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The fear of the Lord - and joy in the Lord

‘Hear the Word of the Lord.’ How, Lord, are we to listen to Your Word? We are to ‘tremble at Your Word.’ We are to ‘drink deeply with delight’ (Isaiah 66:5,10-11). There is to be the fear of the Lord. There is to be joy in the Lord. These are not opposites. They belong together - ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling... Rejoice in the Lord’ (Philippians 2:12; 3:1). May we hear Your warning, and ‘tremble’. To those who ‘sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth’, You say this: ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Hebrews 10:26,31). We hear Your promise, and we ‘rejoice’: ‘The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms’ (Deuteronomy 33:27). Help us to ‘hear the Word of the Lord’ - the warning as well as the promise!
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