“I was calling to Yahweh with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who all around have set themselves against me. Arise, O Yahweh; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to Yahweh; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.”
This man lies down and sleeps! He may have just heard the evening news with all its frightening details. He may have just received notice of personal disaster, evil tidings, or threats from deadly enemies; yet he sleeps! He takes no tranquilizers and no sleeping pills. He just lies down and rests. How can he do it?
He has cried unto the Lord. His prayer was no mealy muttering of memorized mumbling, not a parroting of a prepared petition. It is a cry! “Arise, O Yahweh; save me, O my God!” It is a cry of distress from a heart that feels itself in mortal danger, that knows it will surely be destroyed except help comes from the Lord. He is then able to rest, for the God to Whom he cries is a delivering God. He is a God with abundant testimony of His past deeds. He has “struck all my enemies on the cheek” and “shattered the teeth of the wicked.” He will not fail now.
This man, who lay down and slept, awakes. The Lord has heard him out of His Holy Hill. Having heard him, the Lord sustains him. He is preserved. Jesus promised that he who believes in Him shall never die. When those who fear God and trust in Christ lie down, they know that they will arise. God will never suffer them to perish. O, how this worried, harried, frustrated generation needs to know such a God!
Because this man fears God, he fears no man. No, he will not fear ten thousand men set against him and surrounding him on every side. This one fact he knows in his heart, and it is evident in all his actions: “Salvation belongs to Yahweh.” There is only one Savior in the cosmos, and that is the God with whom we must engage. His name is Jesus, and His blessing is upon all who trust in Him. We can find no other hope under which we can safely rest. We need none, for He is sufficient
