You Will Not Be Afraid

This 91st Psalm is right up there with the 23rd as a universal favorite – full of encouragement amidst anxiety. The church was learning: even if God takes us through deep pain, HE CAN BE TRUSTED to use that difficulty to liberate us, no longer to be children, tossed here and there by every wind of teaching (Eph 4.14).

This is a Psalm or orientation. It's giving us a reason to face life in a kind of posture, a perspective, an orientation. It's built on the "grammar of grace"; in other words – FIRST the indicative mood verb (indicating what IS – indicative) and THEN the imperative (a command). Because God has done this (indicative) you're free to do that (the imperative as response).

And the way that grammar plays out in THIS Psalm is basically to say: because God is Protector, you will not be afraid; you don't have to be ruled by anxiety. Verse 5: "You will not be afraid."

How is anxiety converted into maturity/confidence? We have:

1. To Recognize the Opposition
2. To Receive the Promise
3. To Navigate the Nuance