Psalm 45:10-11, 13-15

Listen to me, O royal daughter; take heart to what I say. Forget your people and your homeland far away. For your royal husband delights in your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. [...] The bride, a princess, waits within her chambers, dressed in a gown woven with gold. In her beautiful robes, she is led to the king, accompanied by her bridesmaids. What a joyful, enthusiastic procession as they enter the king's palace!



Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Defining {Describing} the fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is one of those things that is hard to explain. We know that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7), but sometimes it's hard to describe what it means, or more specifically how, to fear the Lord.

By "the fear of the Lord" is not meant a servile fear, a fear of punishment, of hell, wrath, and damnation, which is the effect of the first work of the law upon the conscience; but a filial fear, and supposes knowledge of God as a father, of his love and grace in Christ, particularly of his forgiving love, from whence it arises, (Psalms 130:4) (Hosea 3:5) ; it is a holy, humble, fiducial fear of God; a reverential affection for him, and devotion to him; it includes the whole of religious worship, both internal and external. (from the John Gill Exposition of the Bible)

Nicole from GirlTalk gave an excellent of example of what it means to fear the Lord. She breaks it into two categories: one who knows God and one whose awe of God results in obedience to Him, then she follows it with how a person who fears the Lord will be recognized. See the full post here.

I love the way she describes the woman (or man) who fears the Lord as one who "experiences a profound sense of awe at the thought of God, the creator of the universe who is “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1)." Isn't that the way we should look upon and ponder God? With a sense of awe...

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