Fear Not
ELEVENTH DAY.
——-9-—— Sear Pot.
Fear not.
Luke xii. 32
HERE need be no difficulty in ve distinguishing between the holy and blessed 'fear of the Lord,' which | Isa. xxxiii.e. is our 'treasure,' and which is only as | Acts ix. 3r. the sacred shadow cast by the brightest light of love and joy, and the fear which 'hath torment,' and is cast out | 1Johniv.
18. by perfect love and simple trust.
'Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then Have nothing else to fear!' precisely expresses the distinction.
But it is a very solemn thought how 'verily guilty' we are as to this most | Gen. xlii. ax absolute command of our King, reiterated by messengers angelic and human, and by His own personal voice,
5 8
ROVAL COMMANDMENTS.
perhaps more often than any other.
No wonder that we are left to suffer | Jer. viz. | the fruit of our own thoughts when we do not even see our disobedience, much less cease from it.
'Fear NOT.'
There is no qualification, no exception, no modification ; it is as plain a comEx, xx.15. | mand as, 'Thou shalt zof steal.'
What excuse have we for daring to regard it as a less transgression, or even no transgression at all?
If the heinousness of a crime might, to human judgment, be measured by its penalty, what must the true heinousness of this everyRev. xxi. 8. | day sin be when God hath said, ' The fearful shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone!'
Why should what seems only a natural infirmity be catalogued with the blackest sins?
Because, if we Gen. iii, 1. | honestly examine it, it is always and only the fruit of not really believing Luke xix.2r.| God's words, not really trusting His 2Sam.vi.s,9.| love and wisdom and power.
It is a bold, 'Yea, hath God said?' to His abundant and infinitely gracious proIsa. li, 12,13. | mises; it is a tacit denial that He is
FEAR NOT,
what He is!
Only let us sincerely and thoroughly trace down every fear to its root, and we shall (if the Holy Spirit guide our search) be convinced of its sinfulness, and 'by the commandment' it will 'become exceeding sinful.'
'Let Thy judgments help' us, O Lord, in this matter.
John xvi.8,de Rom. vii. 13.
Ps. cxix.175, But now for the brighter side! Would our King tell us again and again, ' Fear not!' if there were any reason at all to fear?
Would He say this kind word again and again, ringing changes as of the bells of heaven upon it, only to mock us, if He knew all the time that we could not possibly help fearing ?
Only give half an hour to seeking out the reasons He gives why we are not Isa. xli. 0, xlili. 1-5 5 Matt. x. 28, to fear, and the all-inclusive circumstances in which He says we are not Lam. iii. 57. to fear; see how we are to fear nothing,
Rey. i. 17. and no one, and never, and nowhere ; ib. ii. 10. see how He Himself is in every case Isa, li. 12, 13. the foundation and the grand reason Gen. xv. 1. of His command, His presence and Matt. xiv. 27.
His power always behind it; and then Isa, XXXV. 4 shall we hesitate to say, 'I will fear o
Ps, xxiil. 4.
ROVAL COMMANDMENTS.
evil: for Thou art with me'?
Shall we even fancy there is any answer to those grand and for ever unanswered questions, 'The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord Ps. xxvii. 1. is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid ?'
There is a 'Fear not' for every possible case and kind of fear; so that we have never any answer to give when He asks, ' Why are ye fearful?' but we are 'without excuse.'
It is part of His 'holy covenant' that we should 'serve Matt. vili.26.
Rom. i. 20, Luke i. 74.
Him without fear.'
It is one of His 'precious promises' that 'thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear.'
It is one of the blessed results of His reign that His flock 'shall fear no more.'
It is no impossible thing, but the simple and natural consequence of really seeking and really trusting the Lord, that He will deliver us not from some, but from 'a/d' our fears.
He did this for David, will He be less kind to you and me?
Job xi. 15.
Jer. xxiii, 4.
RS XXXIV.0A:
Heb, xiii. 8.
The Lord Jesus gives a very tender and gentle expression of the same
\ command when He says, 'Let not your heart be troubled, neither /e¢ it be afraid.'
Ah! we too often Jef our hearts be afraid: we yield without even a parley ; a fear arises, andwe do notrecognise it as an enemy of our King, we just
John xiv. 27.
Zet it enter and sit down, instead of unsheathing the sword of the Spirit and attacking it in the power of His might, and in the Name that always conquers.
Eph. vi. 17. ib. vi. 10.
Ps. xliv. 5.
No matter how powerless we feel about Luke x. 17. it, strength comes with determination Mark iii. 5.
| to obey.
Let us say this morning, now, 'I wild trust and zot be afraid ;' and then let us 'say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not ;
Isa. xii. 2. ib. XXxv. 4.
. He will come and save you.'
Is God for me? JI fear not, though all Rom. viii. 313
Ps. lvi. 9.
: against me rise | When I call on Christ my Saviour, the host ib. iii. 6. of evil flies.
My Friend, the Lord Almighty, and He who loves me—God !
What enemy shall harm me, though coming 1 Pet iii 13; Isa. lix. 19. as a flood?
PAUL GERHARDT,
ROYAL COMMANDMENTS.
TWELFTH DAy. eae The Strenath-gibing Look.
' And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might.'
Judg. vi. 14.
OR the might of a look of the Lord is enough for anything !
Only, we must meet His look; our eyes must be ever toward the Lord, and then we shall not miss it: for He } Ps, xxy. 15, says, 'I will se¢ Mine eyes upon them Jer. xxiv. 6. for good.'
So, if we are indeed His people, we can never look up to Him without His look of grace and goodness and guidance meeting ours.
Ps, cxix. 132.
Job xxxiii, 27, 285 Ps. xxxiib.
18, 19; ib. xxxili. 8.
It will not trouble us as it 'troubled the Egyptians' when that mysterious look of the Lord fell upon them 'through the pillar of fire and of the cloud;' that look of judgment is not for His Israel.
Ex, xiv. 24.
Yet for them there is the solemn look of searching, when He 'looketh on the heart.'
2 Sam.xvi.7.
LHE STRENGTH-GIVING LOOK.
For them, too, the Zook of expectation, when He comes to His vineyard and looks 'that it should bring forth grapes;' when He comes to 'see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear,' with the beautiful promise in His hand, 'There will I give thee My loves.'
Tsa. v. 2.
Cant. vil. 12, For them the unspeakable power and tenderness of His look of recall.
One who, after denial of the faith, had felt the might of that look, said to a lad who stood awed by the manly tears: 'Ah, Willie, it's forgiven sin that breaks a man's heart!'
How many a wanderer has been called back even by the record that 'the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.'
Luke xxii.62.
Then the look of healing and help.
Have we as simple faith as the father who besought Jesus to /ook upon His only son, as if even a look from the dimly recognised Master should be enough?
And so it was! the 'word only,' the touch, the look, were enough for health and cure in cases to which Mark ix. 24, Luke ix. 38.
Matt. viii. 8, Mark. v. 23. this was a terrible climax. ib. ix. 20, 23.
ROYAL COMMANDMENTS.
Then the ook of blessing and love.
'Look down ..
. and bless Thy people,' prayed Moses. Andwhatalook of blessing that was when Jesus 'looked round about on them which sat about Him,' and 'stretched forth His hand toward' them, and gave them the right of the nearest and dearest relationships!
Oh! let us take time (make time, if need be) to 'sit about Him' and listen to His teaching and meet His look.
Deut. xxvi.
15.
Mark iii. 34.
Matt. xii. 49.
Deut. xxxiii.
Luke x. 39.
And, last of the seven, there is for His people the special ook of strengthening.
'There is so much init.
Suppose you are called to take part in some busy and complicated arrangements; it is all new to you; you are judg. vi. 14. not quite sure you are doing the right thing in the right way; you hesitate and go on slowly and uncertainly, with no sense of freedom and power.
All at once you catch the eye of the one who is leading and organizing!
Ps. xxxii. 8, The look is enough ; there is direction, approval, confidence, encouragement, in that one glance, and you work away