And shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.
Goodness producing fear
There are three points here peculiarly worthy of our notice. The designation which is given to the Gospel dispensation--the “goodness of the Lord.” The first stage of its development--“in the latter days.” The peculiar effect which this development was to produce on the feelings and passions of men--“They shall fear the Lord.” The Gospel dispensation is in itself the essence, the consummation, the perfection of excellence. It deserves that appellation because it is the supreme gift, the supreme evidence, and the supreme instrument of Divine love. Goodness generally excites admiration and gratitude and obedience, but here it is said that the exhibition of goodness produces fear. In the first establishment of the Christian dispensation there was everything calculated to produce fear. The astonishing fall of the Jews. A most splendid exhibition of Divine power. Expectation that the end of the world was at hand. The general principle which we consider is--that the goodness of God in the Gospel is calculated to produce fear. Why?
I. Because this goodness throws fresh light on the terrors of sin. Fear, philosophically defined, is this, a painful sensation produced by the apprehension of imminent danger, and that danger may be the loss of present enjoyment, the fear of future disappointment, or the infliction of positive injury. But this is not the fear of our text. There is in it a holy, reverential, and even pleasing awe, produced in the mind by the sight of those visions which the goodness of God in the Gospels unfolds to the mind. When Divine light pierces the darkness of the soul, the mind sees its guilt, feels its pollution, apprehends its terrific and awful doom. I much question whether any man has ever been converted without, first of all, feeling the sensation of fear. It is impossible for any man to be impressed with the depravity of his own mind unless he is impressed with the excellence of the Gospel.
II. By the exhibition of the goodness of the Gospel we see the terrors of sin in the world. Who is the man that detects, mourns over, and attempts by God’s help to remove the sin that is in the world? Surely it is the man who has received this light. Let us be alive to the real state of things in the world.
III. The goodness of god in the gospel produces fear because it is an extraordinary act of Jehovah, and arises from absolute sovereignty. If our salvation were in our own hands why should we fear? If we had a power superior to any power hostile to our salvation, why should we fear? Or if our salvation depended upon the absolute justice of God--if God could not have been just without saving us, why should we fear? But the fact is that God saves us purely and exclusively because He wishes to do it. The very perfections of the Deity qualify Him to act as a sovereign. He acts from His own spontaneousness. God might not have exercised any sovereignty in the way of mercy. The sovereignty of God does real and positive good. But while it does this good, it leaves the sinner just where he was. There is a real exercise of the sovereignty in the salvation of man. Let us fear, then, because our responsibility is awfully augmented. Our gratitude to God ought to correspond to the character of the blessings which we have received. And our exertions for the good of others ought to correspond to the value of the blessings that we enjoy. (Caleb Morris.)
True and worthy fear
It is not a servile fear, not even, as elsewhere, a fear which makes them shrink back from His awful majesty. It is a fear most opposed to this; a fear whereby “they shall flee to Him for help, from all that is to be feared”; a reverent holy awe, which should even impel them to Him; a fear of losing Him, which should make them hasten to Him. “They shall fear, and wonder exceedingly, astonied, at the greatness of God’s dealing, or of their now joy.” Yet they should “hasten tremblingly,” as bearing in memory their past unfaithfulness and ill deserts, and fearing to approach but for the greater fear of turning away. Nor do they hasten with this reverent awe and awful joy to God only, but to His goodness also. His goodness draws them, and to it they betake themselves, away from all cause of fear, their sins, themselves, the evil One. Yet even His goodness is a source of awe. How much it contains! All whereby God is good in Himself, all whereby He is good to us. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Fear to the Lord
I shall speak of the fear of God here only as it concerns this place. It is introduced here to show that when this glorious Church shall be formed, when God shall call home His own people the Jews, and bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, then shall the fear of God mightily prevail upon the hearts of the people; and the greater God’s goodness shall be, the more shall the fear of God be on their hearts. It is remarkable that almost all the prophecies which speak of the glorious condition of the Church ever make mention of the fear of God that should rest then on the hearts of the people. One would rather think that there should be a reference to the joy they would have. But why fear the Lord in these times?
1. Because of the glory of Christ their King. They shall behold their King in glory that shall cause fear.
2. Because of the great works of God that shall then take place.
3. Because the holiness and purity of the worship of God and of His ordinances shall cause fear.
4. Because the holiness of the saints, appearing brightly in their very faces and conversations, shall Strike great fear. Surely when the saints shall be exalted in their holiness, when every one of them shall have their souls filled with God, it will cause abundance of fear in the hearts of all those who shall even converse with them. But the wicked shall fear too, as well as the saints. “Men’s hearts shall fail them for fear,” shall be verified in these days, as it was in the destruction of Jerusalem. The saints shall fear the Lord and His goodness. The goodness of God which in that day they shall fear, shall be this--
(1) That ever He should regard such a wretched people as this, and pardon all their sins.
(2) Because God shall then make the difference between him that feareth God, and him that feareth Him not. Then shall God take away all the reproach of His saints. (Jeremiah Burroughs.)
Israel’s conversion
1. Albeit that Israel as a nation hath been, and yet is, rejected and lost, yet they will certainly return to God. This we should long and pray for.
2. As true repentance and conversion will appear in men’s being sensible of their great distance from God, and in their seeking to make up this distance, so all this is a sweet and blessed fruit of affliction.
3. The covenant standeth still to be forthcoming for apostates, when they repent and turn to God, renouncing false ways and worship.
4. There is no right seeking of God, nor finding Him, or the comforts of the Covenant, but through Christ, whom converted Israel shall acknowledge and embrace.
5. The conversion will appear in its constancy and perseverance, and particularly in the converts entertaining a holy fear and awe of God.
6. As God is always good to His own people, whatever they may think to the contrary, so much of His goodness will be manifested in the time of that life from the dead, when all Israel shall be saved.
7. The goodness of God will not make a true convert presumptuous, but will be unto him matter of reverence and holy fear and trembling.
8. Albeit Israel be long in gathering and converting, yet we are firmly to believe that, before time end, it will certainly come to pass; for all this shall be in the latter days. (George Hutcheson.)
Fearing the Lord’s goodness
“Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.”
I. There is much that men do not know.
II. One thing that men do not know is the goodness of God. Goodness is a comprehensive term. God saw creation, and pronounced it “good.” Goodness includes beneficence, forbearance, patience. It may be likened to a rich flowing river, or to the sun shedding light and warmth all around. But goodness is not the thing that most strikes men in God. But it should be. It may be seen everywhere.
1. Trace it in Scripture story. Life of Jacob. Tale of the wanderings. Time of captivity. Life of Jesus.
2. See it in gracious providences. Winter snows. Summer storms. Autumn harvests.
3. See it in individual experiences. If we read the story of our lives aright, we shall be able to trace everywhere upon us the “good hand of our God for good.” But is this man’s chief thought of God? Is it not rather the Gospel which has to be declared? Is not this the surprising, melting, persuading Gospel, whose chief rays fall from Christ crucified?
III. If men did but know the goodness of God they would feel the holy fear and hear the call to repentance. Men either find a sort of excuse in persisting that God is a God of wrath and judgment, or they presume on His goodness, and say that He will take no notice of sin. Spite of this, the mightiest of all moral forces is goodness. It is mother’s power. It is Christ’s power. It melts, draws, wins. But it is goodness not in the abstract. It is goodness brought home to us. “Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Goodness says, “Repent.” Is that hard? Nay, it is but the first step on the way to trust, love, and life eternal. God’s new goodness seems to freshen the sense of His lifelong goodness, and of His saving goodness, until the cords of God seem to be all about us, and it becomes evident that He is graciously leading us to Himself. (Robert Tuck, B. A.).