Our Reverence Never Bows Low Enough
6/26 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 31; Psalm 119:97-120; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6
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6/26 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 31; Psalm 119:97-120; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6
My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments. Psalm 119:120
FEAR
The revelation of the awesome presence of God certainly inspires humble reverence in the psalmist, for our God is the holy and righteous Judge of all the heavens and earth. Yet this verse first speaks prophetically of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As a Man, Jesus agonized with prayer in the garden for the judgments He must face (Luke 22:44). Because He was intimately joined with the Father in fellowship (John 1:18), Jesus knew the holiness of God more deeply than any other being, be it man or angel; and He must face the wrath of God for sins He did not commit. It is true of heart and holy of disposition to be afraid of God’s judgments. If Christ Jesus had not thoroughly feared God’s judgments, He would have been no better than the villainy of fallen men who oft treat the judgments of God with casual indifference at best, or defiant rejection at worst.
Second, Christ Jesus feared God perfectly with a holy reverence, whereas we fall short of this godly fear in every way— even as those saved by grace. In this mortal body, our reverence will never bow low enough to honor God; our fear of judgment will never alarm loud enough to surrender all without reserve. Yet praise God for Christ Jesus, our Lord! He has sufficiently trembled and feared with holy reverence on our behalf. His righteousness, in every way, including His perfect fear of God’s judgments, has been imputed to our lives as finished at the cross! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
The holy judgments of our God
Are just and must be feared;
Yet we fall short while on earth’s sod—
Thank God, Christ has revered!
