Title:
The Fear of God
Text:
Psalm 34: 7-11
Date:
September 12, 2013
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
Psalm 34: 7: The angel of the LORD encampeth
round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8: O taste and see that
the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9: O fear the LORD,
ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10: The young lions
do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good
thing. 11: Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the
LORD.
Last
Sunday, we saw how that God destroyed Nadab and Abihu because they did not fear
God, did not bow to Christ, did not give God the reverence due his holy name in
the worship of God.
Repeatedly,
during that message I mentioned the “fear of God”—how that God’s people have a
fear and a reverence for our holy God.
Tonight,
I want to speak on that subject in particular: The Fear of God
Without
the fear of God a sinner cannot worship God from the heart. The fear of God in
the heart is so important in God wrought worship, that throughout the Old
Testament, instead of saying “the worship of God”, the scriptures call worship
itself, “the fear of God” and those who worship “those that feared God.”
Psalm 5:7: But as for me, I will come into thy house in
the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy
temple.
Proposition:
It is the duty of all men to fear God.
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.
The
LORD said, “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the
people I will be glorified.” (Lev 10: 3)
I. NATURAL MAN HAS NO FEAR OF GOD—Psalm 36:1:
The transgression of the wicked saith, within my heart, that there is no fear
of God before his eyes.
No Fear
The
wicked man, by not even saying a word, has his transgression speak for him. It
says, “There is no fear of God before his eyes.”
Application: Those of you who love sin, who have no desire to be
here, to hear Christ exalted, who refuse rebuke from the Lord, do you realize
that all your thoughts are against God. The way you regard this time when the
gospel is preached, screams, “there is no fear of God before my eyes.” Do you
not understand all your sin is against God who holds your life in his hands; against
God who will judge you in righteousness by Christ Jesus? “It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Only Enmity
The
natural man has no reverential affection for God, only enmity against God. This enmity is manifest in rebellion against
those God has placed in authority: preachers, parents, civil authority—police
officers, judges, governors and so on. Since
the natural man’s enmity is aggravated by the preaching of Christ, they often
vent their enmity most at having to attend a church-service, or during the
preaching of the gospel or just at the mention of God’s word.
Application: Has anyone here ever wished you didn’t have to come
here? Have you ever tried to be
late? Have you ever tried to stop up
your ears from hearing? Let that be
evidence to you that your natural heart is enmity against God. Most do not even think of dying, much less
fear meeting God in judgment. If you DO
fear: it is only a fear of getting caught, of being exposed, of being punished,
of being cast into hell. I want you to see that depravity is more than a
doctrine; you are the depravity. Natural man has no holy, humble, obedient,
loving fear of God, only enmity against God
II. GOD GIVES TRUE FEAR IN THE HEART WHICH
GOD HAS MADE NEW AND NONE BUT GOD CAN GIVE IT.
By Covenant Grace
God
gives true fear because God promised to do so in the everlasting covenant of
grace—and true loving reverence for God as our Father is what keeps his people.
Jeremiah 32: 39: And
I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for
the good of them, and of their children after them: 40: And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them
good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from
me.
Application: Children, you may hate that God has given your fathers
this fear, but God has done it for your good.
Heed your father’s, don’t fight against them, they are instructing you
in the gospel of Christ for your good. To become angry at one God has put in
authority is to become angry at God.
By Regeneration
God
implants his fear in the heart in regeneration by the Spirit of God. When God converts his child, God unites us
with him that we might fear his name.
Psalm 86: 11: Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in
thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
One of
the first things God gives is a tender conscience: to fear our sin, to fear
condemnation, to fear departing from God, to fear offending God. Then there is
a hatred of sin.
Proverbs 8: 14: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil,…
There
is no wisdom in a sinner until he fears God.
Proverbs 9:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
But as
soon as he fears God he begins to be wise.
Psalm 51:6: Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward
parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Job 28:28: And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the
Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Through the Gospel
It is
through the gospel that God gives this wisdom. Our text says,
Psalm 34: 11: Come
ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Application: Some may think I am being mean or even legalistic by
demanding you learn to show reverence while the gospel is being preached—at
least outwardly.
But it
is so that you can hear this gospel. The reason for every practical word in the
New Testament is to keep each of us, individually, from being a distraction
from the gospel of Christ. It is because through the word, God makes his elect
wise giving us fear in the new heart. “Come ye children, hearken unto me, I
will teach you the fear of the Lord”—
But if
we are distracted because:
·
We woke up late
·
We fought against coming here
·
We argued our whole way here
·
We do not have time to get the clutter out of
our minds so we can hear.
·
Then we can’t hearken.
Or if
the way a girl is dressed has your attention, you can’t hearken. Let us teach our daughters to dress like
ladies when they come here. Teach them by word and deed.
Or if
the services are not conducted in order, you can’t hearken. This is why your mean ole’ pastor insists you
get here early, get in your seats before the services begin with enough time (about
15 minutes at least) to read your bible or a bulletin—to get settled and get
your ears attentive. It is why I insist
you go the restroom beforehand and not get up during the service—so you can
hear. If you are sick or know you might
need to go to the restroom then sit in the back. But do not make a habit of it.
I
insist on these things because you need to hearken to the gospel, because you
need life that only God can give. Disorder and distraction makes it so you
cannot hearken. I insist on these things because I pray God will teach you the
fear of God and I have worked hard preparing a message by which God teaches the
fear of God.
III. LET’S FOCUS MORE ON THIS: GOD GIVES THIS
FEAR THROUGH THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL.
Through the Law
Through
the law God gives this fear, this wisdom, making us see that we are sin and
every transgression is against God. The
day the LORD gave the law at Mt. Sinai, at Horeb, this is the reason God says
he gave the law:
Deuteronomy 4:10
Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb,
when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them
hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live
upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. [to fear me.]
Application: One of the first things that encouraged me about you
fathers and mothers is that after the services, you talk about what was
preached with your children.
If God
blesses us to hear the law, as the apostle Paul said in Romans 3, the law will
declare us guilty and shut our mouths in sin.
Romans 3:19: Now we know that what things soever the law
saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God.
That is
when we begin to fear God aright. It is good to fear the wrath and condemnation
of God when God has given you that fear. This fear comes when God shows us our sin and
God’s holy justice.
Illustration: The
apostle Paul was given this fear—“I was alive once without the law, but when
the commandment came, sin revived and I died.”
Illustration: The
thief on the cross was given this fear of God. One minute he was railing on
Christ with the other thief, the next minute he turned to the thief and said,
Luke 23: 40:…Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41: And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this
man hath done nothing amiss. 42: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom.
Through the Gospel
After
God reveals our sin then he reveals to his child the gospel. This fear of
condemnation is given when God gives us a sight of Christ bearing condemnation
on the cross in place of his people. God shows us that God will not clear the
guilty, even when the sin-bearer is his own Son.
God
gives this fear by showing us that by Christ putting away the sin of his people,
perfecting them forever, Christ is the very Way there is forgiveness with God.
Psalm 130: 1: Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O
LORD. 2: Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplications. 3: If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand? 4: But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
Application: You who are born of God, you fear God because God has
sanctified himself in your hearts, teaching you something of how holy God
is—how high and set apart, God really is.
God is
so holy that God provided his own Son who took your place, took your sin, took
your punishment and owned it all to be his own. God is so holy that God spared
not his only Son.
Now,
you see that by Christ alone you are made the righteousness of God in him,
perfect, accepted, and Christ is able to present you to himself without spot
and without blemish.
Therefore
you fear God—not in terror—but as your holy, just and righteous loving Father.
Therefore, from the heart you desire to honor, to exalt and glorify God as he
says he must be.
Illustration:
Brighter the light in a room the more imperfections you see in the room.
Likewise,
the more light God gives his child, the more we see our own sin and
imperfections—the more we reverence God.
True holiness—true growth in grace—is being made to bow down in humility
and reverence for God. It is to grow
more sympathetic to the imperfections and weaknesses in our brethren because we
are so aware of our own.
IV. THE OBJECT OF OUR FEAR IS GOD: GOD OUR
FATHER, HIS SON CHRIST JESUS OUR SAVIOR, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT BY WHOM WE
BELIEVE.
Nothing
about what I am saying to you is to cause you to fear men. But there is a fear
due to men, by which we learn much about how we are to fear and reverence God.
Romans 13:
1: Let every soul be subject unto the higher
powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of
God…7: Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due;
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Application: This thing of fear and reverence for a believer toward
God extends way beyond the walls in which we worship. The reverence shown in all our relationships
conveys the reverence in our hearts for God.
Parents and Children
There
is a fear and reverence due to parents from their children.
Hebrews 12: 9:…we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Application: A child reverences their father and mother by giving
them honor and respect that is due. You do so by yielding in obedience to
them—the first time they tell you—not the 2nd or 3rd or 4th. It is not reverence but rebellion if you have
to be told 2 or 3 times.
God’s
Son walked this earth before God his Father doing whatsoever the Father
commanded from a heart set on doing his Father’s will—he finished the work! Now believer, Christ’s perfect obedience and
his perfect heart has been made our obedience and we have been given a new
heart by Christ dwelling in us—Christ is made unto us Righteousness and
Sanctification.
Application: So believer, as children of God, much more, ought we to
be in subjection unto God our Father who says, “Believe on my Son and love one
another.” How so?
1 Peter 1: 14: As obedient children, not fashioning
yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15: But as he which
hath called you is holy, so be ye holy [full of fear and reverence] in all
manner of conversation;
Husbands and Wives
Husbands
and wives are to fear and reverence one another.
Ephesians 5: 33: Nevertheless let every one of you in
particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she
reverence her husband.
1 Peter 3: 5: For after this manner in the old time the
holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, [by] being in
subjection unto their own husbands: 6: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him
lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with
any amazement. 7: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to
knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being
heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
This
relationship of husband and wife illustrates what Christ Jesus our Husband did
(and does) for us and what we as his bride are to do toward him. Look at these texts and consider Christ
toward us—his elect—his bride.
·
Christ dwelt with us (and continues to dwell
with us) according to knowledge—Christ
is Wisdom and he gives us exactly what we need in word and in providence to
keep us where we need to be—at his feet.
·
Christ loved his bride as himself giving himself for us, even to the
death of the cross by which we are righteous, justified; by which our sins are
purged.
·
Christ gave
honor unto us: gifting us with his righteousness and holiness of heart,
with the precious jewels of the gospel and with faith, love, longsuffering,
gentleness, kindness and so on…
·
Christ continues to deal with us “as the weaker vessel”—he knows we are
but dust, he knows the feelings of our infirmities.
·
Christ ministers to us “as being heirs together of the grace of life.”
·
So that by him—our prayers are not hindered—but by him we have liberty to pray and
he everlives to make intercession for us.
Application: So by
his spirit dwelling in our hearts, we are constrained by his love to reverence
Christ because he is our Husband. We
adorn ourselves by being in subjection to him, calling him Lord for so he is. All
our beauty comes from him.
Psalm 45: 11: So shall the king greatly desire thy
beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
Employers and Employees
There
is a fear and reverence which servants should show to their masters—for us this
can be said of employees to employers.
Ephesians 6: 5
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to
the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto
Christ; 6: Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart; 7: With good will doing service, as to
the Lord, and not to men: 8: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth,
the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Now
consider Christ the Servant of God:
Philippians 2: 7: Christ made himself of no reputation
but took on him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: 8:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. 9: Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10: That at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow,
By his
grace, believer, we are seated together with him at the right hand of the
Father, never to be lost—as free from the curse of the law, sin, death and hell
as he is.
Application: Now he says to you his child, "If I be a Master,
where is my fear?" (Mal 1:6.) His voice melts our hearts.
President and Kings
There
is a fear and reverence to be given to offices like the president and kings.
Proverbs 24: 21: My son, fear thou the LORD and the
king:…
Christ
came into this earth as Lord, as King over his spiritual, holy nation.
Jeremiah 23:5: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Luke 2:11: For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
God has
now set his King on his holy hill of Zion and Christ rules in the midst of his
people—even over the heathen for his glory and our good.
Daniel 4:35: And all the inhabitants of the earth are
reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven,
and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto
him, What doest thou?
Application: So we are to reverence magistrates as unto Christ our
King.
Ministers and Believers
Lastly,
there is a fear and reverence due to ministers of the gospel.
1 Samuel 12: 18: So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the
LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD
and Samuel.
Hebrews 13: 7: Remember them which have the rule over
you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation. 8: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day,
and for ever….
Christ
is the true Prophet, the true minister of the true tabernacle which God pitched
and not man. When he speaks into the
heart his Voice comes in effectual power—“My people shall know in that day it
is I that doth speak.” His preaching in
the heart through his earthen vessels is the Power which makes us fear God and
heed him.
Application: Brethren, as his minister, the end of my faith and
conversation—my end purpose in all these things I am beseeching you to do in
this house and beyond—is to focus you on Jesus Christ who changes not.
Hebrews 13: 17: Obey them that have the rule over you,
and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give
account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is
unprofitable for you.
Application: Do any of you find joy in correcting your children? You’d much rather be spending your time
speaking to them about Christ. So would
the apostle Paul. He told the Corinthians, “I was determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
But he had to stop to write 1 Corinthians, to deal with things that were
distracting and disrupting them from the gospel, in order to restore order so
they could focus their attention on the gospel of Christ and him
crucified. That was not joyful for him
and was unprofitable for them—in the sense—that they could have been spending
that time hearing about Christ and him crucified.
The
same is true of us. We have a need for
speaking on some practical things, so I have to deal with them so we can get
back to focusing our attention on Christ and him crucified. The things Paul
taught in 1 Corinthians were not the focus of his ministry and rest assured,
these things won’t become the focus of this ministry. But they are needful for now—less these
things become worse and cause division.
Go home thinking on this: I have pointed out these earthly relationships to show
you that God is to be feared, hearkened to, served, and obeyed. In all of these
offices ordained of God—it is not only men—but God who is rebelled
against. I pray God give you fear for
him in the heart.
What a
fearful thing to meet God without an Advocate!
We saw it Sunday. Believers have
forgiveness with God because the fire of God came down upon Christ our burnt
offering and Christ consumed the fire.
But proud, arrogant rebels came without reverence, without God’s
offering and the fire of God consumed them rather than falling on a Substitute.
In that day you meet God, without an Advocate, the unbeliever will fear God.
Isaiah 33:14: The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness
hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring
fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
God says, Psalm 50:22: Now consider this, ye that forget
God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Christ said, Luke 12:5: But I will forewarn you whom ye
shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell;
yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
There
is much peace and joy in fearing the Lord—listen to our text:
Psalm 34: 7: The angel of the LORD encampeth round about
them that fear him, and delivereth them….9: O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for
there is no want to them that fear him. 10 The young lions do lack, and suffer
hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
Hebrews 12: 25: See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.
For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall
not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from
heaven:…28: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29:
For our God is a consuming fire.
Amen!