At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
The wicked flee when no man pursueth:
Proverbs 28:1
But the righteous are bold as a lion.
Scripture teaches that courage is an aspect of righteousness, and that cowardice is an aspect of wickedness.
The most terrible thing about death is not that it happens. It is that we deserve to have it happen. “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). “When a wicked man [same word as in 28:1] dieth, his expectation shall perish: And the hope of unjust men perisheth” (Prov. 11:7). In other words, when wicked men come to the point of death, the thing that is frightful is the fact that they have a load of guilt on their backs. When he comes to the point of death, all his hopes and expectations for good are on the brink of death as well. There is no such thing as good news on the lip of damnation.
And this is why the proverb says that the wicked turn tail and run even when no one is chasing them. No man pursues. This is something God promises the disobedient.
“And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth” (Lev. 26:36).
Sinners of course will be judged. But it will be the very worst for cowards.
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”” (Rev. 21:8, NKJV).
The righteous are as bold as a lion. This is easy to say until we come to the realization that only one man has ever been righteous all the way through. Christ was in fact as bold as a lion. But since He took our guilt, this liberates us from our fear of death, which in turn means that we can become, like Him, as bold as a lion.
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them all who through fear of death were their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14–15).
To be liberated from true terrors is the reason why the righteous are also liberated from false terrors. If like Samson and David, we don’t run from a lion, we certainly don’t need to run from a skittering leaf.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).
