◄ Psalm 56:3 ►
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
Study Bible
When I am afraid
This phrase captures the human condition of fear, a universal emotion experienced by all, including the psalmist, David. The Hebrew word for "afraid" here is "yare," which conveys a sense of dread or terror. Historically, David faced numerous threats, from King Saul's pursuit to battles with the Philistines. This context of fear is not just personal but also communal, reflecting the collective anxieties of Israel. The phrase acknowledges the reality of fear, yet it is the prelude to a declaration of trust, showing that fear is not the end but a point of transition.

I will trust in You
The Hebrew word for "trust" is "batach," which implies a sense of confidence and security. This trust is not in an abstract concept but in a personal God, Yahweh, who has proven faithful throughout Israel's history. The act of trusting is a deliberate choice, a turning away from fear towards faith. In the conservative Christian perspective, this trust is foundational, rooted in the character of God as revealed in Scripture. It is an active reliance on God's promises and His sovereignty, a theme echoed throughout the Bible, from the patriarchs to the apostles. This phrase serves as a powerful reminder that faith is the antidote to fear, and it is in trusting God that believers find peace and assurance.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The author of Psalm 56, David was a shepherd, warrior, and king of Israel. He often faced fear and danger, which he expressed in his psalms.

2. Philistines
A significant enemy of Israel during David's time. David wrote Psalm 56 when the Philistines seized him in Gath, highlighting his personal experience of fear and reliance on God.

3. Gath
A Philistine city where David sought refuge while fleeing from King Saul. It was here that David experienced fear and penned this psalm.
Teaching Points
Trust Overcomes Fear
Trusting in God is a deliberate choice we make when faced with fear. David exemplifies this by turning to God in his moments of fear.

God as a Refuge
Just as David found refuge in God amidst his enemies, we too can find safety and peace in God's presence when we are afraid.

Faith in Action
Trusting God requires active faith. It involves prayer, meditation on His Word, and recalling His past faithfulness.

Emotional Honesty with God
David's psalms show that we can be honest with God about our fears. God invites us to bring our anxieties to Him.

Consistency in Trust
Trusting God should be a consistent practice, not just in times of crisis. Building a habit of trust prepares us for when fear arises.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does David's experience with the Philistines in Gath enhance our understanding of his trust in God in Psalm 56:3?

2. In what ways can we apply the principle of trusting God when afraid, as seen in Psalm 56:3, to our daily lives?

3. How do other scriptures, like Isaiah 12:2 and 2 Timothy 1:7, reinforce the message of trusting God over fear?

4. What practical steps can we take to cultivate a habit of trusting God consistently, not just in times of fear?

5. How can we use David's example of emotional honesty with God to deepen our own relationship with Him?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 34:4
This verse also speaks of seeking the Lord when afraid and finding deliverance, reinforcing the theme of trusting God in fear.

Isaiah 12:2
This verse emphasizes trust in God as salvation, paralleling the trust David expresses in Psalm 56:3.

2 Timothy 1:7
This New Testament verse speaks of God giving us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline, not fear, aligning with the trust in God over fear.
Sermons
Fear and FaithAlexander MaclarenPsalm 56:3
Fear and DeliveranceW. Forsyth Psalm 56:1-13
The Deprecable and the DesirableHomilistPsalm 56:1-13
The Struggle and Victory of FaithC. Short Psalm 56:1-13
Faith Conquering FearAlfred Rowland, B. A.Psalm 56:3-4
Fear and FaithA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 56:3-4
Fear and TrustW. J. Hocking, B. A.Psalm 56:3-4
On Public Prayer in Connection with Natural National CalamitiesJ. Baldwin Brown, B. A.Psalm 56:3-4
The Saints' Great Resource in Times of FearEvangelistPsalm 56:3-4
People
David, Psalmist, Saul
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Afraid, Confide, Confident, Faith, Fear, Trust
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 56:1-4

     8754   fear

Psalm 56:3-4

     5562   suffering, innocent
     5819   cowardice
     8031   trust, importance
     8215   confidence, results

Library
March 27. "What Time I am Afraid, I Will Trust in Thee" (Ps. Lvi. 3).
"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee" (Ps. lvi. 3). We shall never forget a remark Mr. George Mueller once made in answer to a gentleman who asked him the best way to have strong faith. "The only way," replied the patriarch of faith, "to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings." This is very true. The time to trust is when all else fails. Dear one, if you scarcely realize the value of your present opportunity, if you are …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Song of Deliverance
'For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: hast Thou not delivered my feet from falling? that I may walk before God in the light of the living.'--PSALM lvi. 13 (R.V.). According to the ancient Jewish tradition preserved in the superscription of this psalm, it was written at the lowest ebb of David's fortunes, 'when the Philistines took him in Gath,' and as you may remember, he saved himself by adding the fox's hide to the lion's skin, and by pretending to be an idiot, degraded as well as delivered …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Fear and Faith
What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. 4. ... In God I have put my trust: I will not fear.'--PSALM lvi. 3, 4. It is not given to many men to add new words to the vocabulary of religious emotion. But so far as an examination of the Old Testament avails, I find that David was the first that ever employed the word that is here translated, I will trust, with a religious meaning. It is found occasionally in earlier books of the Bible in different connections, never in regard to man's relations …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

January the Thirtieth Irresistible Artillery
"When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back." --PSALM lvi. But it must be a real "cry"! It must not be an idle recitation which sheds no blood. It must be a cry like the cry of the drowning, a cry which cleaves the air like a bullet. Said a man to me some while ago, "Assault the heavens with cries for me!" That is the cry which takes the kingdom by storm. When such a cry rends the heavens, "my enemies turn back." A secret and irresistible artillery begins to play upon them, and their …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Now this Election the Apostle Demonstrating to Be...
17. Now this election the Apostle demonstrating to be, not of merits going before in good works, but election of grace, saith thus: "And in this time a remnant by election of grace is saved. But if by grace, then is it no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace." [2672] This is election of grace; that is, election in which through the grace of God men are elected: this, I say, is election of grace which goes before all good merits of men. For if it be to any good merits that it is given, …
St. Augustine—On Patience

Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Providence of God
Q-11: WHAT ARE GOD'S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE? A: God's works of providence are the acts of his most holy, wise, and powerful government of his creatures, and of their actions. Of the work of God's providence Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.' John 5:17. God has rested from the works of creation, he does not create any new species of things. He rested from all his works;' Gen 2:2; and therefore it must needs be meant of his works of providence: My Father worketh and I work.' His kingdom …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Degrees of Sin
Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. He that delivered me unto thee, has the greater sin.' John 19: 11. The Stoic philosophers held that all sins were equal; but this Scripture clearly holds forth that there is a gradual difference in sin; some are greater than others; some are mighty sins,' and crying sins.' Amos 5: 12; Gen 18: 21. Every sin has a voice to speak, but some …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

A Few Sighs from Hell;
or, The Groans of the Damned Soul: or, An Exposition of those Words in the Sixteenth of Luke, Concerning the Rich Man and the Beggar WHEREIN IS DISCOVERED THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED; THEIR CRIES, THEIR DESIRES IN THEIR DISTRESSES, WITH THE DETERMINATION OF GOD UPON THEM. A GOOD WARNING WORD TO SINNERS, BOTH OLD AND YOUNG, TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BETIMES, AND TO SEEK, BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, TO AVOID, LEST THEY COME INTO THE SAME PLACE OF TORMENT. Also, a Brief Discourse touching the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Great Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I t is not easy for those, whose habits of life are insensibly formed by the customs of modern times, to conceive any adequate idea of the pastoral life, as obtained in the eastern countries, before that simplicity of manners, which characterized the early ages, was corrupted, by the artificial and false refinements of luxury. Wealth, in those …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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