In God, whose word I praise--in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Sermons
I. "THE FEAR OF MAN BRINGETH A SNARE." (Proverbs 29:25.) The best of men are but men at the best. David was a man of splendid courage and generosity; but there were times when he grievously erred (1 Samuel 21:10-15). It was said by Dr. Arnold, "The fear of God makes no man do anything mean or dishonourable, but the fear of man does lead to all sorts of weakness and baseness." We may see here how the fear of man leads to failure in truth. When the thought of self is uppermost, we are apt to resort to our own devices. God's ways are too slow, so we turn to our own way. Children, through fear, will tell lies. We pity them and forgive. But, alas! we do not ourselves wholly put away childish things. Abraham prevaricated. David practised deceit. Peter denied his Lord. The fear of man also leads to the sacrifice of independence. Imagination working through fear exaggerates our danger. We become restless and impatient. Instead of bravely facing our foes, we shrink from the path of duty. "He is a slave who will not be In the truth, with two or three." But, worse still, the fear of man may lead to failure in justice and generosity. We are apt to put ourselves first. To save our miserable lives is the chief thing. Rather than that we should suffer, we would let others suffer. Rather than that we should be put to shame, we would have our opponents "cast down." This is the mean, selfish spirit which Satan recognized as so strong in human nature, when he said, "All that a man hath will he give for his life." II. GOD DELIVERETH HIS SERVANTS THAT TRUST IN HIM. (Daniel 3:28.) How naturally David turned to God in trouble! Circumstances moved him, but there was more - love constrained him. His heart went forth in clinging trust to God. Faith is the true antidote to fear. It lifts us out of the dust. It places us by the side of God. It fills our soul with peace and hope. Through trust we gain courage to face the foe (ver. 6). Further, we obtain resolution to continue the conflict (vers. 7-9). Taking hold of God's strength, we wax strong. All that is deepest and truest in our hearts calls upon us to be brave, and to quit ourselves like men. We are in the way of duty, and are able to say, like the king in the story, "Come on, come all; this rock shall fly from its firm base as soon as I." The experience of the past and the sure word of promise raise our hopes. We look to the future with confidence. In all our wanderings God watches over us. In all our weaknesses and sorrows God stands by us with tender compassion for our weaknesses, and with loving consolations for our sorrows. The victory will be with the right (vers. 10-13). If God has begun a good work in us, he will carry it on to the end. He who has been our Refuge in the past will not fail us in the future. Therefore let us go forward bravely in the path of duty, not counting our lives dear unto ourselves, so that we may be found faithful to him who hath called us, and finish our course with joy. - W.F. 1. The plea is dangerous as well as monstrous and criminal. If a son or a friend were to aver that he had become too busy, that he was too much engaged, for days and weeks and months together, to read an epistle from a distant land, dictated by parental love or by friendship, to what conclusion should we come as to the nature of the pretence or the character of the mind that could dictate it? Could we, even in this ordinary ease, admit for an instant the validity of the excuse, or suppose that any business of life could be so urgent? 2. The plea is untrue. A few verses, snatched from the hurry of life (if life must indeed be so hurried) may suffice. In a few minutes you may read enough to furnish materials for reflection and inquiry. You may walk or work — and think. And we claim such study for the Bible because — I. THE INFLUENCE WHICH IT EXERTS IS DISTINCTLY MORAL. It deals with man as a moral being, responsible for his actions, and to be influenced by motives. II. AND THIS IMPULSE WHICH IT COMMUNICATES IS HOLY. Notwithstanding passages in it which infidels have urged have an unholy tendency, the overwhelming effect of the book is towards holiness. Not so other sacred books — the Koran, and the like. III. AND THIS IMPULSE IS MIGHTY. IV. PROGRESSIVE. V. BUT SIMPLY INSTRUMENTAL. The truth contained in the sacred volume exerts an influence analogous, both in its force and its secrecy, to that of some of the most wonder-working agencies of nature. It resembles the unseen presence of magnetism or electricity, which move as by a touch the elements and masses around us — disposing them to order or clothing them with beauty; or it is like the vegetative power, that in the darkness and concealment of the earth and the clods of the valley impels the seed to shoot and rise and spread fertility upon the smiling surface. In the secret recesses of the soul, and in the dark and hidden depths of a heart, no human eye can penetrate and no human philosophy unravel — it subdues and sanctifies, works repentance and humiliation, and the settled purposes of a renewed mind, till on the surface appears the penitential tear, the bended knee, the contrite sigh, the believing and imploring reception of Christ, the moral and spiritual renewal of character, the outward, fearless, and heaven-sealing profession of a true religion; and every right-minded observer attests the truth of the Divine declaration, "Behold I make all things new." (F. A. Cox, D. D.) People David, Psalmist, SaulPlaces JerusalemTopics Afraid, Confidence, Fear, Flesh, Hope, Mere, Mortal, Praise, Trust, TrustedOutline 1. David, praying to God in confidence of his word, complains of his enemies,9. He professes his confidence in God's word, and promises to praise him Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 56:4 5914 optimism Library March 27. "What Time I am Afraid, I Will Trust in Thee" (Ps. Lvi. 3). "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee" (Ps. lvi. 3). We shall never forget a remark Mr. George Mueller once made in answer to a gentleman who asked him the best way to have strong faith. "The only way," replied the patriarch of faith, "to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings." This is very true. The time to trust is when all else fails. Dear one, if you scarcely realize the value of your present opportunity, if you are … Rev. A. B. 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