' On the shore, far-ofT, he caus'd to raise A ship-mast ; to whose top they tied a fearful dove by th' foot, At which all shot.'
2. Ex 15" ' Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ? ' (nS.iii K-ii:, lit. ' feared [in] praises ' ; usually understood ' to be feared even when praised ' ; Kalisch, ' awful in praises, — the qualities which are mentioned in praising Him fill the mind with awe and rever- ence ' ; in Kautzsch, Du furchtbarer in Ruhmes- thaten, ' fearful in deeds of praise ' ; the last, or Oxf. Heb. Lex. ' terrible In attributes that call for praise,' being best) ; Dt 28'* ' that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY odd' (xi.i:); Lk 21" 'fearful sights' (TR (pS^Tp-pa, edd. 06^i)9pa, RV ' terrors ') ; He 10-'' 'a certain fearful looking for of judgment' {<popep6s ; so v.", but in 122> ' terrible,' RV ' fear- ful' : <p. is always used of that which inspires fear) ; 2 Es 8^ 12» 15^', 2 Mac 1". Cf. Melvill, Diary (Wod. p. 271), 'The ministerie of Mr. Robert Bruce was verie steadable and mightie that yeir, and divers yeirs following, maist com- fortable to tlie guid and godly, and maist feirfuU to the enemies.' ' Awful ' and ' dreadful ' have both meanings also.
Fearfully is found only in Ps 139'* ' I am fear- fully and wonderfully made' ("n'S!:) n'iN-i'ij,* Del. ' " I am wonderfully come into being under fearful circumstances," i.e. circumstances that excite a shudder, sc. of astonishment ' ; Cheyne, ' graced so fearfully and gloriously ').t
FeapfulneBS has in tlie earlier VSS both the meanings of fearful, as Ezk 30" Gov. ' a fearful- ness will I sende into the Egipcians londe ' ; 2 Mac 15^ Gov. ' sende now also thy good angell before us (o LORDE of heavens) in the fearfulnesse and drede of thy mightie arme.' But in AV ' fearfulness ' means always the feeling of fear, apprehension, timidity : Ps 55», Is 33" 21*. 2 Es 5" 11*" 15".
• See Davidson, Syntax, g 71, Rem. 2.
t See Cheyne'B whole note (Book qf PscUmg, p. S52) ; it is par- ticularly good. lie says, ' Uitzig considers such a burst of admiration inappropriate to the case of human birth. But whyf Take the production of a human hand. AVhy should not a senBitive poet thrill, Uke Browning's heroine (James Lee's W\f; viiiX at~
•• The beauty in this — how free, how fine To fear almost " ? '
RV adds Wis 17' ' These were themselves sick witii a ludicrous fearfulness' (KaTayiXarrov fv\ipetar, AV ' fear worthy to be laughed at ').
J. Hastings.
FEAR. — As in En^., so in Heb. and in Gr. the same words are used to express emotions of fear which dili'er widely in their ethical character. At one end of the scale we have the fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111'") and the wliole duty of man (Ec 12'^) ; at the other end that fear of pain, shame, or death, which is craven, servile, and selfish, and which is often rebuked in Scripture. But it is impossible to draw any sharp line oetween the two kinds of fear, for in the im- perfection of human character one motive shades off into another. Once even, by a bold anthropo- morphism, God Himself is said to fear in the lower sense of the word (Dt 32", see Driver's note).
The fear which is merely self-regarding ought not to exist in a rational being who knows that God is his Father and understands enough to trust Him. Perfect love casteth out fear (1 Jn 4"). But man, as he is, fears the forces of nature, which he does not understand or cannot control, because he does not trust God's providence. And he fears his fellow-man, because he is aware that brotherly instincts have grown weak with the sense oi the loss of God's Fatherhood. 'Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all.' When Adam fell, he was afraid because he was naked (Gn 3'°), and he felt he could no longer face God : thus fear of God took its rise in the violation of peaceful fellowship with Him. Similarly, Cain violates human fellowship, and fears man because he is an outlaw and God's curse is upon him (Gn 4'--'*). Fear is thus the natural consequence of misdoing (Pr 28'), and, accordingly, is some- times expressly said to be inflicted as a punish- ment (Lv 26", Dt 28^-««). The effect of selfish fear is to unman the coward, he loses spirit (Joa 2" ; for the same phrase used in a higher sense, see 1 K 10°) : such men are to be rejected from active service in the array, lest the infection of their timidity spread (Dt 20*, Jg 7'). Courage is especially needed in a prophet (Jer 1', Ezk 3'). Fear is to be overcome by faith in God (Ps 112"*). In Rev 21* the fearful are numbered with the unbelieving among the most grievous sinners.
The nobler fear baa no thought of danger to self, so that the fear of God is the very opposite to the fear of man (Is 8'='- ", Mt 10^) ; but it arises from the sense of the nearness of some higher and holier being. Thus the beasts fear man (Gn 9'), and man fears angels and spirits, and, above all, God. To fear the Lord (tlie plirase occurs far more often with J" than with Eloliim) means rather to feel awe of what He is, than fear of what He might do. It is fear of a Person (J" is God's personal name), of His character, dignity, and holiness, rather than of His power or works. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil (Pr 8"). Fear in the better sense of the word is the mainspring of religion, and ' to fear ' is constantly used as signifying 'to worship,' whether the object be the true God or the gods of the heathen {e.g. 2 K 17""). Thus, too, Jacob, when dealing with Laban, calls J" the Fear of his father Isaac (Gn 31*-- "), that is, the object of his worship and religi- ous awe. This kind of fear is so far removed from the lower sort, that it is one of the dis- tingui.sliing c[ualities given by God's Spirit to the Messianic King (Is IP ', the spirit of the fear of the Lord), and the prayers of^ the Incarnate Son were heard becau.se of His godly fear (He 5').