Not Scared!
“Tn nothing terrified by your adversaries.”,- — Puiu. i. 28.
THE Apostle takes his metaphor from a very sharp and vivid action. It is the figure of a startled horse shying at something which is only half seen, or which is mistaken for something else. And the horse is thrown into confusion, and into consequent peril of accident or disaster. And the Apostle sees a similar peril in the Christian life. As we journey along the road we may encounter apparently fearful presences which may break up our serenity, causing us to shy from our appointed goings, and plunge into danger of moral disaster. In panic we may lose our treasure. But the Apostle does not merely suggest the danger; he tells us how we can be so prepared, and so strengthened and quieted, that we shall go along the most menacing road with confidence, “* in nothing scared by our adversaries.” One of the most troublesome things on the way of life is the thing that is only partially seen. We do not see all round it. We are like Christian when he was climbing the hill Difficulty; we see the lions, but we do not see the chains which bind them. We can see the menace afar off, but we do not see the defensive grace until we get - quite near. That is a very frequent experience. The temptation begins to loom before us, and we do not see a way of escape. The almost certain loss stares upon us, but we cannot see the provision for recovery. Apollyon straddles across the way, and we cannot see any sign of the promised Friend. The enemy seems to have done everything! Our Friend seems to have done nothing. And we shy! We halt! Perhaps we turn! And it is for just such emergencies that the great Apostle gives us his counsel. “‘ Do not be scared,” he says. Forward! The threat is not the entire circumstance, as you will discover by continuing your journey! Keep quiet! Look straight ahead, and go on! When you get a little nearer you shall find that the lions are chained. There is cold water on this side the wall! There is the oil of inexhaustible grace on the other. ‘‘ As thy day so shall thy strength bet”? There is another very troublesome thing in life. We mistake something for something else. The mist is about it, and its outlines are exaggerated, and in form and proportions it assumes the shape of a menace. I was once walking along the Northumberland coast on a very foggy day when there loomed before me the figure of a gigantic lion. When I got nearer it turned out to be a church! I have often had such surprises in the experiences of the soul. The menace in the mist has proved to be the sanctuary of the Lord. We misinterpreted the lions, and we made a threat out of the house of grace. A form appears on the deep in the uncertain night, and we
See Cea ee Se SN SE Os E
156 Not Scared!
are afraid, and we say, “It is a spirit.” “And Jesus answered, It is I, be not afraid!”’
‘* He that believeth shall not make haste.”’ He shall not be urged into feverish haste. There shall be no panic. He shall not shy at the apparent antagonism. He shall be endowed with coolness and with calm. “Said I not unto thee that, if thou wilt believe, thou shalt see the glory of God!”