Psalm
112:1
Praise the LORD. Blessed is
the man who fears the LORD, who
finds great delight in his commands.
The fear of God—these words characterize the
religion of the Old Testament and the foundation that it laid for the more
abundant life of the New Testament. The gift of holy fear is still the great
desire of each child of God, and it is an essential part of a life that is to
make a real impression on the world. It is one of the great promises of the new
covenant in Jeremiah: “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them…[and] I
will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me” (Jeremiah
32:40).
We find the perfect combination of the two in
Acts 9:31: “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee
and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” More than once, Paul gave the
fear of God a high place in the Christian life: “Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you” (Philippians
2:12–13); “Perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians
7:1).
It has often been said that the lack of the
fear of God is one of the areas where our modern times cannot compare favorably
with the times of the Puritans. It is no wonder that there is so much cause of
complaint in regard to the reading of God’s Word, the worship of His house, and
the absence of the spirit of continuous prayer that marked the early church. We
need texts like the one at the beginning of this devotion to be expounded, and
new converts must be fully instructed in the need for and the blessedness of a
deep fear of God, leading to an unceasing prayerfulness as one of the essential
elements of the life of faith.
Let us earnestly cultivate this grace in the
inner chamber. Let us hear these words coming out of the very heavens: “Who
shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy” (Revelation
15:4).
“Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
“Blessed is the man that fears the Lord.” As
we take these words into our hearts and believe that this is one of the deepest
secrets of blessedness, we will seek to worship Him in holy fear.
“Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with
trembling” (Psalm 2:11).
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