Thank you to Mark R for this week’s MWB
Psalm 36 begins with these words:
“I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Ps 36:1
The core problem with sin is this: “There is no fear of God before their eyes”
Someone once said that sin is a 3 letter word with “I” in the middle.
We may have a fear of illness, a fear of war, even a fear of others…yet have no fear of God.
Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”
What does it mean to “fear the Lord?”
There is a difference between being afraid of God, and fearing God.
It all comes down to how we see God.
Psalm 36:5 tells us this:
“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
Psalms 36:5
Being afraid of God is the fear of the unbeliever who hates God, believing He is harsh and distant. He/she therefore runs away from God.
We see it in the parable Jesus told about the unfaithful servant. When asked by his Master why he hid his talent in the ground, he said:
“I was afraid of you because I knew you were a hard man”
Here is the difference between being afraid of of God, and fearing God.
The servant could only see the hardness of his master, and nothing of his kindness and love.
CS Lewis captures this misplaced fear so accurately in his book “The great divorce”.
His book starts in the grey town (hell). While its inhabitants are afraid of the dark, few dare to get onto the bus that travels to heaven, because they are afraid of the light. To dwell in heaven, they have to give up their anger, grumbles, and self dependence.
Ultimately, they prefer their darkness and chains, to the light and freedom of heaven.
But behind it all is a misunderstanding of what God is really like.
Spurgeon speaks of the fear of God that leans towards the Lord because of His goodness.
And here in Psalm 36 we find that same goodness which brings us to a right understanding of what it means to fear the Lord:
“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
Psalm 36:7
Psalm 26 not only challenges us to ask how we see God, but also are we willing to change our views and trust in His unfailing love.