Psalms 27:3

3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Psalms 27:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 27:3

Though an host should encamp against me
An host of the ungodly, as the Targum; though ever so many of them, even ten thousands of them, as in ( Psalms 3:6 ) ; should beset him on every side;

my heart shall not fear;
for not only the angels of the Lord encamped about him, as they do about all that fear the Lord; but salvation was appointed for walls and bulwarks about him; yea, the Lord himself was a wall of fire around him, and he was kept as in a garrison by the power of God;

though war should rise against me:
in all its terrible shapes:

in this [will] I [be] confident;
either in this war, in the midst of it; or in this that he had expressed, ( Psalms 27:1 ) ; that the Lord was his light, his salvation, and the strength of his life; so the Jewish writers F5: or as others F6, in this one thing, desired in ( Psalms 27:4 ) ; but either of the former senses is best, especially the latter of them. Saints need not be afraid, though there is a war within them between the flesh and spirit; and though without are fightings with Satan and his principalities and powers; since they may be confident of victory, and that they are more than conquerors, through Christ that has loved them.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 Jarchi, Kimchi, & Aben Ezra in loc.
F6 Some in Aben Ezra in loc.

Psalms 27:3 In-Context

1 A Psalm of David. 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, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.
3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell 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 upon a rock.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.