Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

One of the Principles of the ReformationThe Fear of the LordFrom their mother's knee the Reformers weretaught to fear the Lord. The Roman Church in whichthey were brought up saw to that. It was not, however,a fear that wafted them toward the God oftheir creation, but rather one that drove them furtherinto the darkness of ignorance and superstition.Emerson reminds us that fear always springsfrom ignorance. The fear of God engendered byRomanism certainly appears to prove that this isso. Savonarola bears witness to the fact that "beforethe diffusion of the light of Holy Scripture, humanitywas plunged into a night of obscurity."Prior to the Reformation the Roman Church hadencouraged the belief in many and varied fantasies.From fork-tailed demons torturing the damned withpitchforks to "pick-pocket Purgatory" itself. Men andwomen — especially the uneducated — were keptin subjection by stories so weird and fierce thatGod could never be loved. Fearing Him they ran tothe Virgin for comfort and to the Pope for salvation.Conviction of sin merely served to increase theemotional pain. Thus John Calvin, in this condition,thought in terms of suicide. ". . .by good works,"says Calvin, "we must wipe out from before Theethe memory of our evil doings; finally, to make upwhat was lacking we must add sacrifices andsolemn acts of expiation. Then because Thou werta stern judge, a strict avenger of iniquity, they(the priests) showed how dreadful Thy presence mustbe... whenever I examined my own self, or liftedmy heart up to Thee, a terror so extreme seized methat no expiations or satisfactions could give meany cure. And the more closely I examined myselfthe more was my conscience tormented by sharpstings so that there was no solace or comfort left tome save that of deluding myself by oblivion."God having graciously saved them, the Reformerswere made to realise that fearing the Lord didnot produce misery. The opposite was true. ShoutsZwingli joyously, "Christ stands before you withopen arms, inviting you and saying, 'Come unto me,all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I willgive you rest.' O glad news, which brings with it itsown light, so that we know and beheve that it istrue. . ." Those covered by the Confessional foryears spring forth fervently into the arms of theGreat High Priest when He bids them do so. TheyMARCH 31, 1971by Rev. Peter Trumperfear Him with reverence, not as slaves, but as Hisbrothers and sisters. He is God. He is good.As Romanists, born and bred, they had beentaught incorrectly. Now, in Christ the balance wasrestored. "For therefore hath He sent His Son, notto oppress us with heaviness and sorrow, but tocheer up our souls in Him." So realises Luther whosemonastic misery had been extreme.However, the Reformers were not content withrelying upon their experiences of God, importantas those were. They were not Mystics. It was theBible to which they turned the world's gaze. SaysCalvin in his 'Institutes,' "It being thus manifestthat God, foreseeing the inefficiency of His imageimprinted on the fair form of the universe, has giventhe assistance of His Word to all whom He has everbeen pleased to instruct effectually, we too, mustpursue this straight path, if we aspire in earnestto a genuine contemplation of God, drawn from HisWorks, is described accurately and to the life."La imer echoed these words in England. ". . .Stickonly to the Word of God, he said. In Scotland JohnKnox cried ou', ". . .Within the Word of God isarmour and weapons sufficient."Through the pages of the Word, then, the contemplationof God begins. In doing this the Reformerswere taught to fear the Lord again. Romanismhad taught them a half-truth, namely, that God isholy. Like the apostle John they fell at His feet asdead men. Romanism had left them on the ground.The Word of God had picked them up. The formerleft them in terror and misery. The latter instilledin them a gentle fear. A happy distinction was drawnbetween the two.To fear the Lord is to possess a positive virtue.It is, says the Word, "the beginning of wisdom."It is to see God as He is without the thick veils ofunscriptural dogmas hiding the view. It is to readof His being "high and lifted up" and reacting asIsaiah did. He did not run from the Temple in abjectterror. His fear was expressed positively in thewords, "Here am I, send me." The shepherds towhom the angelic host appeared, were "sore afraid."They were instructed not to fear and, indeed, themessage they received brought them joy.Was this not the fundamental difference betweenthe Reformers and the Romanists? Is this