May 10
FEAR ONLY GOD
"So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not
fear what man shall do unto me" Heb. 13:6
Because God will never leave nor forsake us, we may well be content
with such things as we have. Since the Lord is ours, we cannot be left
without a friend, a treasure, and a dwelling-place. This assurance may
make us feel quite independent of men. Under such high patronage we do
not feel tempted to cringe before our fellowmen, and ask of them
permission to call our lives our own; but what we say we boldly say,
and defy contradiction.
He who fears God has nothing else to fear. We should stand in such
awe of the living Lord that all the threats that can be used by the
proudest persecutor should have no more effect upon us than the
whistling of the wind. Man in these days cannot do so much against us
as he could when the apostle wrote the verse at the head of this page.
Racks and stakes are out of fashion. Giant Pope cannot burn the
pilgrims now. If the followers of false teachers try cruel mockery and
scorn, we do not wonder at it, for the men of this world cannot love
the heavenly seed. What then? We must bear the world's scorn. It
breaks no bones. God helping us, let us be bold, and when the world
rages let it rage, but let us not fear it.