Praying the IOU’s, Part 6

May, 2008

by: Brodie McClain

“Incline my heart to your testimonies.” (Ps 119:36)

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” (Ps 119:18)

“Unite my heart to fear Your name” (Ps 86:11)

“Satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness.” (Ps 90:14)

Having lived a life of debauchery into his late teens Robert Robinson was converted under the powerful preaching of George Whitefield.

A few years later at the age of 23 he would pen the lyrics to the famous hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The third stanza reads: O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee. Prone to wander—Lord, I feel it— Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart—O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

This song puts into words the heartache that many of us feel as we make our way through the Christian life. The more we take in God’s Word, beholding the glory of God, reading of the majesty of our Savior, relishing all He has done for us and all He desires of us, the more we feel the agony of the divided heart. We sing loudly, “Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee. Prone to wander…,” knowing how easily our hearts can run from intimacy with God in the morning to all forms of covetousness by Noon.

This is why the ‘U’ in IOUS is such an important prayer. It is a begging of God to bring all our desires into formation for one grand assault upon the territory named, “Fear of God.” Psalm 86:11 is a pleading for wandering hearts to be focused on one thing, fearing God’s name.

Why should we fear God?

In case you are thinking the fear of God is not that big a deal the Word makes it clear that a curse belongs to those who do not fear God (Deut 28:58-61, 2Kings 17:24-25) and a blessing for those who do (I Sam 12:14, Ps 25:12-14, Ps 34:4-9, Ps 103:11,13,17, Psalm 128:1-4, Mal 3:16-4:2). Along with the carrots of blessing and curse fearing God is also simply commanded (Deut 13:4, Eccl 12:13) so it would stand to reason that we ought to find out what fearing God entails so that we can do what the Lord requires of His people (Deut 10:12).

What is the fear of God?

If we are aiming for a life of wholehearted fear of God then it would be natural to ask, “What is the fear of God?” Are we supposed to be frightened of Him? Do we run and hide from His presence as we would from a monster? No. When you search the Scriptures you find two aspects to the fear of God: the inward and the outward. The inward looks at the character of the fear of God, the outward looks at the practice of the fear of God. The inward tells us what fear is, the outward tells us what fear does. The inward aspect deals with the heart while the outward aspect deals with the behavior. These two aspects together give a full picture of what the fear of God really is.

The inward character of the fear of God consists of trembling out of reverence for God (Ps 2:11, Ps 119:120, Php 2:12-13). It is in awe of God (Ps 22:23; 33:8-9; 96:4-5) and wells up with a hatred of evil (Prov 8:13; 23;17) and a thankfulness toward God (Heb 12:28-29). The inward nature of one who fears God is wholehearted (2 Chron 19:7-9), humble (Ps 9:20, Prov 3:7; 8:13;15:33), and filled with wisdom and knowledge (Job 28:28, Prov 15:33). This God-fearer will delight in the commandments (Ps 112:1) and trust/cling/depend on God (Deut 10:20; 13:4, Ps 31:19; 33:18-19; 111:5).

The outward practice of the fear of God consists of simple obedience (Deut 5:29; 17:19-20, Is 50:10, 2 Kings 17 for an extended study). It is also seen in its expressions of praise and glory to God (Deut 6:13, Ps 2:11; 22:23, Rev 14:6-7;15:4;19:5) as well as an active turning away from evil (Prov 3:7;14:16, Ps 34:8-14) and a life of service (Deut 13:4, Josh 24:14, 1Sam 12:14). So, no problem! Just have the inward and do the outward and you’ll be fine. But perhaps you do feel there is a problem and you are wondering if there is anything you can do to cultivate this fear of God in your life…