a painful apprehension of danger. It is sometimes used for the
object of fear; as, “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the God whom Isaac
feared, Gen. xxxi, 42. God says that he will send his fear before his
people, to terrify and destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Job speaks of
the terrors of God, as set in array against him, Job vi, 4; the
Psalmist, that he had suffered the terrors of the Lord with a troubled
mind, Psalm lxxxviii, 15. Fear is used, also, for reverence: “God is
greatly to be _feared_” in the assembly of his saints. This kind of
fear, being compatible with confidence and love, is sometimes called
filial fear; while “the fear which hath torment,” being the result of
conscious guilt, and the anticipation of punishment, is removed by that
“love” to God which results from a consciousness of our reconciliation
to him.
The filial fear of God is a holy affection, or gracious habit, wrought
in the soul by God, Jer. xxxii, 40, whereby it is inclined and enabled
to obey all God’s commandments, even the most difficult, Gen. xxii, 12;
Eccl. xii, 13; and to hate and avoid evil, Nehemiah v, 15; Prov. viii,
13; xv, 6. Slavish fear is the consequence of guilt; it is a judicial
impression from the sad thoughts of the provoked majesty of the heaven;
it is an alarm within that disturbs the rest of a sinner. Fear is put
for the whole worship of God: “I will teach you the fear of the Lord,”
Psalm xxxiv, 11; I will teach you the true way of worshipping and
serving God. It is likewise put for the law and word of God: “The fear
of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever,” Psalm xix, 9. The law is so
called, because it is the object, the cause, and the rule of the grace
of holy fear.
object of fear; as, “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the God whom Isaac
feared, Gen. xxxi, 42. God says that he will send his fear before his
people, to terrify and destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Job speaks of
the terrors of God, as set in array against him, Job vi, 4; the
Psalmist, that he had suffered the terrors of the Lord with a troubled
mind, Psalm lxxxviii, 15. Fear is used, also, for reverence: “God is
greatly to be _feared_” in the assembly of his saints. This kind of
fear, being compatible with confidence and love, is sometimes called
filial fear; while “the fear which hath torment,” being the result of
conscious guilt, and the anticipation of punishment, is removed by that
“love” to God which results from a consciousness of our reconciliation
to him.
The filial fear of God is a holy affection, or gracious habit, wrought
in the soul by God, Jer. xxxii, 40, whereby it is inclined and enabled
to obey all God’s commandments, even the most difficult, Gen. xxii, 12;
Eccl. xii, 13; and to hate and avoid evil, Nehemiah v, 15; Prov. viii,
13; xv, 6. Slavish fear is the consequence of guilt; it is a judicial
impression from the sad thoughts of the provoked majesty of the heaven;
it is an alarm within that disturbs the rest of a sinner. Fear is put
for the whole worship of God: “I will teach you the fear of the Lord,”
Psalm xxxiv, 11; I will teach you the true way of worshipping and
serving God. It is likewise put for the law and word of God: “The fear
of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever,” Psalm xix, 9. The law is so
called, because it is the object, the cause, and the rule of the grace
of holy fear.