Whom Do You Fear?

[Isa. 51:12-13] I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
G-d comforts those that are cast down; He delights in being so. Those whom G-d comforts are comforted indeed; His undertaking to comfort them is comfort enough to them.
He comforts those that were in fear; and fear has torment, which calls for comfort. The fear of man has a snare in it which we have need of comfort to preserve us from. He comforts the timorous by chiding them, and that is no improper way of comforting either others or ourselves: Why art thou cast down, and why disquieted? G-d, who comforts His people, would not have them disquiet themselves with amazing perplexing fears of the reproach of men or of their growing threatening power and greatness, or of any mischief they may intend against His people.
We ought to look upon every mankind as a man/woman that shall die. Those we admire, love, and trust to, are men that shall die; let us not therefore delight too much in them nor depend too much upon them. Those we fear we must look upon as frail and mortal, and consider what a foolish thing it is for the servants of the living G-d to be afraid of dying men, that are here to-day and gone tomorrow.
It is absurd to fear continually every day to put ourselves upon a constant rack, so as never to be easy, nor to have any enjoyment of ourselves. Now and then a danger may be imminent and threatening, and it may be prudent to fear it; but to be always in a toss, jealous of dangers at every step, and to tremble at the shaking of every leaf, is to make ourselves all our lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15).
A timorous spirit is to apprehend the danger greater and nearer than really it is. Sometimes G-d is pleased at once to show us the folly of so doing: "Where is the fury of the oppressor? It is gone in an instant, and the danger is over ere thou art aware." Your heart is turned, or your hands are tied. What has become of all the furious oppressors of G-d's Israel, that hectored them, and threatened them, and were a terror to them? They passed away, and, lo, they were not; and so shall these.
Our inordinate fear of man is a tacit forgetfulness of G-d. When we disquiet ourselves with the fear of mankind we forget that there is a G-d above them, and that the greatest of men have no power but what is given them from above; we forget the providence of G-d, by which he orders and overrules all events according to the counsel of His own will; we forget the promises He has made to protect His people, and the experiences we have had of His care concerning us, and His seasonable interposition for our relief many a time, when we thought the oppressor ready to destroy; we forget our Jehovah-jirehs, monuments of mercy in the mount of the L-rd. Did we remember to make G-d our fear and our dread, we should not be so much afraid as we are of the frowns of men, Isaiah 8:12, 13. Happy is the man that fears G-d always, Proverbs 28:14, and LK.12:4-5.
Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand. I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.
This is not only a proof of what God can do, but a resemblance of what he has done, and will do, for his people; he will find out a way to still the threatening storm, and bring them safely into the harbor.
When faith is weak mankind are in a dreadful hurry, but strong faith does not judge the L-rd to be slack concerning His promise. As G-d achieves His purpose with infinite leisure, He loves a faith that is patient and looks not for its reward this day or the next. 'He that believeth shall not make haste': that is to say, he shall not be ashamed or confounded by present trials so as to rush upon unbelieving actions. Faith leaves times and seasons with G-d to whom they belong.