What is the Fear of the Lord?
What is the Fear of the Lord?
Webster’s 1828 dictionary says fear of the Lord is: “In scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. ”1
Bible Verses on the Fear of the Lord
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. Ps. 111:10
According to Barne’s commentary, the fear of the Lord is, “Reverence for God; respect for his law, his will, his government, himself; the fear of offending him, which will lead us to do right. This fear is not that of a slave; it is not mere dread; it is not terror. It is consistent with love, and springs from it. It is consistent with calmness of mind, and promotes it. It does not produce terror, but rather delivers from it, and preserves the mind from alarms.”2
According to Gill’s commentary, the fear of the Lord is, “not a fear of his judgments here or hereafter, but of his goodness and grace; it is a reverential affection for him, a fiducial fear of him, a fear of offending so good a Being as he is; and it includes all religious worship of him, inward and outward, private and public.”3
That the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom is important. The beginning is, “the foundation, the origin, the commencement of being truly wise. It is so. There is no true wisdom which does not recognize the being, the perfections, and the claims of God..”4
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Pr 8:13
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.Job 28:28
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Pr 10:27
Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Pr 15:16
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. Pr 23:17
How do you fear the Lord all day long? You “let the fear of God be always before thine eyes and in thine heart; be continually in the exercise of fear, which is attended with faith and trust in the Lord; with love and affection to him, and joy and delight in him; be constantly employed in the duties of religion, private and public, which the fear of God includes; and this will be a preservative from envying, murmuring, and fretting at the outward happiness of wicked men; and from joining with them in their evil ways.”5
Christian Quotes on the Fear of the Lord
Fear of man is the enemy of the fear of the Lord. The fear of man pushes us to perform for man’s approval rather than according to God’s directives. Paul Chappell
When men don’t fear God, they give themselves to evil. Ray Comfort
The only God-ordained fear is the fear of God, and if we fear Him, we don’t have to fear anyone or anything else. Mark Batterson
The fear of the Lord means being more impressed with God’s reactions to our actions than with other people’s reactions. Joy Dawson
Books on the fear of the Lord for further study:
Fear of the Lord by John Bevere: Fear Of The Lord
Where Wisdom Begins: Understanding the Fear of the Lord by Derek Prince:Where Wisdom Begins: Understanding the Fear of the Lord
The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges:Joy of Fearing God, The
Intimate Friendship with God by Joy Dawson:Intimate Friendship with God: Through Understanding the Fear of the Lord
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(c) 2015 Cheryl Cope
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- http://webstersdictionary1828.com/ [↩]
- http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/psalms/111.htm [↩]
- http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/psalms/111.htm [↩]
- http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/psalms/111.htm [↩]
- http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/proverbs/23.htm [↩]