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It would appear that David's friends were not much more helpful than his enemies.
The enemies said:--
"There is no help for him in God" (Psalm 3: 2).
while his friends said:--
"Who will show us any good?" (Psalm 4: 6).
and once again David turns to the Lord:--
"Lord, lift up the light of Thy countenance upon us" (Psalm 4: 6).
The secret of David's peaceful sleep is just the fact of the Lord's presence. The light
of His countenance was more gladdening than the day of harvest (verse 7). To suffer
hunger in a wilderness, to be a fugitive instead of a monarch did not seem "good", but as
in the case of Joseph in his prison, "the Lord was with him". So with David. He had the
light of God's countenance, all else mattered little:--
"I will lay me down in peace, and sleep at once: for Thou, Lord, alone maketh me
dwell in safety" (Psalm 4: 8).
#17. "If the foundations be destroyed,
what can the righteous do?" (Psa. 11: 3).
pp. 109, 110
The Companion Bible points out that the foundations here refer not so much to
buildings as to "the settled order of truth or institutions". In Isa. 19: 10 the word is
translated "purposes".
It is not our intention here to discuss the evident prophetic character of the Psalms, but
there are few who have received the illumination of Scripture who do not realize that the
foundations are being destroyed at this present time. There is also no scriptural warrant
to make us expect that these foundations will ever be restored before the Lord Himself
comes.
"What can the righteous do?"
It is exceedingly difficult not to attempt to do something. One will feel stirred to great
activity in witness, another will seek to form a league or a crusade. All these things may
be perfectly right, yet on the other hand they may be wrong. The Psalmist seems to
supply the first great answer to his question, "What can the righteous do?" in the very
next verse. What does he say?:--
"The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in the heavens" (verse 4).