John Calvin Commentary Psalms 3:5-6

"I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people That have set themselves against me round about." — Psalms 3:5-6 (ASV)

According to Hebrew usage, these words, which are in the past tense, I laid me down and slept, are sometimes understood as referring to the future, I will lie down and sleep. If we keep the verb in the past tense, David expresses a wonderful and almost incredible steadfastness of mind in that he slept so soundly in the midst of many deaths, as if he were beyond the reach of all danger.

He had undoubtedly been tossed amid the merciless waves of anxiety, but it is certain their violence had been calmed by faith, so that however much he was troubled, he rested in God. Thus the godly never fail in ultimately proving victorious over all their fears, whereas the ungodly, who do not rely on God, are overwhelmed with despair, even when they meet with the smallest perils.

Some think there is a change of tenses here and, therefore, translate the verbs into the future tense, I will lay me down and will sleep, and will awake, because a future tense verb is added immediately after, The Lord shall uphold me, but as he expresses a continuous act with these last words, I thought it unnecessary to change the tenses of the first three verbs.

Still, we ought to know that this confidence in his safety is not to be attributed particularly to the time of his affliction, or, at least, should not be limited to it: for, in my judgment, David rather declares how much good he had obtained through faith and prayer; namely, the peaceful and undisturbed state of a well-regulated mind.

He expresses this metaphorically when he says that he performed the ordinary actions of life without being disturbed by fear. "I have not lain," he says, "waking and restless on my bed, but I have slept soundly; whereas this kind of sleep does not generally happen to those who are full of anxious thoughts and fear." But let us particularly note that David gained this confidence in his safety from God's protection, and not from stupidity of mind.

Even the wicked are kept soundly asleep by an intoxication of mind, while they dream they have made a covenant with death. It was different for David, who found rest on no other basis than that he was upheld by God's power and defended by His help. In the next verse, he elaborates on the incalculable efficacy of this confidence, of which all the godly have some understanding from their experience of divine protection.

Since God's power is infinite, they conclude that it will be invincible against all the assaults, outrages, preparations, and forces of the whole world. And indeed, unless we ascribe this honor to God, our courage will always be failing us. Therefore, let us learn, when in danger, not to measure God's assistance by human standards, but to despise whatever terrors may stand in our way, since all human attempts against God are of little or no account.