Alan G. Nute
"YOU shall love the LORD your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). Above this text, at the top of the page in my Bible, is the caption: "The Great Commandment". A parallel command, however, occurs in verse 13 of the same chapter, and this time it reads: "You shall fear the LORD your God". In the light of this, perhaps the caption should have been worded in the plural. The two great commandments are that we should love the Lord and that we should also fear the Lord. Scripture recognises that love and fear are the twin motives that govern and control us. Usually they are opposed the one to the other, but this is only because of the distortion which has resulted from the Fall. As a result of that[69/70] tragic act of disobedience love has become largely self-centred. Indeed, the modern use of the word signifies little other than the gratifying of human passion. As for fear, that which was intended to be a healthy emotion has degenerated into feelings of apprehension or dread. To such an extent is this the case that we tend to regard fear as almost entirely injurious.
One of God's prime objectives in His dealings with His children is the straightening out of that which Satan has twisted. This involves the production within our hearts of a true love and a true fear. In relation to fear, this necessitates first of all the eradication of all false fear. It is this which lies behind the frequent exhortation -- "Fear not". The Spirit which we have received is not "the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear"; for as Paul reminds Timothy: "God did not give us a spirit of timidity". The fear which manifests itself in timidity is one which inhibits, and as a result cripples our witness and robs us of our joy in the Lord. Such fear must be uprooted, and in its place there must be cultivated a true fear, a fear which is noble and beneficial.
Every quality is seen in perfection in Christ. In Him love and fear are present ideally and without conflict. In all His ways we may detect these two currents flowing in the same direction and with equal intensity. With regard to fear, Isaiah prophesies: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord." The writer to the Hebrews provides us with an example of this. "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear." This is the fear to which we are exhorted. It is constantly commanded (e.g. Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 1 Peter 2:17); and is not only commanded, it is commended. Job, the Psalms and Proverbs all agree that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". It is the highest element of wisdom.
Clearly this is a truth which merits serious attention. And yet for ten thousand sermons on love, we will be fortunate to hear one on fear. Is "the fear of the Lord" a lost concept? Does the quality -- "God-fearing" -- evoke the admiration it once did? Whatever the contemporary situation, of this we may be emphatic, the fear of the Lord is a dominant theme of Holy Scripture.
1. The Essence of Godly Fear
The essence of this fear is reverence. The word is used in the Scripture of the right attitude to parents and implies honour and respect. Everywhere today this is in eclipse. The whole notion of respect is undermined because no longer is there abroad a respect for God, His Word and His laws. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that men have replaced the God of the Bible with a God made in the likeness of man. A God, as some have impiously suggested, "in whom I can believe". Thus is constructed a God whom no one fears, nor needs to. The God revealed to us in the New Testament as in the Old is One who merits our reverence.
This reverence will manifest itself in worship. In Revelation 15 John describes the great company of those who having conquered, "sing the song of Moses and the Lamb". They exclaim: "Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord?" Fearing the Lord, they exalt, extol and magnify His name. We shall only truly worship as our hearts are suffused with a deep sense of awe.
The other indication of a reverential fear of the Lord is obedience . The first reference in Scripture to fearing God is in Genesis 22:12. It is heaven's verdict on Abraham's act of obedience: "Now I know that you fear God". Little wonder that fear and obedience are bracketed in such repeated exhortations as "fear the Lord your God and do all the words of his law". We may say, then, that the essential character of this fear is a reverence which issues in worship and obedience.
2. The Ground of Godly Fear
The song in Revelation 15 also points to the ground of such true fear. God is to be feared because of Who He is. Ultimately, everything depends on our conception of God. "Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord?" The expression 'thy name' stands for all that may be known of God, and something of this is conveyed in the titles employed in the song. "Lord God". Theirs is a recognition of the transcendent majesty which is His. "The Almighty". They are conscious of His infinite power. Thus it was that when men beheld the [70/71] omnipotence of the Saviour they were "filled with awe" (Mark 4:41). "King of the ages". The singers celebrate the fact that God is eternal. Indeed, the title contains the thought of the divine control which ensures the outworking of God's timeless purpose. The only conceivable reaction to such a contemplation of the glory of God is that of awesome fear. But perhaps the supreme Divine characteristic is found in the statement: "For thou alone art holy". Proverbs 9:10 equates the fear of the Lord with "the knowledge of the holy One". Above all the attributes of God, this should banish that presumption which is the antithesis of godly fear and, positively, should inculcate that lowliness and that contrition which are its essential constituents.
But the ground of the fear of the Lord is to be found also in what He has done. "Great and wonderful are thy deeds ... who shall not fear ... thy name?" Of all his deeds surely the greatest, the most wonderful, is His work of redemption. As we take our places alongside those who stood by the cross of Jesus our reaction is one with theirs -- "they were filled with awe".
With deepest, tenderest fears,
And worship Thee with trembling hope,
And penitential tears!
3. The Consequence of Godly Fear
If we consider the consequence of this fear we say that it will:
i. preserve us from sin. The height of impiety is described by Paul in words borrowed from the psalmist: "There is no fear of God before their eyes". It is not surprising therefore that the Scripture declares the fear of God to be the great prophylactic against evil (Proverbs 3:7; 8:13; 16:6). Indeed it is the motivating power for moral and spiritual purity. "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God".
ii. regulate all our relationships. The section of Ephesians which deals with sundry personal, domestic and business relationships is introduced with the exhortation: "Be subject to one another in the fear of God" (cf. Colossians 3:22 and 1 Peter 3:13-16). Where the "fear of the Lord" becomes a dominating influence, all relationships fall into their proper place.
Have nothing else to fear."
A fascinating example of the power of this emotion is seen in the case of the Hebrew midwives whose story is told in Exodus 1. What emboldened the Maternity Department of Israel's Health Service to snap their fingers at Pharaoh when he commanded a programme of genocide? "The midwives feared God."
iii. secure the blessing of God. To trace in a concordance the blessings which result from a fear of the Lord is to produce a list containing the most desirable spiritual boons imaginable. "The friendship of the Lord" is theirs (Psalm 25:14); "abundant goodness" is laid up for them (Psalm 31:19). But space does not permit even a fraction of these benefits to be mentioned.
One can but hope that enough has been said to cause us each to echo the words of the redeemed in the presence of God, both as an expression of worship and sacred intention -- saying "Who shall not fear and glorify Thy name, O Lord?"
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