"Who would not fear You, O King of
nations?"
Jeremiah 10:7
How reasonable it is, that this glorious Being, whose
greatness is
unsearchable—should be regarded with
feelings of the profoundest reverence. It is, indeed,
His
due, and as such He claims it from all His creatures.
"Concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There
is no fear of God before his eyes." Psalm 36:1
To have no
fear of God before their eyes—is at once
the greatest injustice,
and the most unutterable folly!
All who have the impudence to lift up their puny
arms
in rebellion against Him, are
engaged in a
conflict,
which, if persisted in, is sure to terminate
in
their
utter destruction!
Reader, think of His incomprehensible greatness
and majesty.
Think of Him as the High and Lofty
One who inhabits eternity—
the
heavens His throne,
the earth His footstool,
the light His garment,
the
clouds His chariot,
the thunder His voice!
Viewing Him thus—it will be
impossible for you to
treat Him with indifference, far less with
scornful
disdain. If you are only brought in some measure,
to realize
the fact of God's greatness and majesty,
you cannot fail to acknowledge that
He is greatly
to be feared, and to be held in reverence by all
His
creatures.
Just so, with all the other attributes of His nature.
Who can think of
His power so mighty, so irresistible
—a power which is able to
crush us into atoms with
infinitely greater ease than we can tread the
crawling
worm beneath our feet—and not fear Him?
Who can think of His knowledge,
nothing being
hidden from His omniscient glance, the darkness of
midnight and the splendor of noon, being altogether
alike to Him—and
not fear Him?
Who can think of the terrors of His avenging justice,
and not fear Him—especially, as when He proclaims
from His exalted throne, "There is no god other than
Me! I am the one who kills and gives
life; I am the
one who wounds and heals; no one delivers from
My power!
As surely as I live, when I sharpen My
flashing sword and begin to
carry out justice, I will
bring vengeance on My enemies and repay those
who hate Me!" Deuteronomy 32:39-41
Our God is, truly, a consuming fire! It
is most
befitting
for us, to regard Him with reverence and godly fear!
It is not those who can deprive us of our present life,
whom we should
so much dread. Limited, and of brief
duration—is the power of all
mortal foes at best. "Do
not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that
can do no more. But I will show you whom you should
fear: Fear
Him who, after the killing of the body,
has
power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, Fear
Him!" Luke 12:4-5