Scholars suggest that this is two psalms concatenated together because it seems the tone changes about halfway through. However, Hebrew literature is known for surprising and dramatic turns.
David begins by joyfully asserting that Jehovah is his light and deliverance. He was not at all a conventional thinker. We know of no other place in the Old Testament where God is called Light in this fashion; some English translations struggle to give it a different meaning. David gave his whole reverence to God. With the moral clarity that such a commitment brought to him, it’s no surprise he had little fear and no respect left for his enemies, typically defined as those who cared little for such high moral reverence. If God intended to deliver David over to anyone, it mattered not whether they were few or many, there was nothing David could do about it. He intended to fight as if God had already granted him victory.
Given what we know of David’s religious life, we can understand the claim that his main interest was living in God’s Presence. It’s another way of saying that all he cared about was God’s glory. As previously noted, there was no Temple, so David refers here to the image of being a member of God’s household and hanging out in His courts. It’s a good place for your heart to stand when things get rough. No one can get to you there.
So what would sort of noises would one make in praise to God? First, we acknowledge that God is our only hope. Thus, David suddenly cries out to God, as if in desperation. He’s providing a model of how one approaches the Lord. When we listen to our hearts, we cannot avoid the desire to seek divine favor. It’s certainly within God’s authority to cut us off, but we should not expect it. Either way, there’s nowhere else to go. We might as well learn all we can about His character because life can be no better than walking in His ways. When you stick with God’s path, it’s hard for your enemies to find a place for an ambush. What a dreary life it would be without God’s revelation!
So David ends by asserting once again that nothing works like relying on God. This is all the power you need to face life in this world.
