David, the son of Jesse, wrote this psalm. David had wonderfully experienced the LORD’s personal care and protection throughout his life. He also remembered how God had cared for and protected the nation of Israel. Perhaps he recalled the time when God delivered Israel from the Pharaoh of Egypt. He would have been familiar with Moses’ song which Moses and the children of Israel sang after they crossed the Red Sea. Exodus 15:2 “the Lord is my strength and song and he has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise him; My fathers’ God and I will extol Him.” 

David says the LORD is his light. A light makes the darkness disappear and makes the pathway clear. He calls God his salvation. He is acknowledging that God is the one who delivers and rescues him from his enemies. The LORD is the strength of his life. The Hebrew word translated “strength” has the thought of a place of safety, a fortified place. In light of all these facts, David says there is nothing that can come upon him that he needs to be afraid of, for God is with him. Psalm 118:6 “The LORD is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

For the Christian also, God is with us. His love is evident. God has given us Jesus as our light. John 12:46, “I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness.” Jesus, by His example, gives us a clear path to walk. God has given us Jesus as our salvation. Acts 4:12 “and there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, we have been saved from our enemy, death. John 3:16-17, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life…that the world might be saved through him.”

God has given us Jesus as our strength. Philippians 4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We can be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Ephesians 6:10 

As we grow in Christ and lean on him, we too can confidently say with David and the Apostle Paul, “The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6.