The Sinful Have No Fear of God
I want to spend two weeks looking at some wonderful words of David from Psalm 36. It’s one of only two Psalms that announce David as “the servant of the Lord”, the other being Psalm 18.
David begins by saying this: “I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:” And then he spends a few verses speaking about some traits of people who are wicked, starting with this in verse 1: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Psalm 36:1 NIV11)
The Fear of God
No fear of God. Of course, David’s son Solomon was well known for saying that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, we read that in Proverbs many times, but I think he picked that up from his father who often spoke about the fear of the Lord in his Psalms.
The fear of the Lord is a common theme throughout the whole Bible. In the Holman Treasure of Key Bible Words, the authors say: “For the people of God, the fear of people can be detrimental. But the fear of God is always beneficial (Prov. 29:25). Paradoxically, the person who fears God does not need to fear anything or anyone else. Jesus agreed with this Old Testament teaching. He told His disciples who they were to fear—God, not man. (Luke 12:5)”
Understanding God’s Fear
So what is this fear we’re meant to have of God? Aren’t we past this old theory of needing to be scared of the big man in the sky, because Jesus came and treated everybody with gentleness?
I don’t think you can make that claim, if you read the whole Bible. God is so powerful that we can’t downplay His abilities. If we rightly see Him for the great and mighty God He is, we will tremble before Him in fear – but the good news is that this powerful and mighty God loves us. And sent His Son to bring us back to Him. So now, we don’t cower before this God in terror, but we acknowledge His awesome power and we rest safely in His love.
And this is what the wicked get wrong, according to David in this Psalm. They don’t have any fear of God – they have no conception of His might and power, and so they just do what they want.
But the person of God knows: this is a God you don’t mess with. We stand in awe of Him, and humble ourselves before Him in reverence – and then we live for Him because we know He loves us and cares for us.
Recognising God’s Fearfulness
Think about your own relationship with God. Is there ‘no fear of God before your eyes’ like the wicked David speaks of? Have you downplayed the holiness and majesty and devastating power of God so that you don’t have to repent and make the changes of lifestyle God wants of you?
Recognise today that this God is all-powerful and all holy, and He is to be feared – but that if you place your faith in Him and live for Him, then you can feel safe and secure in His powerful but loving presence.
