My pastor has recently given two very interesting sermons on fear. In both of them he made the statement that God's most frequent command is "don't be afraid". This got me wondering if it was true and if not, what was.
To set some limitations I'll make the following definitions:
- "From God" will include any statement attributed to God, Jesus, an angel, or a prophet relaying a message from God.
- A command is any instruction or anything that could reasonably be perceived as an instruction, not just statements in the imperative form or specific Mosaic laws.
- Paraphrasing is allowed. "Fear not" is the same as "Don't be afraid", etc.
Just to be clear I'm looking for an analysis of statistical frequency not an evaluation of what's most strongly emphasized or what's most important. I prefer the Protestant (Westminster confession) canon but I'll accept answers from any of the common Jewish or Christian canons. Just specify which books you used.
Edit: I'll also accept any analysis of how often God tells people to not be afraid in comparison to other well known commands.