Considering the Fear of the LORD - Part I

"And his mercy [is] on them that fear him from generation to generation." (Luke 1:50) "The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." (Psalm 147:11)

What does it mean to fear the LORD? Does fearing the LORD mean we are to be afraid of being with Him? Absolutely not. The godly fear of the LORD and the ungodly fear of being in His presence are opposites. As the above scriptures reveal, the mercy of God and the godly fear of Him are inseparable; indeed, grace and the godly fear of the LORD are inseparable: "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God [is] a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:28-29)

Grace is necessary to have the fear of the LORD, while both are necessary to serve God acceptably. God's grace is the means by which we have been made always worthy to enter into and live in the presence of God, while faith actually exercises that grace. Without faith, it is impossible to please God; and God takes pleasure in those that fear Him. Therefore the godly fear of the LORD is added to faith, by grace; and the fulfillment thereof is very pleasing in the eyes of God.

It should thus be evident that we ought not fear being with God, when the God-pleasing fear of the LORD is only found in His presence! How, then, does God define our serving Him acceptably with reverence and godly fear? Must we conjure up feelings of awe or respect within ourselves?

No, indeed! Consider the eyewitness testimony of Moses: "And the sight of the glory of the LORD [was] like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." (Exodus 24:17) "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which [voice] they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, [that] Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)" (Hebrews 12:18-21)

The sight of the glory of the LORD was so terrible, so overwhelming, that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake". And the people were terrified of the presence of God on the mountain; they backed away from the sight of His glory. But Moses told them something very significant: "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw [it], they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." (Exodus 20:18-20)

Moses said, "Fear not," and then added, "...for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not". That, then, reveals two separate and distinct fears at work: the natural fleshly fear of being in the presence of God, and the godly fear of the LORD. The people did not need to be afraid of being with God; but they did need to be in God's manifest presence to have His godly fear before their faces.

Thus it can be seen again that the presence of God is where the godly fear of the LORD is to be found. His fear is a treasure; it is something He gives. And the operation of His fear within us keeps us from evil. "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD [men] depart from evil." (Proverbs 16:6)

In that account of Moses, God's manifest presence was the sight of the glory of God on the mountain that might be touched; but in this time, the sight of the glory of God will be in our hearts. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Corinthians 4:6)

That shining in our hearts, however, is by no means figurative; and it is no less terrible than the devouring fire on the mount. For our God is still a consuming fire, as witnessed in Hebrews; and the devouring fire that Israel saw on the mount might itself be called the figure of the true. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13)

If God is working in us, we cannot expect it to be a tranquil, innocuous process; for God will baptize our hearts with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The devouring fire on the mount is a small thing compared to the glory with which God desires to fill our hearts. It should be no surprise, therefore, to find fear and trembling referenced in the above passage, just as Moses said regarding the glory of God, "I exceedingly fear and quake".

What is this quaking, this trembling that is so often linked with the fear of the LORD? David witnesses, ""My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments." (Psalm 119:120)

That trembling is thus actually physical! But that does not mean we must make ourselves tremble in reverence- as 'shakers' and 'quakers'. For God's manifest presence itself is the cause of such trembling (and it is cause enough!). "Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand [for] the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" (Jeremiah 5:22) "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As [when] the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, [that] the nations may tremble at thy presence!" (Isaiah 64:1-2)

Our flesh trembles in the presence of God; and indeed, our old nature- also called the flesh- is terrified of the presence of God. But our old nature is not us; and the very real terror of God with which it may present us is deception and a lie.

Nevertheless, as Elihu witnesses: "...with God [is] terrible majesty. [Touching] the Almighty, we cannot find him out: [he is] excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any [that are] wise of heart." (Job 37:22b-24)

God is terrible in majesty, and excellent in power. Seeing only a little of His unsearchable glory can overwhelm the ability of our soul and body to comprehend it! The fulness of the presence of God would completely obliterate our earthly senses; it would destroy these earthen vessels. We are not yet capable of bearing that weight of glory. As it is written, "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17)

We have yet old bottles, we cannot hold the new wine. Physical trembling is a very natural consequence of seeing God's glory firsthand; but as such, it also indicates a heart that has turned to look into the face of the Living God.

Even though we yet dwell in earthen vessels, we need not fear what will happen if we seek God's face and see His glory; for God will reveal Himself to us little by little, as we are able to bear it. He is gentle; He will not give us more than we can bear. "Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great." (Psalm 18:35)

God's glory, as He reveals it to us gently, will fill up our hearts to breaking; it will continually stretch out our hearts, as God stretched out the heavens. It will give us that wondrous blessing, largeness of heart. "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart." (Psalm 119:32)

Through grace, we have been made worthy to always be in His presence. Through faith, we account that God is greater than all else; and that His word of grace is true. Through choosing the fear of the LORD, we will actually see His presence, and see of His greatness. And through seeing the glory of God, we will be remade into what we see, from glory to glory.

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord." (II Corinthians 3:17-18)