Here, “fear” can also be translated as “trembling.” Even the greatest heroes of faith have sometimes trembled before men. Think of Abraham, whose fear of powerful kings moved him to tell lies (Genesis 12:10–20; Genesis 20:1–18). The (usually brave) apostle Peter trembled before a servant girl (Mark 14:66–72). Later, his fear of Jewish believers and their opinion would also cause him to stumble dangerously (Galatians 2:11–14).
We also have examples in the Bible of how believers were “kept safe” by trusting in the Lord. Think of David when he faced Goliath, Moses before Pharaoh, Hezekiah when he had to deal with the armies of Sennacherib. Above all, think of our Lord Jesus Christ: perfect in his trust in God and wholly free from the fear of man. He taught us, his disciples, to follow his example (see Luke 12:4–5).
25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.