“You Will Not Fear” Psalm 91:5-6

What will happen if I trust in Christ? As we work our way through this Psalm, one could get the impression that it is promising that all will be sweetness and light for those who trust in the Lord. There is an entire (false) theology built on the idea that if we just have enough faith we will not get sick, we will have all that we want, and nothing bad will befall us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus himself said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” James 1:3 tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” So what good is it to be trusting in Christ? Psalm 91:5-6 says:

“You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.”

If we are trusting in the Lord as our refuge, we may live free from fear.

Think about it: If the God in whom we find shelter is the Most High, and if the one in whose shadow we rest is the Almighty, what is there to fear? If the one in whom we trust is refuge and fortress and God, do we have any reason to be afraid? If he is able to save you from dangers visible and hidden, is there any cause for alarm? David put it well when he wrote, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”Those whose trust is in the Lord may rest in perfect peace.

There are many things that would induce fear in us. There are night terrors. The dangers of the night cause us to fear since they are unseen. They can be both real and imagined. They can range from the thief that comes in the night to the things that we imagine are under our beds or in our closets. Even the worries of the day are magnified as we lie awake at night. Yet for those who are trusting in the Lord, none of these can harm them. Our safety is in Him, and we need not fear the terror of night.

“The arrow that flies by day” can be a very scary thing, as we are all now experiencing. Though we may see it, there seems to be little protection from it. It is silent and may catch us by surprise. There are dangers of the day as well as of the night, but the Lord is our refuge, and we do not need to be afraid of these either.

We are all being careful not to catch the latest virus to terrorize the world. We wash our hands, we practice social isolation, we exercise and eat right. We know, however, that viruses and bacteria can slip past our defenses despite our best efforts. It is reassuring to know that there is no illness that will destroy us if we are trusting in the Lord. In fact, nothing comes into the life of a Christian that does not come through nail-scarred hands. Having saved us from the guilt and punishment of our sins, Christ will not let anything harm us.

That brings us to the worst danger of all— that which endangers our soul. The world, the flesh, and the devil would drag us down to destroy us. Our own sin brings guilt and condemnation upon us. We are told in Ephesians 2 that, apart from Christ, we are children of wrath, spiritually dead. The wrath of God is upon us for our sin. But God is “rich in mercy.” See Ephesians 2:4-10. When Jesus died on the cross, He took the wrath of God toward our sin upon Himself, and, in a great exchange God put the righteousness of Christ upon us. Now, for those who trust in Christ there is no reason to fear condemnation for sin. The price has been paid. See Romans 8:1. Plus, since Christ has conquered death by His rising from the dead, we need not fear death. United to Him by faith, we cannot die, though our bodies may die. See John 11:25-26.

Thus the Psalmist rightly says, “You [who trust in God] will not fear.”