Daily Devotional
The Fear of the Lord
The righteous man is not spared the cave, nor the groaning of this mortal tent. David is driven out; Paul says we groan; the nations in Ezekiel fall under judgment; and the psalm teaches our smallness before God. Together they teach us to live as strangers who fear God, refuse revenge, and prepare for the age to come.
David gathered the distressed, yet he did not seize the kingdom by bloodshed. As Irenaeus says, “As in the case of David, when he suffered persecution from Saul for righteousness’ sake, and fled from King Saul, and would not avenge himself of his enemy, he both sung the advent of Christ, and instructed the nations in wisdom, and did everything after the Spirit’s guidance, and pleased God.” The servant of God does not answer injury with injury. He keeps his hands from vengeance, even while his hands are trained for battle by the Lord.
Ezekiel shows that God hears the malicious laugh of those who rejoice at another’s ruin. Therefore let no one make sport of a fallen church, a disgraced brother, or a nation under chastening. Judgment begins with such proud speech. The mouth must be bridled.
Yet our labor is not vain, nor is our body a thing to despise. “For we know, that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.” Therefore we must live now to be acceptable to Him: practicing mercy, giving from just earnings, forgiving enemies, and keeping a clean conscience. Since we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, let us not be found mocking, grasping, or filthy, but steadfast, humble, and ready for resurrection.
“As in the case of David, when he suffered persecution from Saul for righteousness’ sake, and fled from King Saul, and would not avenge himself of his enemy, he both sung the advent of Christ, and instructed the nations in wisdom, and did everything after the Spirit’s guidance, and pleased God.”
— Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV
“For we know, that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.”
— John Chrysostom, Homilies on Second Corinthians
For Reflection & Discussion
Whom do you need to stop repaying in word or deed, and what concrete act of forgiveness or restraint will you practice today instead of revenge?
Have you mocked, repeated, or enjoyed another person’s fall; what will you confess today, and how will you guard your tongue at your next meal or conversation?
What offering from your just labor will you give this week to the poor, the sick, or the church as one preparing to appear before Christ’s judgment seat?
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