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The Fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is not mentioned often, and I think that is a loss, so these comments I'm making I hope will be found helpful.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10). As I understand, godly fear is a gift and is given freely and that by grace, not a result of anything we do of ourselves, but is wholly of God’s sovereign choice, and is given only to the elect with the new birth. The new birth is wholly based on God’s sovereign choice and is not a result of anything man does. By election there is the decree of the Father by which He gave to the Son those whom He elected to salvation in the Son, the decree of the Son to receive those to be redeemed and to assume the human nature to accomplish their redemption, and the decree of the Spirit to accomplish in them by regenerative activity the total ends of the decree. Salvation is all of God, and in time, those that Christ redeemed shall be saved. The Spirit quickens those the Father gave to the Son, and when they are quickened I believe they receive the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom (Job 28:28); and the fear of the Lord is a characteristic of Jesus (Isa 11:2-3).

Some godly men disagree with me on this, but I must say what I believe. I think the word of God is instrumental in the new birth, and the new birth is instantaneous, but our growth in understanding is not. A man has no understanding of divine things before he is born again, the word of God being foolishness to him (1 Cor 2:14). God has ordained means, and I believe the word is used, a means ordained whereby the elect are quickened (Eph 2:1; 1 Pet 2:23; 3:18). Further, I believe the word is instrumental through all phases of the believers life.

Once a man is born again, they study (1 Pet 2:2) and gain understanding of the things of God, and with that study they understand the fear of the Lord, grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, where before they were born again they could not understand regardless of how they studied (1 Cor 1:21; 3:19).

In the NT it says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God.” It does not say study to make yourself approved, but that study will shew yourself, you, approved, and that is in the beloved (Eph 1:6). In Proverbs 2:3-5 it says, “...if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD.” It does not say do those things and gain the fear of the Lord. Godly fear is imparted with the new birth. Ye must be born again, and then you will have godly fear (Jer 32:39-40).

Proverbs 2:3-5
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

If you have access to Torrey’s New Topical Textbook, there is a helpful outline on “fear” that shows, among other things, the difference between godly fear, and ungodly fear. Here is a little of that outline:

Fear, Godly.

God is the object of

Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

God is the author of

Jeremiah 32:39-40 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Searching the Scriptures gives the understanding of

Proverbs 2:3-5 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Described as

Hatred of evil.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Wisdom.

Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

A treasure to saints.

Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Isaiah 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

A fountain of life.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Sanctifying.

Psalms 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Filial and reverential

Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Commanded

Deuteronomy 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Psalms 22:23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

1 Peter 2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

A characteristic of saints

Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

* * * * * * *

Fear, Unholy.

A characteristic of the wicked

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Is described as

A fear of idols.

2 Kings 17:38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.

A fear of man.

1 Samuel 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

John 9:22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

A fear of judgments.

Isaiah 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Revelation 6:16-17 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

A fear of future punishment.

Hebrews 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Overwhelming.

Exodus 15:16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

Job 15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

Consuming.

Psalms 73:19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

A guilty conscience leads to

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Psalms 53:5 There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.

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

Seizes the wicked

Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

Job 18:11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.

Surprises the hypocrite

Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Isaiah 33:18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

Shall be realised

Proverbs 1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Proverbs 10:24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

Saints sometimes tempted to

Psalms 55:5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

Saints delivered from

Proverbs 1:33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Isaiah 14:3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

Trust in God, a preservative from

Psalms 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Here are some additional comments:

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 Of godly and ungodly fear:

 The wicked is a very coward, and is afraid of everything; of God, because He is his enemy; of Satan, because he is his tormentor; of God’s creatures, because they, joining with their Maker, fight against him; of himself, because he bears about with him his own accuser and executioner. The godly man contrarily is afraid of nothing, not of God, because he knows Him his best friend and will not hurt him, not of Satan, because he cannot hurt him, not of afflictions, because he knows they come from a loving God, and end in his good; not of the creatures, since “the very stones in the field are in league with Him”; not of himself, since his conscience is at peace. –Joseph Hall

 Thomas, I.; The Golden Treasury Of Puritan Quotations.

 *****

 Of godly fear:

Why is it that, today, the masses are so utterly unconcerned about spiritual and eternal things, and that they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God? Why is it that even on the battlefields multitudes were so indifferent to their soul’s welfare? Why is it that defiance of heaven is becoming more open, more blatant, more daring? The answer is, Because “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18). Again; why is it that the authority of the Scriptures has been lowered so sadly of late? Why is it that even among those who profess to be the Lord’s people there is so little real subjection to His Word, and that its precepts are so lightly esteemed and so readily set aside? Ah! what needs to be stressed to-day is that God is a God to be feared. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Pro. 1:7). Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God’s majesty, that has had a vision of God’s awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness, His irresistible power, His sovereign grace. Does someone say, “But it is only the unsaved, those outside of Christ, who need to fear God”? Then the sufficient answer is that the saved, those who are in Christ, are admonished to work out their own salvation with “fear and trembling.” Time was, when it was the general custom to speak of a believer as a “God-fearing man” —that such an appellation has become nearly extinct only serves to show whither we have drifted. Nevertheless, it still stands written, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Ps. 103:13)!

When we speak of godly fear, of course, we do not mean a servile fear, such as prevails among the heathen in connection with their gods. No; we mean that spirit which Jehovah is pledged to bless, that spirit to which the prophet referred when he said, “To this man will I (the Lord) look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word“ (Is. 66:2). It was this the apostle had in view when he wrote, “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Pet. 2:17). And nothing will foster this godly fear like a recognition of the sovereign Majesty of God.

Pink, A. W.; The Sovereignty Of God.

*****

Fear God above man:

If you conscientiously believe that you are right in what you are doing, study very little who is pleased or who is displeased. If you are persuaded in your own soul that what you believe and what you do are acceptable to God, whether they are acceptable to man or not is of very small consequence. You are not man’s servant; you do not look to man for your reward; and, therefore, you need not care what man’s opinion may be in this matter. Be just and fear not. Tread in the footsteps of Christ, follow what may. Live not on the breath of men. Let not their applause make you feel great, for perhaps then their censure will make you faint. Let no man in this respect domineer over you, but let Christ be your Master, and look to his smile.

Spurgeon; MPT Vol. 61; p 405.

*****

The fear of God is an antidote against indwelling sin:

The “fear” which God puts into the hearts of renewed souls is the divine antidote against indwelling sin, for as Proverbs 8:13 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil”; and as we again read, “By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil” (Prov. 16:6). Therefore, until the sinner has by grace been brought to hate evil and depart from it, he is a stranger to the covenants of promise. Mark well, dear reader, God does not promise to place His doctrine in our heads—many have that, and nothing more—but His fear in our hearts. A merely intellectual knowledge of doctrine puffs up with pride and presumption; but His fear in the heart humbles and produces a godly walk. “I will not turn away from them to do them good.” True, says the Arminian; but they may turn from Him to do evil. Not wholly, constantly, and finally so, as we are here positively assured: “I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me.”

Pink, A. W.; The Divine Covenants

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Evidence of not having the fear of the Lord:

2. Whatever reformation or profession hypocrites attain unto, as it comes not from a new heart, and pure principle of zeal for God, so it is always for some wicked or base end; as, ‘to be seen of men’ (Matt. 6:5), or to evade and shun some outward strait, to be freed from God’s wrath, and the trouble of their own conscience— ‘Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and Thou sees not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?’ (Isa. 58:3.) ‘What profit is it that we have kept His ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?’ (Mal. 3:14.) In testimony of this, they never have respect to all known commands, else they should ‘never be ashamed’ (Ps. 119:6); nor do they, without guile in their own heart, resolve against every known iniquity, else they were free of heart–condemning, and so might justly ‘have confidence before God.’ (1 John 3:21.) If from a principle of love unto, and of zeal for Christ, and for a right end, they did, in ever so small a degree, confess and profess Him, Christ were obliged by His own word to confess them before His Father. (Matt. 10:32.)

3. Whatever length hypocrites advance in that work, by which people are led on unto Christ, yet they never ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.’ (Matt. 6:33.) ‘The one thing that is necessary,’ namely, Christ’s friendship and fellowship, is never their one thing and heart–satisfying choice, else that ‘better part would never be taken from them.’ (Luke 10:42.)

4. Whatever counterfeits of grace are in hypocrites, yet they are all produced without any saving work of the Spirit of Christ; and it is enough to exclude them from the benefit of this mark, that they are never denied to these things, nor emptied of them, but still do rest on them as their Savior, so that they ‘submit not unto the righteousness of God’ (Rom. 10:3); and that is enough to keep them at a distance from Christ, who will never mend that old garment of hypocrites with His fine new linen, nor ‘put His new wine in these old bottles.’ (Matt. 9:16, 17.)

Guthrie, W.; Your salvation. First published 1658.

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A message of comfort from the Scriptures,
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Come and hear, all ye that fear God,
and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
Psalms 66:16

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