Triumphant Song of Confidence

Of David.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me

to devour my flesh—

my adversaries and foes—

they shall stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me,

yet I will be confident.

4 One thing I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord,

and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.

6 Now my head is lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,

be gracious to me and answer me!

8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, do I seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,

you who have been my help.

Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

10 If my father and mother forsake me,

the Lord will take me up.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,

for false witnesses have risen against me,

and they are breathing out violence.

13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

Trust is something that isn’t given. Trust is earned. Reading through the various psalms I find  that David knows that he can trust God, because God has always been trustworthy.

I tend to forget that God can be trusted. When the enemy crowds around and I fear that war is drawing near, fear starts telling me I’m alone. If I believe what fear tells me, I forget that God is trustworthy. The higher my fear, the lower my trust. However, the higher my trust, the lower my fear. When I trust God, fear flees.

David trusted God. That is why he is able to write what he does. That is why he is able to wait for the lord and take courage. God had “earned” his trust time and time again. No matter what was going on around him, David knew he could trust and he did.