John Gill Commentary


John Gill Commentary
"When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." — Proverbs 3:24 (ASV)
When you lie down you shall not be afraid
That is, when you lie down on your bed at night in order to take sleep, having committed yourself into the hands of a faithful Creator and covenant God and Father, and of Christ the Redeemer and Wisdom of God; you shall not be afraid of thieves breaking in to hurt your person or rob you of your property, or of fire to consume your dwelling and substance, and of nocturnal apparitions and diabolical spectres deceiving your sight and disturbing your mind.
Or when you are "asleep" F5 , for so the word also signifies; you shall not be surprised out of it with any of the above things, or terrified in it with uneasy imaginations, anxious cares, and distressing dreams; yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet ; free of all uneasy thoughts and cares, sound and refreshing, pleasant and comfortable, like that of the labouring man, (Ecclesiastes 5:12) ; see (Psalms 4:8) . This epithet of "sweet" is often given to "sleep" in poetic writings.