- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
VICTORY OVER FEAR.
By J C Metcalfe
What a striking passage Psalm 34 is, as it deals with fear, its outworking and cure. The title of this Psalm is, “Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left”. David was the victim of fear. He was afraid of Saul who wanted to kill him and was doing all he could to bring it about. From a human point of view David had every reason to be afraid, but he had been anointed King of Israel, and God had promised to keep him safe. First Samuel chapter 19 tells us that David sought refuge with the prophet Samuel. Saul discovered them but the Spirit of God came upon Saul and he could do nothing against David. In chapter 21 the Bible records that David fled out of fear and went to Abimelek/Achish king of Gath. Fear drove him from a place of inheritance into enemy territory. His trust in God was forgotten and he panicked. Fear can drive us completely out of the will of God.
Fear breeds more fear, we read in 1 Samuel 21 verse 12 that David was “very much afraid of Achish”. Now left to his own ideas he went from the dignity of being God’s elect to behaving like a madman in order to escape the Philistine king. He showed intelligence in this because ancient cultures saw a madman as being in the hands of the gods and so should be left alone. This is true in our life as well, if fear dominates it can often drive us into foolish panic, which could likely lead to our failure.
David took shelter in the cave of Adullam. The Bible tells us that those who were in distress, in debt or discontented gathered around David (1 Samuel 22 v1-2). God reveals Himself to the needy and distressed, for the “whole” have no need of a physician. It is based on this that God deals with us, so having a knowledge of our own weakness is actually healthy. Like the followers of David, when we are needy our hearts are ready to appreciate God’s mercy.
I Sought the Lord
David finally realised the sinfulness and failures of his surrender to fear and he wrote, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34 v4). He had trusted in his own way of handling the problem and despite his own planning, fear had still affected him. The greatest reason why so many Christians are familiar with fear is because we do not seek the Lord as we should. The natural human mind has many arguments in favour of handling fear in a way other than the Lord’s, and seeking Him is often the last thing we think of doing. The habit of laying everything, small and great, before the Lord is a sure way of breaking the power of fear. “Have no fear of sudden disaster”, Proverbs 3 verse 25 says, “or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared” (v26). The way to access God’s presence is never closed to His people. “I have not said to Jacob’s descendants ‘Seek me in vain’, I, the Lord, speak the truth”, is God’s own declaration made in Isaiah 45 verse 19. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3 v12). We can find so much encouragement from Scripture. It is wise to trust our heavenly Father and to give every need we have to Him. This is the secret that David shared in Psalm 34.
David’s testimony was that ALL his fears were removed by the touch of God. There is no power of fear that God is unable to destroy. But John Flavel, the Puritan writer, cautions us by saying, “do not expect a perfect cure for your fears in this life, because where there are enemies and dangers there will be fears. If there is weakness in our faith there will be strength in our fears”. This is true but it is never God’s fault, as soon as we call on Him in humility our salvation will come. We only have to look at Peter’s experience to see how this works. After Peter had miraculously walked on water with His Lord, “he was afraid and, beginning to sink cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down” (Matthew 14 v30-32). David also said, “this poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34 v6).
Notice that the little word ALL is used by David. This does not mean that Christians have a trouble free existence, it means that God always saves those who call upon Him in His own way and time. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were saved out of the burning furnace, and not even the smell of fire touched them. Others, we are told in Hebrews 11, were not lifted out of their torture and martyrdom when they refused “to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection” (v35). All were the objects of God’s care, and entered into His final deliverance. We too are promised that, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8 v37). We have a precious promise in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13 that tells us that others also experience the same temptations in life that we are experiencing. The verse goes on to say, “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”. Charles H Spurgeon made this comment, “David was completely clean of his worries. The Lord sweeps our griefs away as the wind clears away the mist. Prayer can clear us of troubles as easily as the Lord stopped the frogs and flies in Egypt when Moses asked Him. This verse is the Psalmist’s own personal testimony. Let the fearful reader take heart and be of good courage”. David had plenty of troubles still to come, but he knew that he always had access into God’s presence that speeds deliverance on.
The Fear of the Lord.
The next verses of Psalm 34 introduces the thought of “the fear of the Lord”. Human fear is full of bitterness but divine fear is sweet to the soul. The first drives one to slavery but the other produces liberty. The fear of the Lord is not a terrorising fear that means we approach Him as slaves before His throne, rather we are to approach as forgiven children with loving reverence. We come before a holy Father trusting in Jesus’ righteousness and His great mercy. This divine fear and reverence will destroy the strongholds of terrorising human fear. Proverbs tells us that whoever “fears the Lord has a secure fortress” and “the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (14 v26-27) .
Look at the effects of this divine fear in the Christian’s daily life. Firstly, “the Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them” (Psalm 34 v7). What a picture this gives us of God’s angels who are ready to defend the believer. Imagine the astonishment of Elisha when he saw the “chariot of fire and horses of fire” that took Elijah to heaven (2 Kings 2 v11). We can also be amazed when the Son of God refused to summon the angels to help Him on His way to the Cross because He loved us. The reality of such protection is found in the next verse, “taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34 v8).
The second wonderful provision for those who fear Him is shown in the next two verses, “Fear the LORD, you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing”. Here is a promise of all that we will ever need for spirit, soul and body. For those who fear Him and commit everything to Him, this promise guarantees that He will take care of our needs. Sometimes He may withhold this so that He will bring a greater blessing than what we asked. We are reminded of the Apostle Paul’s way of life in promises like, “for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4 v11-13). We are naturally controlled by external things, such as our abilities, health or possessions, that it takes us a long time to begin to grasp the fact that having Christ is all that we need. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1 v20). George Müller of Bristol who proved the reality of God’s help, commented on the verse, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6 v33), and said that he knew of no child of God who after doing this did not see the Lord fulfil His promise. The Lord is faithful to His promises if we will honour Him by taking Him at His word.
David goes on in Psalm 34 to say, “whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days?” (v12). Many of those listening to him would have wanted this life of freedom from doubt, worries and fears. David’s answer is, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies” (v13). This shows us that very often fear and anxiety are the fruit of evil or careless speech, and we know the trouble that insincerity can play on the heart in our relationship with God and people. We need our lives to be held tightly by the Holy Spirit so that we can avoid trouble from our tongues.
David turns his back on his own experience and is amazed at the Lord’s quick response to those who throw themselves completely onto His love and mercy, “the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles” (v17). Fear cannot survive in the presence of the King of Love. “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91 v1), and the Psalm continues by saying that God will rescue you and “you will not fear” (v5).
This leads David onto considering how to approach God, and he selects two things that are essential. They are a broken heart and a crushed spirit (v18). God resists self-righteousness and pride. In Isaiah the Lord declares, “Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool” and the one He esteems is “humble and contrite in spirit” (66 v1-2). Jesus put it this way, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5 v3). The way to freedom from pride that leads to fear is to boldly come to God through the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ alone.
At the end of Psalm 34 we read that, “evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord will rescue His servants; no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned” (v21-22). Fear is natural to all who do not know the Gospel. Satan also uses every excuse to bring anxiety and fear to the lives of Christians. We must remind ourselves of the words of Scripture on such occasions, “who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8 v34).
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34 v4).
From an old ‘Overcomer’ issue.