God’s people still today can be armed with this fearlessness by seeing the beauty of the LORD. For David (in verses 2 and 3), the danger can range from non-apparent to full-scale onslaught from forces that have more than enough power to completely overwhelm him, yet he finds fear an inappropriate response because he is shielded in the hand of God. His ability to stand is measured by the kind intentions of God, not his own personal force and shrewdness. To understand the beauty of God is to be clothed with an unassailable confidence in your Christian life that will hold even in the very worst circumstances. In modern city life there are many things to make people afraid, yet the person who gazes upon the beauty of the LORD is armed likewise, with this confidence.
We read these psalms in such a bizarre way in our modern day. We hear David piling phrases up like, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”, and we know that those are the kind of expressions we have become familiar with in the Psalms. Do we truly understand what kind of situation this is? I mentioned a moment ago that there are many things that make people afraid in modern city life. This is true for the whole world, wherever you live. Millions live in terror, too afraid to sleep at night. They live in small flats (apartments) in the only part of town they can afford. The hallways are littered with trash. The stairwells have become the only way to move from floor to floor because the elevators have long been out of commission.
The buildings no longer have electricity and the staircases and hallways are pitch black. The residents use the stairs as their toilet facility because most of the plumbing is out-of-order. Coming home is a horrible thing! Stepping into the darkness, regardless of whether it is day or night, you are stepping into the unknown. But it is worse than that, you are stepping into the unknown where you know sinful men and perverts prey. Here you know people are murdered for a few coins. Life is worthless, law-enforcement is non-existent and criminals run wild.
After making it home once more, you light your candles for light and after eating a small meal, lie awake for hours listening to the screams of the city. Gunshots crack in the hallways, fights break out. Doors are constantly being smashed in and people who are simply trying to mind their own business are violated and plundered in their own homes. It is those who live in such terror who can best understand what it is to be besieged by enemies and having war break out against them. And if David could say that even in this kind of situation he would not fear, then there was something about the God in whom he trusted that was exceptionally wonderful. God was closer to him than the air he breathed (Psalm 139:1-18). God has complete control over every beat of the hearts of even his enemies and could snatch their lives away in the instant of their choosing. And even in this environment where bloody attack seems unavoidable, people who know the kind intentions of their God also know what it is to be fearless before their God.
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