“The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”
Psalm 147:11 KJV
Psalm 103:13 says, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.”
According to the dictionary, pity means “sorrow or compassion aroused by another’s condition.” God is more than aroused by our hopeless condition. He responds to those who recognize their sinful state and turn to Him for mercy.
- He gives mercy to those who fear Him. Luke 1:50 says, “And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.”
- He shows them His goodness. Psalm 31:19 says, “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!”
- He accepts the righteous from every nation. Acts 10:35 says, “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
Without the fear of the Lord, we have no way to discern between good and evil, no wisdom, no knowledge, no understanding.
- Proverbs 3:7 says, “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”
- Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
- Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
What does it mean to “fear the Lord?” It means to recognize Him for Who He is –
- Almighty God
- The Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that lives within them
- The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End
- The King Eternal
- All wise, all knowing, all present, and all powerful
- The Great I AM
You must reverence and praise His holy Name because of Who He is – our Almighty Creator and merciful Savior.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?”
Jesus called this the first and great commandment. If we fear God in this way, then He will take delight in us, too.