The Fear of the LORD

Psalm 119:120 
My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

I'm skipping around a lot as I write about this Psalm, just taking whatever verse strikes me particularly as the next theme. This week, I was influenced by the sermon I heard on Sunday, all about the fear of the Lord. As I listened, I wondered what Psalm 119 had to say about fearing the Lord, and sure enough, here is a whole verse devoted to the subject!

This fear is no casual thing: "my flesh trembles", says the Psalmist. A similar expression is used in Job 4:14-15: "Fear came upon me, and trembling,  Which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up." Similar idioms we use today are "it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up" or "my skin crawl". The phrase I like to express this idea is "a shiver of awe", because this is not a "scared" fear, but a deep awe and reverence. 

Fear not with a slavish fear, but an awful fear, composed of reverence and love.

—Thomas Manton

The direction of this fear is crucial. It is directed towards God, the only proper object of such a profound emotion. We are not to fear man, the Bible tells us in Matthew 10:28: "And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Fear of men brings a snare, as Proverbs 29:25 states, but the fear of the Lord will drive out the fear of men. 

Is. 8:12-13 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

As Christians, under the new covenant, do we still need to be afraid of God's judgments? There are many reasons why we ought to fear the Lord.

1. It is the beginning of wisdom.

Prov. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Prov. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Prov. 15:33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. 

To live our lives skillfully, we need to fear the Lord. We see many examples of God's judgment throughout the Bible, and when we apply that knowledge to our own actions, we can structure our lives to be pleasing in God's eyes, rather than displeasing. 

2. It protects us in many ways.

To fear the Lord is to hate evil (Prov. 8:13), and by the fear of the Lord we can turn away from evil (Prov. 16:6). Just as young children are kept from doing bad or harmful things by fear of their parents, our fear of God's judgment makes it easier to walk away from sin. It also gives us "strong confidence", and is a refuge not only for the one who fears, but for his children as well (Prov. 14:26). Do not underestimate the power of fearing the Lord. It is a fountain of life (Prov. 14:27), and it prolongs our life (Prov. 10:27).

3. It gives us perspective.

When our focus is on God, it is easier to see what truly has value:

Prov. 15:16-17 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD,  Than great treasure with trouble.

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,  Than a fatted calf with hatred.

Those things which have true value are our reward:

Prov. 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD  Are riches and honor and life.

1Tim. 6:6  Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

We are looking towards eternity:

Prov. 23:17-18  Do not let your heart envy sinners,  But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; For surely there is a hereafter,  And your hope will not be cut off.

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If we want the benefits that come with fearing the Lord—if we want wisdom, protection, and perspective as we live our lives—how do we get this fear? It comes from reading and studying the Bible:

Prov. 2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you...yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding...then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (emphasis added)

This is a simple "if...then" statement; it's not complicated!

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.