in Dothan, Elisha told his fearful servant,’ ”Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Ki.6:16). Then he prayed, ”Open his eyes LORD, so that he may see.” When God opened the servant’s eyes, he ”…saw the hills full of horses and chariots” (v.17).

In the face of the ”many” David has his ”But”. It is the ”But” of faith. If the outlook was gloomy the up-look was glorious. The life of faith is not one of unreality where we deny facts. Rather we face them, choosing to trust God, and not give way to fear. Whatever people may be saying, we place our confidence in the God we know: The One revealed in the Scriptures, and whose power we have proved in our own experience.

‘Here is a psalm with a clear focal point i.e. that prayer brings confidence to face life (4-6)…the antidote to despondency is, first, to assert divine truth (3), and secondly to seek divine aid (4). The consequence is the blessing of a night’s sleep (5) and fresh confidence for the new day (6)…confident prayer draws on past experiences of grace and begets assurance for the future (8)’ Alec Motyer.

‘God never sleeps (Ps. 121:3-4), so why should you stay awake and worry?’ Warren Wiersbe.