Good evening. If you would, open
your Bibles to Psalm 34. Psalm 34. I'll be honest with you, when
our pastor opened to this last week to preach a message out
of this, I was very scared he was going to take what I had
to say. But one of the great things about the Scriptures,
is that there are so many applications and so many ways to look at every
chapter, book, word, verse, the whole thing can just be, the
Lord can give you an understanding and a thing to preach out of
everything. Now tonight, my message, I want to look at the meaning
of the word fear, especially as it's used in our text and
throughout the Bible in the phrase, fear of the Lord. And then I
want to look that the fear of the Lord is taught, it's taught,
it's given from the Lord. And then I want to look at a
few of the applications and some of the benefits for those who've
received it. So let's read the first 11 verses of Psalm 34. I will bless the Lord at all
times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof
and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and
let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard
me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him,
and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. This
poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out
of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear him. and deliver them. Oh, taste and
see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord. Oh, fear the Lord, ye his saints,
for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions
do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall
not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto
me. I will teach you the fear of
the Lord. As a young boy growing up under
the gospel, I heard the phrase, fear of the Lord, a lot. And
all those times I heard it, I kept getting stuck. on my understanding
of the word fear as a child. Now I'm sure it was explained
very well and it was taught thoroughly, but I couldn't get around what
I thought when I heard the word fear. As a child I thought of
things like having a nightmare or the fear of like snakes or
just something like that or being embarrassed. And as I thought
about it, I could easily understand why someone would be afraid of
God. I heard how he was all powerful,
how no one could stand against him, how many of those who tried
to stand against him were dealt with very quickly. I had heard
he was the only way to heaven, and that I would go to hell without
him. I was told that I was a sinner,
and sin must be punished, and the wages of sin is death." Now,
all of this is true. And it's good for man to have
a healthy fear of the Lord our God. But it's also important
to keep this type of fear in check. And by the grace of God,
to not let our human fears, our worldly fears, play any part
in what we believe. Because worldly fears are dangerous. And this is the type of fear
that is used in false religion today. It's being used as a tactic
to make people act right, behave, and if you do those things, you'll
be rewarded of God. It's being used to drive people
to salvation by works. I'm very thankful that the Lord
teaches His children the phrase, fear of the Lord means much more
than that. Turn to Psalm 111. Now when you look up the word
fear in the dictionary, I think the first definition is the one
that most of the time we understand. It's what we relate to that word.
And it's a distressing emotion that's aroused by impending or
immediate danger, evil, or pain. And that's what I've always thought
of that word. When someone says, are you afraid? Or are you fearful? Or do you have any fear? That's
what I think of. Is there harm coming to me? Is there danger
around? But this word can also be translated as reverential
awe, respect, reverence. Now, read this on Psalm 111,
look at verse 9. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding
have all they that do his commandments. His praise endureth forever. The last phrase there in verse
9, holy and reverend is his name, is the same root word in the
next verse, the fear of the Lord. Now, what is the fear of the
Lord? It's the beginning of wisdom. The Lord says, I will teach you
the fear of the Lord. He will give us wisdom. He is
the only place for wisdom. In Psalm 147, it says, The Lord
taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope
in his mercy. It says, He takes pleasure in
them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. The Lord
will teach us to hope in his mercy. If we want mercy, the
only place we're going to find it is in the Lord. Now, just
across the page from our text there in chapter 33, verse 18, He says this almost exact same
thing again. Psalm 33, 18, Behold, the eye
of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope
in his mercy. He's saying the eye of the Lord
is upon them that fear him, or you could say the eye of the
Lord is upon those that hope in his mercy. Now another difference
between these two types of fear, these two definitions I've given,
is the impending danger or evil is something that every single
man and woman feels on a somewhat regular basis. We all go through
times where we're in fear of something or someone. Whether
it's an immediate moment of fear or we're dreading something coming,
we all have that fear. And it's a very human trait.
The fear of the Lord is something totally different. It's something
that comes from above. No man or woman can truly revere,
respect, or be in awe of God Almighty unless the Spirit of
the Lord opens up a man's eyes, his ears, and his heart. This
fear is divine. And as it says in our text, Come
ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of
the Lord. The Lord will teach every one of his children to
be in complete amazement of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
the only way that any sinner can ever have reverential awe
or amazement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Psalm
86. Psalm 86 verse 11. We have another request here
of teaching me the way. Teach me the way, O Lord, verse
11. I will walk in thy truth, unite
my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord, my
God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name forevermore. For great is thy mercy toward
me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. The
only way that we can say, I will walk in the truth, I will praise
thee, O Lord, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name forevermore,
as if he teaches us the way to do those things. Now back in
our text, look at verse 4. This tells us what happens after
he teaches us the fear of the Lord. I sought the Lord, and
he heard me, and he delivered me from all my fears. All these
years we have spent distressing over danger, over evil and over
pain. The Lord will deliver us from
all our fears. In Revelation, he says, Fear
not, I am the first and the last. He says, Fear none of those things
that shall suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast
some of you into prison, that ye may be tried. And ye shall
have tribulation. Be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life. The angel told Mary
when she was pregnant, ìFear not, Mary, for thou hast found
favor with God.î When they told Jairus his only daughter was
dead and not to bother the Lord anymore, the Lord said, ìFear
not. Believe only, and she shall be
made whole.î The Lord told the people of Judah, ìFear them not,
for I have delivered them into thine hand. There shall not a
man of them stand before thee. And he tells all his sheep, ìFear
not, little flock, for it is your fatherís good pleasure to
give you the kingdom.î Whether the Lord is talking to his mother,
his disciples, a ruler of the synagogue, an entire nation,
or all of his children, the message is always going to be the same,
ìFear not, I will deliver thee.î There is no need to live in fear
of things on this earth. Trials will come and go and we
will all sorrow together many times, but the Lord is our rock. He hides us in the cleft of the
rock and there is no safer place to be. But don't forget the first
four words of this verse. In verse four it says, I sought
the Lord. He has promised he will hear
his children and deliver them, but I'm ashamed of how rarely
I seek him. Read verse 6 here in our text. This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Lord,
make me to seek Thee. Whether it's in prayer, in coming
to hear the Word preached, whether it's reading the Bible, reading
His Word, or whatever way that I can look to the Lord, I pray
that He would make me, force me to seek His face. In verse
7 of our text, We see something the Lord does for those who fear
him or revere him. The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear him and delivereth them. The Lord
is our wall and bulwark. He is our stronghold. He is our
shield and our defender. Throughout history, many men
and nations have claimed to build an impenetrable fortress or castle.
And no matter how high or thick the walls are, no matter how
tough the defenses, no matter how skilled the warriors defending
it, they always are overrun, they always fall, and they always
return to the dust where they came from. The creator of this
world is in control of all things. He is greater than any army,
greater than any kingdom, and is victorious in every battle
before the battle is even waged. Turn to 2 Chronicles chapter
20. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. in verse 14. I love this story. Verse 14 of 2 Chronicles 20.
Then upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah,
the son of Jael, the son of Mataniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph,
came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation.
The Lord came to Jehaziel and he spoke to his people. In verse
15 he said, Hearken ye all Judah. and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and thou King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you,
Be not afraid nor dismayed by reasons of this great multitude,
for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down
against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff
of Ziz, and ye shall find them at the end of the brook before
the wilderness of Jerusalem, you shall not need to fight in
this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still,
and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow
go out against them, for the Lord will be with you." And Jehoshaphat
bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping
the Lord. I love that they fell before
him and worshipped him before the battle had been fought. And
the Levites of the children of Kohathites and the children of
the Korites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a
loud voice on high. And they rose early in the morning
and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went forth,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God,
so shall ye be established. Believe his prophets, so shall
ye prosper. And when he had consulted with
the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should
praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army,
and to say, Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and
to praise the Lord, And when they began to sing and praise,
the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon and Moab
and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were
smitten, or they smote one another. For the children of Ammon and
Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay
and destroy them. And when they had made an end
of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy one another.
And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness,
they looked unto the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies
fallen to the earth, and none escaped." This is a perfect illustration
of how the Lord fights our battles. We don't do anything. We don't
have any part of it. He does it all. In Matthew 10,
he said, Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one
of them shall not fall on the ground without your father, but
the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear ye not, therefore,
ye are more value than many sparrows. And even more important than
our Lord fighting our battles and being our defender in this
earth is that He's our champion in the battle versus sin. Just
like the people of Judah in their fight against their enemies,
we're just bystanders. We have no role in our salvation
and can play no part in securing victory. We can only call upon
His name, sing with a loud voice, and hope that the Lord Jesus
Christ procured salvation for us when He died on the cross.
I'm using the word hope here because that's all we've got.
We don't have any chance to do it ourselves. We have no right
or claim to salvation in ourselves. We can only look to the Lord
and hope. We pray that He is our champion,
fighting our battles, defeating our enemies, always protecting
and defending us. And as our champion, we are victorious
in Him. He gets all the glory. We stand
behind Him, not saying a word, with our head bowed, our eyes
closed, and our minds in prayer. And we aren't praying for His
victory. That's already assured. That's already been determined.
But full of fear of the Lord, we pray for His mercy upon us. And when He bestows mercy upon
His children, we ask that we may continue to have reverence
to Him. That if we do open our mouth,
it's to give Him praise. And if we do lift our head up,
it's to give Him glory. And if we open our eyes, it's
to gaze upon Him. In 1 Samuel, it says, Only fear
the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart. For consider
how great things He hath done for you. Now back in our text,
verse 9 says, O fear the Lord, ye his saints, for there is no
one to them that fear him. Here is another concept that
I didn't completely understand as a child. I remember sitting
in church thinking, the Lord will provide, the Lord answers
your prayers, The Lord's in control of all things. His children will
want for nothing, and everything belongs to Him. And I remember
as a young child thinking, well, I can't wait until He provides
me with a brand new Lamborghini, makes all the girls like me,
I'm a star athlete, I have lots of money, all because I just
pray for it, and He owns it all, and He doesn't want me to want
for anything. Now, that seems completely absurd. especially
to me now. But sadly, there are a large
portion of our society that desires these same things above everything
else. And as I heard the gospel preached,
the Lord began to teach me the importance of some things and
the uselessness, or in many cases the treachery, of many worldly
things. A child of God who is full of
fear and reverence for our Lord doesn't have wants because they
understand that what the Lord provides is much better than
any man could want or dream of themselves. If I had a Lamborghini,
I would be full of myself and I would cause reproach on the
gospel driving a car that was three to four times what we pay
our pastor. How would I live with myself
in doing something like that? If I was a star athlete and rich,
I'd probably live in a place that there was no church, and
the fame and money would make me to forget my dependency on
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And lastly, if I was
given comeliness and worldly vanity, among many other bad
things that would happen, I probably would not be blessed with a spouse
that loved the Lord Jesus Christ and somehow loves and treats
me in such a manner. Now does all this mean that I
don't desire or ask for a raise sometimes? Or ask the Lord for
earthly things? Regretfully, no. I still ask
for things, for earthly things. But the difference comes down
to a child of God knows that what he has in the Lord Jesus
Christ is greater than everything the world has to offer combined.
The saints know that having a mediator, a representative before God,
a secure salvation for all of eternity is the want. It's not a want, it's the want. If we have that, then there truly
is nothing else to ever want. God will provide himself a lamb.
God having provided some better things for us, that they without
us should not be made perfect. Verse 8 in our text says, Oh,
taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that
trusts in Him. How I pray for me and you that
the Lord would give us faith and make us to trust in Him.
Now, as the icing on the cake or the cherry on the sundae,
let me give you a few other benefits of those that the Lord has taught
to fear or revere Him. Searching through the many times
the word fear is used in the Bible, I kept finding more and
more good news and benefits to those that fear Him. In Acts
10 it says, In every nation, he that feareth him and worketh
righteousness is accepted with him. Those that fear him, and
remember all these things I'm giving are all the Lord teaching
us. The Lord gives us a fear of the Lord. We don't get this
ourselves, but those that fear him are accepted in the Lord. In Psalm 15 it says, He honoreth
them that fear the Lord. He honoreth us. In Malachi 3.16
it says, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another,
and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that
thought upon his name. And they, those that feared the
Lord, shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts. In that day, when
I make up my special treasure, And I will spare them as a man
spareth his own son that serveth him. Turn with me to Psalm 25.
Psalm 25 verse 12. What man is he that feareth the
Lord? Him shall he teach in the way
that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease,
and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.
How I desire that he would teach me and us in the way that he
shall choose, and that his seed shall inherit the earth. The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. Acts 13.26 says,
Whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation
sent. These wonderful things that we
read, salvation in the Lord, those that fear God, that's written
for you. Turn to Psalm 115. I've just
got a couple more. Verse 11, Ye that fear the Lord,
trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The Lord hath been mindful of
us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear
the Lord, both small and great. The Lord will bless them that
fear Him. In Psalm 103, He says, The Lord
pitieth them that fear him. I'm not above saying I greatly
desire the Lord's pity upon me. And then he says, The mercy of
the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear him. The mercy of the Lord is upon
them that fear him. Now turn with me to Luke 23. And let's finish at a place that
is so wonderful and sacred to those who the Lord has taught
the fear of the Lord to them. Luke 23 verse 39, the Lord on
the cross with the two thieves. And one of the malefactors which
were hanged railed on him saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself
and us. But the other, answering, rebuked
him, saying, Does not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done
nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. I love how this one thief, who
seemingly has known the gospel for mere moments, looks at the
other thief and in rebuking him and in total amazement looks
at that other thief and says to him, does not thou fear God? When the Lord teaches us to fear
Him, we are given the fear of the Lord. By His grace, it is so hard to
comprehend how someone would not fear the Lord. But we pray
that as it says in our text, that He would teach us. Come
ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of
the Lord. We pray for that for ourselves,
for each other, and for our children as well. Let's go to the Lord
in prayer.