This is a psalm of simple faith. The faith and confidence of David in the Lord his God is a simple childlike faith that a child would have and express in his/her parents. This is a testimony of faith in contrast to what most people trust today. We read previously in Psalm 20 that “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” David did not confess to personal strength and may have considered himself an old man, a “tottering fence,” as his enemies did.
God only is the Refuge of our souls. He is the Source of our salvation. It comes from Him because He alone can give it. He is our Rock of safety. He alone is our stronghold for security. He is the basis of our hope, both now and forever. He is our glory. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God only is our Refuge in the storms of life now and when the opposition is greater than we can endure. He is only the Source of power for us to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. He is the fountainhead of love, mercy, grace, and kindness.
There are times when the test of faith comes to us who have placed our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. When that happens, we cannot allow fear to move us, but in faith and by faith, we place our confidence in God, no matter the outcome. The circumstances around us will not greatly shake those whose confidence is in the Lord. There will be boldness to testify to our faith to those who oppose, and we will be able to see through the subterfuge and plans of the enemies of our faith. We do and will want others to know the joy of faith and confidence in the Lord.
David’s declaration of faith in verses five through eight is as good for us as it was for him. He didn’t consider himself strong but rather acknowledged his weakness. He reflected on how his enemies saw him, and yet testified to, and asserted his faith. The vanity of human strength and riches is contrasted with the calm courage and unshaken faith in difficulties that made him victorious. Even though there will be uphill battles and pressures in life that seem to be more than is common to man, like this psalmist, a cheerful and enthusiastic attitude enables us to live above the pressures, problems, and pains of life and sing of salvation and our trust with optimistic praise.
In prayer, when we “pour out [our] heart before Him,” our confidence in the will of God for us reminds us that in the tests of faith, we can actually be strengthened. Confidence in God is well-placed, so we do not need to be overcome with alarm or fear when it seems like the opposition is overrunning us. Times of faith are, in a way, a constant in the lives of God’s people. But there are crisis times when we cannot see through the dark clouds. Any action on our part will not change a thing, so the constant state of the soul of one who has confidence in God keeps us with our “expectation” of God only. When our confidence is in “my Rock and my Salvation,” we may tremble, but we will “not be moved.” God is my Rock – my salvation – my glory – my Strength – my Refuge.”
The triumph of faith takes us above and beyond “men of low degree” or “men of high degree.” Several things listed here will not last but will disappoint us. People of rank, oppression of others as a means of getting ahead, robbery as a way to wealth, and wealth that people trust will all fail in the end. Work done in faith has real and lasting rewards. To set our eyes and hopes on men will make us disappointed, disillusioned, and discouraged. To set our hopes on riches, power, property, or other material things is to set ourselves up for failure.
Any power that lasts and is righteous comes from the divine power source. God has all the power to produce what is right and good. Man’s power and man’s mercy go together when they are for a righteous purpose. When faith in our Lord is such that we can live above adverse circumstances, we will have a wonderful and personal relationship with God above the ordinary. That is what this psalm describes, as the writer focuses on “God only.”