On the Fear of God (eBook)

by William Bates

in ePub, .mobi & .pdf formats

And unto man he said, behold the fear of the Lord, that it wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. - Job 28:28.

IF you look back to the twelfth verse, you shall find an inquiry made after wisdom; and in the following verses, there is a description of the wisdom of God's providence, whereby he doth marshal and rank the innumerable sorts of creatures that are in the world. This wisdom of providence directs us to the wisdom of the law: this world being the school of rational spirits, every part of it, every creature, reads unto us a lecture of divinity. But the question is, what is that voice, that is conveyed to us by all these things; the answer is, "the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." If you look into this great volume, the book of the creatures, which is written within and without, written within with invisible essences, the angels, &c. written without with corporeal substances, all the visible objects of nature; and if you would know what is God's design in all these, it is this, that man should learn to fear him, that being the chiefest wisdom, and to depart from, evil, that being the most eminent understanding. This is the connexion of the words. In that part, which at the present, I intend to prosecute and treat of, you may observe first the subject, The fear of the Lord. Secondly, The predicate, that is wisdom. 

-----

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface 

I. The nature of the fear of God 

II. The objects of the fear of God 

III. The difference between servile and filial fear 

IV. The effects of filial fear 

V. The consistency between the fear of God and other graces 

VI. How threatenings and judgments should operate upon the fears of a christian 

VII. An exhortation to the fear of God 

VIII. What heavenly wisdom is 

IX. How the fear of God is wisdom 

X. On the false wisdoms of this world 

XI. The folly of worldly wise men in their pursuits 

XII. Human knowledge insufficient to make a man wise 

XIII. Mere speculation of divine truths also insufficient 

XIV. Warning against hardness of heart, and presumption, which quench the fear of God 

XV. On the evil of slavish fear 

XVI. On the evil of superstitious fear 

By Topic

Joy

By Scripture

Old Testament

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

New Testament

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Revelation

By Author

Latest Links