Word of Salvation – Vol. 50 No.23 – June 2005

 

Be Wise… Fear God!

 

A Sermon by Rev J Westendorp

on Psalm 111 (esp verse 10)

Scripture Readings: Proverbs 9 (or Luke 12:1-7) & Psalm 111

Suggested Hymns: Rej 295; BoW 111; 416; 111a

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction

We live in a sentimental age where love and tolerance are regarded as the only real virtues. And that has coloured people’s view of God. God is a kindly grandfather-figure upstairs who gives us lots of good things. He is a loving, tolerant God who puts up with even our most outrageous behaviour. So we reason away our unfaithfulness to one another in the church, in families, in marriage. We presume that the God who loves us will forgive us and let us get on with life. Because, after all, it’s His business to be loving and forgiving and tolerant. Today it’s hard to imagine people despairing of ever finding acceptance with God.

And yet… that’s how it often was in a previous age. People struggled to see God’s love. There were tender consciences who were convinced they were eternally condemned. The fear of God kept from them all joy in life…. it robbed them of any certainty of salvation. Let me read to you a paragraph from a sermon from a previous age that suited that mentality:

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up.

Sobering stuff… but that sermon by Jonathan Edwards had an immense impact on the congregation.

Today our focus has changed. We don’t like to hear sermons that make us fear God. We’re more interested in sermons that boost our self-esteem… that make us feel good. Our text shows us that the Bible doesn’t avoid language about God that we dislike.

A. THE FEAR OF THE LORD AND THE BASIS FOR IT

1. The fear of the Lord is a very common concept in Scripture… a phrase the Bible uses repeatedly. The fear of the Lord is the climax of this psalm… and it’s the starting point for the next one. Psalm 111 ends on that note in vs.10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…! Psalm 112 takes up where this song leaves off: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord…! Both Psalms are acrostics where each line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So we could call these two psalms ‘the ABCs of the fear of the Lord’. Psalm 111 works itself up to a crescendo hitting that high note in the last verse. Psalm 112 begins on that high note then fades down to the wicked who come to nothing.

You may ask: But isn’t this just Old Testament stuff when they didn’t yet have Jesus and His saving work? No! In the New Testament Jesus, too, taught about the fear of God – think only of Luke 12:5. ‘But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!’ That flies in the face of so much familiarity with God that brings Him down to our level. Some of you may recall Paul Hogan’s words in Crocodile Dundee: ‘God and me are mates!’ What a contrast to the apostle John. John was the closest of all the disciples to Jesus. But in Revelation 1:12 f, when he sees Jesus in all His risen glory, John doesn’t say: My mate Jesus! No! He falls down at His feet as though dead – awestruck by His glorious presence.

Okay, we know that this teaching of ‘the fear of God’ must be balanced with other teachings. For example, it does not cancel out the teaching of Jesus where He calls us His friends. But we live in a day and age where we have brought the Almighty down to our level… Where we Christians love to think of Jesus as our Saviour and Friend and not as Lord and King. So it’s good for us to pause and reflect on the Bible’s teaching about ‘the fear of the Lord’.

2. Notice that in Psalm 111 this ‘fear of the Lord’ is grounded in the character of God. As this song works itself up to a climax, it tells us first of all who this God is. And that reminds us why we live in a culture in which there is so little ‘fear of God’. Because these days there is so little knowledge of who God is. There will be no fear of God in your life unless you know God. And your ‘fear of the Lord’ will only be a proper ‘fear of the Lord’ if you properly understand Him.

And so the Psalmist tells us about God’s character… or what we call ‘His attributes’. There are a number of these attributes of God interspersed throughout Psalm 111. We’re not going to study each of them in detail – if we did that we’d be here all day. So let me just take you on a very quick ‘Cook’s Tour’ of those attributes of God.

In verse 3 it is His righteousness: ‘His righteousness endures forever.’ God is a God who is perfectly just… and that teaching of a just God is repeated in verse 7.

In verse 4 we are told about God’s grace and compassion: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate.’ God certainly is a loving and forgiving God… we should never, ever doubt that.

In verse 7 the psalmist highlights God’s faithfulness: ‘the works of His hand are faithful.’ That comes up again in the verses that follow: all that He does is done in faithfulness.

Of course these qualities or attributes of God are only a sampling. We could go to other psalms and other places in the Bible and learn more about who God is. But the point is that this righteous, faithful, gracious, compassionate God… is not just the God who is there to give us nice warm fuzzies. He does not exist to be used by us… to make us feel good about ourselves. He is the Lord God Almighty who is to be feared.

3. Of course we could make all these qualities of God’s character very abstract. These are wonderful attributes of God… but what difference to they really make to my life? When the rubber hits the road, what does it really mean for you? For this reason the psalmist doesn’t just tell us only who God is. He especially tells us what God has done for His people. God shows who He is in what He does… He reveals His character in His works. And so the songwriter reminds Israel of what God had done for them. There are quite a number of deeds that God did for Israel.

Again, we could spend a lot of time studying each of them individually – so let me just review them.

In verse 4 He caused His wonders to be remembered. Those wonders call to mind especially the ten plagues of Egypt at the Exodus.

In verse 5 we read that God provides food for those who fear Him. And we remember the miraculous manna God gave them for 40 years in the desert.

In verse 6 we read how Israel entered Canaan and God gave His people the lands of other nations.

In verse 9 that whole process is spoken of in terms of God redeeming His people. Do you see why the songwriter concludes at the end of verse 9, ‘Holy and awesome is His name.’ In His character and deeds we see how holy and awesome God really is. And we, today, who know Jesus, should be even more convinced of that. A holy God, who had to make sure sin was paid for… and paid for it in the death of His Son.

An awesome God who went to such lengths to save us by the cruel death of Jesus Christ.

B. THE PRACTICAL WISDOM THAT FLOWS FROM IT

1. God’s character and God’s works… who God is and what God has done for His people! But those things are not listed by the psalmist just to teach us some theology. They are not recorded here to provide some interesting theories for us to debate in Bible Study groups. They are there to instil in us ‘the fear of the Lord’ and that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So let’s make some connections.

Firstly, notice the focus of this psalm. The focus is not on us… it is on God. We need to see that clearly… especially in the light of what we are going to say later. About us having wisdom… and us having good understanding. And all the blessings that flow into our lives because of that wisdom and understanding. But it begins here – with God – with who He is and what He has done. So that we will indeed fear the Lord and be wise.

Some of you have read Rick Warren’s bestseller: The Purpose-driven Life. I love his emphasis in the opening chapter… he makes exactly the same point as the psalmist. He says: It’s not about you… it’s about God! I wish he had carried that through a little more consistently in the rest of his book. But he makes the point well in chapter 1: The purpose driven life is not about us… it’s about God. And the first step in a well-lived life is to fear the Lord our God.

Secondly, we should notice just how practical this ‘fear of the Lord’ is. Our problem is that ‘the fear of the Lord’ is a term that often has very negative overtones. We think of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon… and those people who despair of God’s love. Edwards instilled the fear of God in people… but the psalmist does that, too. However, if that makes you despair of God ever loving you then you’ve got the wrong idea. Because this Psalm so clearly spells out God’s love and compassion. And we know it even more clearly because we have seen the cross of Christ.

So instead, ‘the fear of the Lord’ is a powerfully positive attitude to God. It’s in fact the very starting point for faith and trust in the Lord. It is not just a negative attitude to God… it is extremely positive. We fear God because He is so great and awesome that He is able to help. And that attitude doesn’t just affect our worship, it affects the whole of our life. Because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom… it leads to good understanding.

2. Do you hear what the Psalmist is saying? This is life-changing stuff…! Wisdom and understanding shape our lives and makes a difference. There is an enormous difference between those who are wise and those who are foolish. There is an immense gap between folk who have understanding about life and those who don’t. When you fear God you have an outlook on life that will make you wise. As if to drive that home, Psalm 111 puts it another way. Because then one of the things that will happen is that you will follow God’s ways. You will follow God’s instructions and that will give you good understanding in life.

It’s interesting that the next psalm – the companion psalm (112) spells that out in more detail. Remember: it begins with the fear of the Lord… those who fear the Lord are blessed. And then, in the verses that follow, some examples of blessings are spelled out. The fear of God that gives wisdom is going to impact the way we raise our kids. So verse 2 of Psalm 112 says that in this way: Your children will be mighty in the land. The fear of the Lord that gives wisdom will help us in the business world

verse 3.

That is not teaching prosperity doctrine… it is speaking about the way of wisdom. Those who apply godly wisdom and God’s precepts to their work will do well. In verses 7 and 8 we are reminded that fear of the Lord will drive out all our other fears and phobias. Those who fear the Lord are blessed because they have wisdom and understanding. All this was important in the days of this psalmist.

Most commentators believe this psalm was written after Israel’s seventy-year exile in Babylon. People had given up on fearing the Lord. And so the nation had behaved very foolishly and they had paid the penalty for it. And now this songwriter is keen for them not to make the same mistake again. So he says to them: This is not just important… this is absolutely foundational. This is the main thing… and the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The psalmist says to a wayward people: Be wise… fear God!

3. There is a very clear implication in all this for us today. Without this wisdom that flows from the fear of God there is only foolishness. Today we live in a world that is very clever but not very wise. We have heaps of knowledge… but very little understanding. Calvin said: Everyone wants to be considered wise but most people treat God lightly. We’ve made ourselves the centre: Glory to man in the highest…!

And the result is so much foolish in our society. We see the lack of God-fearing wisdom every time we turn on the news. Relationships that soured because the people involved do not fear God. People who get in trouble with the law because there is no godly wisdom. A specific example that comes to mind is the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers. We said to ourselves: we in the west are supposed to be the good guys. We’re the people who have inherited a Christian world and life view. And yet we can do something so foolish… so lacking in understanding. Why? To do things like that to others simply shows there is no fear of God… and so, no wisdom.

Paul shows us in Romans 1:22 what happens when there is no fear of God. He speaks about people who claimed to be wise but became fools. And then at the end of that passage he says (3:18) ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ That’s why we need the gospel – to transform our attitude… We need it to restore the fear of God in our society and so bring about good understanding. As people see the character of God in the saving work of Jesus… As they see God’s amazing love in the cross of Christ… Then people will fear God and begin to walk the road of wisdom.

C THE PRAISE IT BRINGS TO GOD TO FEAR HIS NAME

It’s interesting that this song starts and ends with God’s praise. The opening word is ‘Hallelujah!’ – the Hebrew for ‘Praise Yahweh!’ …or, ‘Praise the Lord.’ That’s the starting note for the next two psalms as well. In other words, we are moving here in the realm of worship and praise. These are worship songs for God’s people. And that gives us some additional angles that we need to touch on briefly. Let me mention three things in closing.

Number one is that also our worship must be shaped by the ‘fear of the Lord’. And that’s where I have some big question marks about some Christian worship today. In the church today we often hear the word ‘awesome’. We have an awesome God… we involve ourselves in awesome worship! But do we really know what ‘awesome’ means? And do we live that out in our worship?

Having just been on holidays it struck me how some churches bend over backwards to be casual. It’s all got to be laidback… and informal… and ever so chatty. But awesome means to be filled with awe. And that means that we don’t just bounce into worship in a casual way. We are coming into the presence of the holy and awesome God. So we don’t just say a quick prayer without even taking our hands out of our pockets. And if it’s about God and not about us… then let’s be careful about the songs we sing.

Awesome… But let that be not just a word we say… let that be an attitude we display. Let’s learn to come into God’s presence in ‘the fear of the Lord’. Let that be a dominant theme in our praise and worship.

Secondly, the fact that the setting here is a psalm of praise helps us understand this term. It gives added insight into the concept of the ‘fear of the Lord’. We are not talking about a holy terror that immobilises people. This ‘fear of the Lord’ is not a paralysis that sends people into depression.

The fact that we have this expression here at the heart of worship is a powerful lesson. The fear of the Lord is the heart of worship. Nothing gives more incentive than this to worship our God. Throughout the Scriptures it is the people who fear God who engage in worship. But remember – please – fear Him, not with numbing paralysis. But fear Him with a holy and awe-filled reverence. That kind of fear of the Lord drives us to exalt the name of our holy and awesome God.

This praise song is to redirect Israel’s worship after the exile… and it is to guide our worship too. In fact – if the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then is it not wise to worship God? Should we then not always answer His call to come before Him in worship and praise…? Because the fear of the Lord is especially demonstrated in worship.

Thirdly, all this gives us a much bigger picture of what worship really is. Notice here the concluding words: To Him belongs eternal praise. Those words come immediately after the mention of that practical wisdom and understanding. The fear of the Lord works itself out in that wisdom of everyday life. We as Christians apply our faith to all areas of life… as we live under the lordship of Christ.

In wisdom we submit to him in the home and in the school, in the office and the factory. As we live all of life under His rule and reign we have wisdom and good understanding. And that brings about eternal praise to our Saviour and Lord.

Praise is linked to living with wisdom and good understanding. So our praise is not just words in a song… it is not just our corporate public worship. The praise of your Saviour is completed not just in Sunday words but in your Monday’s deeds. We praise Him not just in the songs we sing… but also in the deeds we do. In that way may we give eternal praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.

So be wise… fear God!

Amen.