When thou liest down - In these verses (Proverbs 3:23-26) the wise man describes the confidence, security, and safety, which proceed from a consciousness of innocence. Most people are afraid of sleep, lest they should never awake, because they feel they are not prepared to appear before God. They are neither innocent nor pardoned. True believers know that God is their keeper night and day; they have strong confidence in him that he will be their director and not suffer them to take any false step in life, Proverbs 3:23. They go to rest in perfect confidence that God will watch over them; hence their sleep, being undisturbed with foreboding and evil dreams, is sweet and refreshing, Proverbs 3:24. They are not apprehensive of any sudden destruction, because they know that all things are under the control of God; and they are satisfied that if sudden destruction should fall upon their wicked neighbor, yet God knows well how to preserve them, Proverbs 3:25. And all this naturally flows from the Lord being their confidence, Proverbs 3:26.

When thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid,.... That is, when thou liest down on thy bed at night in order to take sleep, having committed thyself into the hands of a faithful Creator and covenant God and Father, and of Christ the Redeemer and Wisdom of God; thou shalt not be afraid of thieves breaking in to hurt thy person or rob thee of thy property, or of fire to consume thy dwelling and substance, and of nocturnal apparitions and diabolical spectres deceiving thy sight and disturbing thy mind: or when thou art "asleep" (e), for so the word also signifies; thou 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;

yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy 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 Psalm 4:8. This epithet of "sweet" is often given to "sleep" in poetic writings (f).

(e) "dormieris", V. L. "eum dormies", Vatablus. (f) , Homer. Odyss. 7. v. 289. & 19. v. 511. Theocrit. Idyll. 11. v. 22, 23.

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

3:21-26 Let us not suffer Christ's words to depart from us, but keep sound wisdom and discretion; then shall we walk safely in his ways. The natural life, and all that belongs to it, shall be under the protection of God's providence; the spiritual life, and all its interests, under the protection of his grace, so that we shall be kept from falling into sin or trouble.