There is an almost paradoxical balance of confidence and humility in this response. Their statement combines elements that we would consider antithetical to one another. On the one hand, they express a strong belief that God not only is able to rescue them but actually will rescue them (v. 17). But then we are puzzled by their next sentence, beginning “But if not.” If they are confident in God, why would they even admit the possibility of not being delivered?
