7 Things - The Fear of the Lord

7 Things that come from the fear of the Lord

(Book of Proverbs)

Prov. 1:7 - Wisdom and knowledge - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (2:5; 9:10)

Prov. 10:27 - Long life The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. (19:23; 19:23)

Prov. 14:26 - Confidence In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,

Prov. 14:26 - Refuge For Your Children And His children will have a place of refuge.

Prov. 14:27 - Escape from death The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death

Prov. 16:6 - Holiness In mercy and truth, Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. (Also Prov. 3:7)

Prov. 19:23 - Life The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.

Prov. 22:4 - Riches, honor and Life By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.

The Fear of the Lord is (5 Things):

Prov. 1:7    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prov. 8:13   The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. 

Prov. 9:10    “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

                  And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Prov. 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

Prov. 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

How To Obtain the Fear of the Lord (4 Things):

Prov. 2:1-5 - Turn your heart and ear towards wisdom

Prov. 2:1-5 - Cry out for it – lift your voice and ask God for wisdom

Prov. 3:7 - Turn from sin and hate evil (Prov. 8:13)

Prov. 23:17 - Run after the fear of the Lord with zeal - all the day

Some Thoughts On Holiness

Holiness has...

love for its essence

humility for its clothing,

the good of others as its employment

the honor of God as its end

-Nathanael Emmons-

Holiness is not freedom from temptation,

but power to overcome temptation.

-G. Campbell Morgan- 

I believe the holier a man becomes,

the more he mourns over the unholiness

which remains in him.

-Spurgeon-

In holiness God is more clearly seen

than in anything else,

save in the person of Christ Jesus the Lord, 

of whose life such holiness is but a repetition

-Spurgeon-

Holiness is goodness on fire.

-Walter Rauschenbusch-

Holiness is glory internal;

glory is holiness shining forth outwardly.

Robert Jamieson

Ps. 15 - 11 Things That Give You Access To God's Presence

I have been meditating on Psalm 15 this morning – Here we find such an interesting perspective on the people who are invited into God’s presence. I’m not sure that we would prioritize some of these qualities in quite the same way,  nor would we list them as attributes that need to be found in those who worship and long to be found in the presence of God! Sure – they are all important, but not necessarily things that spring to mind initially.

Also note that the psalmist begins the psalm with 2 questions and answers with 4 verses – each has 3 components. I know that the verse markings were not originally included in the Bible – but it is always interesting to me to see the symmetry of the poetry:

Psalm 15 (NLT)

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?

Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?

2 Those who lead blameless lives

and do what is right,

speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

3 Those who refuse to gossip

or harm their neighbors

or speak evil of their friends.

4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,

and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,

and keep their promises even when it hurts.

5 Those who lend money without charging interest,

and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.


Such people will stand firm forever.

So…here is the list of 11 qualities that need to be found in worshipers:

• Holiness on the inside

• Holiness in our actions

• Always speak the truth

• Don’t gossip

• Don’t hurt your neighbors

• Don’t speak evil of your friends

• Hate sin and those who are blatant sinners

• Honor those who follow God

• Keep your word even if it costs you something

• Be generous and lend without charging interest

• Never take a bribe – especially to lie against the innocent

If you do these 11 things you will never be moved from God’s presence!

If you look at this list again, it really does make sense - these things center around the way we govern our hearts, mouths, attitudes and finances. All these things are important to form the heart of worshipers.