Psalms 27:2

2 When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

Psalms 27:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 27:2

When the wicked, [even] mine enemies and my foes, came upon
me
They are wicked men, men of malignant spirits, and evildoers, who are the enemies and foes of the people of God, and who hate them with an implacable hatred, and do everything they can to distress and afflict them; and such enemies David had, who were many and mighty; and these "came upon" him, or "approached against" him F3, they drew near to him to make war with him, as the word signifies F4; they attacked him in an hostile manner; and their view was, as he says,

to eat up my flesh,
as they eat bread, ( Psalms 14:4 ) ; to devour him at once, to make but one morsel of him, to destroy his life, to strip him of his substance, to take away his wives and children, as the Amalekites at Ziklag, ( 1 Samuel 30:1-6 ) ;

they stumbled and fell;
the Lord put stumbling blocks in their way, and retarded their march, and hindered them from executing their designs; and they fell into the hands of David, and were subdued under him, or fell by death; and these past instances of divine goodness the psalmist calls to mind, to keep up his heart and courage, and animate and strengthen him against the fears of men, of death and hell.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (yle brqb) "cum appropinquaverint adversum me", Pagninus; so Gejerus.
F4 "Belligerantibus contra me", Junius & Tremellius; so Piscator & Ainsworth.

Psalms 27:2 In-Context

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the LORD — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD ’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.