They would have blustered and said they cared for nothing! Generally there is no greater coward in this world than the man who never will acknowledge that he is afraid.Ĥ. Some men would never have admitted that they were afraid. You remember, perhaps, the insinuations of others, or something rises up out of your own carnal reason that renders it difficult for you to believe, while at the same time you are believing! You battle with yourself- one self seems to say, “Is it so?” and yet your inner self seems to say, “I could die for it, I know it is so!”ģ. He teaches that there is courage in being honest about fears.ĭavid says, “I am afraid.” Admire his honesty in making this confession. You have believed it so as to grasp it and feel it to be your own, yet, perhaps, almost at the same time certain rationalistic thoughts have come into your mind and you have been vexed with doubts as to whether the promise is true.

You have seen a precious promise or a glorious Doctrine and you have believed it because you have found it in God’s Word.

He illustrates that intellectual qualms need not be viewed as displacing of faith. Paradox it may be, but contradiction it is not!Ģ. He says, “I am afraid,” yet with the same breath he says, “I will trust in You.” Is not this a contradiction? It looks like a paradox. Notice, first, then, that here is David in a complex condition. Spurgeon gives voice to inner complexities. According to Charles Spurgeon ( here and here), Psalm 56:3-“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”-holds a tension and, yet, a resolve that is uniquely characteristic of the Christian’s experience of fear.ġ.

Preach the brave quotes