The Wicked Flee, but the Righteous Stand Bold as Lions

The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion.—Proverbs 28:1

In all ages, courage has been regarded as a mark of honour and magnanimity, while cowardice has been deemed proof of baseness. Yet Christians must judge timidity differently than the world does. There is much the world calls cowardly which we regard as noble and magnanimous.

The real coward is the slave of his fear. The brave man is tranquil, firm, concentrated—master of himself and therefore master of what belongs to him. The text charges cowardice upon sin and claims for holiness the honours of courage.

Sin is immediately followed by fear: fear of detection, exposure, punishment. Under a sense of sin, even the bravest man becomes a coward. The sinner dreads the Divine displeasure. Sin is darkness; it shuns the light. When a man has sinned, his chief care is that his transgression remain hidden. Conscience allows them no peace. They are restless, unsettled, miserable.

Converting the picture, the text presents the righteous as "bold as a lion." This comparison implies the highest degree of intrepidity. Where there is uprightness of conduct, there is no place for fear. He who has done nothing to be ashamed of cannot dread detection. He who acts from principle, who does what he does in the fear of God, will not be afraid of the consequences of his actions.