Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Delighting in the Fear of the Lord
Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
Last week using this passage we wrote on “Jesus is the One” and indeed He is the One. However, I’m feeling compelled to focus on what the passage itself focuses on. Jesus is the one who delighted in the fear of the Lord. Jesus walked by considering the greatness of the Father and the desires the Father had for Him. Walking in the fear of the Lord brings priority and commitment to God Himself. Walking in the fear of the Lord brings you to forsake the things the Lord Himself hates. Walking in the fear of the Lord brings evaluation to how we shall live our lives with His desires in mind.
John 6:28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
The Father’s desire is for us to believe in the one He sent. Delighting in the fear of the Lord brings us to place the object of our faith in Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 28:14 Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
Walking in the fear of the Lord keeps your heart open to hearing His voice. Conversely those who do not walk in the Fear of the Lord harden their heart against the voice of God. Happy is the man who is always reverent. The fear of the Lord is a reverential fear. It is a respect for the God’s holiness. It is a commitment to surrender to His righteousness. Like Jesus did we are called to delight in the fear of the Lord.
Psalm 36:5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast. 7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. 10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Walking in the fear of God for the saint is completely different than walking in the fear of God for the sinner. Walking in the fear of God as a believer gives you reason to trust in His mercy and exalt His faithfulness. It causes the believer to delight in His judgments! Your eyes are opened to the loving kindness of our God; the children of God know what it is to trust Him and come under the shadow of His wings. Those whose object of faith is Jesus Christ alone will be abundantly satisfied with the fullness of God’s house. Yes, this one will drink from the rivers of God’s pleasures. In the Father alone is the fountain of life. In Jesus alone we can see the light. Our expectations are to know the loving kindness of God in intimacy! Oh, that men would fear Him!
Psalm 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name's sake, Lead me and guide me. 4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. 5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
Those who delight in the fear of the Lord surrender completely into His hands. Into your hand God I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth! Confidence in the greatness of God is the place of rest God calls His children to abide in!
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.
Commitment to the purpose and destiny of God will bring your thoughts to be established. Confusion comes with a divided heart. Desire for one’s own way and to some degree consenting to God’s desire gives the enemy of our soul a foothold into our lives. When the enemy has a foothold it can very easily become a stronghold. Delighting in the fear of God will bring us into singleness of mind!
Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
There is four instructions in these few verses! Trust in the Lord! Feed on God’s faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord. Commit your way to the Lord! When we come to fully trusting we shall see God Himself bring the desires of our heart to pass.
Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. 5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas;
The goodness of God should be the birthing place for your fear of Him! Be awe stuck at knowing your God is an awesome God. We are the blessed people that God has chosen! You have a dwelling place in His very courts. We indeed shall be satisfied with the goodness of His house, of His Holy temple. Know you not that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit? God will answer us; He is the God of our salvation! He alone is the confidence of all the ends of the earth!
Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,
Your fear of God will affect the generations behind you! His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him! Yes, Delight yourself in the fear of the Lord. Jesus did; He is our great example!
Psalm 85:8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Delight in the fear of the Lord and you will hear His voice; the glory abides on those who fear Him and they receive mercy and truth, and righteousness and peace! What a promise!
Luke 12:5 "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! 6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 8 "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
If you are in reverential fear of God in His awesomeness and His power you will not have to fear God in judgment! The Father cares for His children! If we have surrendered and confessed Jesus as our Lord and Savior we can live in His rest and peace!
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
The revelation of God’s love toward us is so great! John the beloved wrote that “Love has been perfected among us in: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment.” It is due to the great work that Jesus accomplished on the tree. Because as His is, so are we in this world. Jesus imputed righteousness, Jesus imputed holiness, Jesus imputed perfection into our spirits! Oh what a delight to walk in the Fear of the Lord, rejoicing in His love, mercy, and faithfulness toward us!
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