“Thou Shalt Not Be Afraid”
IN times of distress and perplexity like these in which we are living, how comforting and assuring are the following words from the divine Book: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust. For He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover thee with His pinions, And under His wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, Nor for the arrow that flieth by day; For the pestilence that walketh in darkness, Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; But it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, And see the reward of the wicked. For Thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge!” “Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. For He will give His angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot.” “Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, And show him my salvation.” The psalmist is telling of a time when the deadly pestilence is abroad in the land, when there is terror by night, and when the arrow is flying by day, when destruction is spreading wasteness and desolation. And in that time, He assures those who trust in God that they shall not be afraid. His angels have charge over them, and they are kept by His mighty power. What a contrast there is between the condition of those described in this psalm, and that other company that the Saviour tells about in the twenty-first chapter of Luke, whose hearts are failing them for fear as they are looking after the things that are coming upon the earth! The divine protection is over one class, and they have learned to know and to trust the Lord’s power so completely that they are not even afraid. And while destruction and desolation are stalking through the land everywhere, and while pestilence is creating havoc among the sinful inhabitants, those who have learned to trust Jehovah are not afraid. The salvation that comes through Jesus Christ includes relief from fear even in times when storm, pestilence, and earthquake are creating their terrors, and when the violence of mobs as well as the furies of armies is causing anguish and perplexity. The people are inspiring a false hope who would have you believe that the conditions which create the distress and perplexity of this time will soon pass by. The power of God and His salvation alone may be trusted with safety.