The Fear of the LORD, Part 2

From Beholding to Bowing: The Movement of True Wisdom

In The Fear of the LORD Part 1, we lifted our eyes to behold the God of Proverbs, His omniscience, sovereignty, holiness, and grace, all perfectly converging in Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).¹  However, Scripture does not reveal God merely for contemplation; it demands a response. As Stephen Charnock wrote, “The knowledge of God is the mother of all graces… the root of obedience.”²  To truly know God is to fear Him rightly, and this fear shapes all of life.

Beholding God’s character stirs our hearts to action, transforming how we approach decisions, relationships, work, and worship.  The fear of the Lord becomes the covenantal posture by which believers navigate the paths of wisdom and folly, life and death.

Proverbs leads us from "Behold your God" to "Bow before your God," urging us to respond to God’s invitation with reverence and obedience, as revealed in Part 1.  This movement from beholding to bowing is the heart of true wisdom.

The Nature of Covenant Fear: Awe That Draws Near

A common misconception about fear in Proverbs is that it resembles the panic of a criminal before judgment.  However, the fear commended in Proverbs is not that of the unrepentant but a reverential awe of God that drives believers closer to Him, not away.  As 1 John 4:18 declares, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment."  In Christ, penal terror is abolished, replaced with a fear rooted in love and awe of a holy and gracious Father.

The believer’s fear is covenantal, not focused on punishment, but on the desire to please a loving Father. As Thomas Watson said, “The fear of God is not a fear which drives us from God, but a fear which drives us to God.” ³   It is the fear of a redeemed son who trembles at the thought of displeasing God, standing in awe of His majesty and mercy without presumption.  This is a grace that keeps us from treating sin lightly, recognizing that our actions matter to God.

This fear is the foundation of true wisdom, as Proverbs teaches (1:7; 9:10).  It is not a fear of terror, but a reverent, trembling love that shapes the believer’s posture of loyalty, reverence, and worship. John Bunyan called it "a grace of the new covenant" ⁴  that inclines the heart to shun sin and embrace holiness, enabling believers to grow in wisdom and holiness.  Without this covenant fear, no amount of theological knowledge can produce holiness.

The Foundation of Covenant Fear: Standing in the “Already–Not Yet”

Right fear must rest on the right foundation.  Proverbs, read in light of the whole counsel of God, assumes the believer stands in the gracious tension of the already–not yet: Already - We are justified, fully, finally, and irrevocably, through faith in Christ alone (Rom. 5:1).  Our covenant status is secure, our sins are atoned for, and God’s favor rests upon us as a settled reality.

Not Yet -  We are still being sanctified. The presence of indwelling sin remains.  The tug of sin and folly lingers.  We are righteous in Christ, yet growing into that righteousness in experience (Prov. 4:18).

This tension shapes covenant fear. We do not fear the LORD to earn acceptance; Christ has already earned it. We fear the LORD because we are accepted in Christ.  Reverent obedience is the fruit, not the root, of our covenant standing.  As the Trinity Fellowship Churches Catechism teaches, “believers are united to Christ by faith and preserved in Him by His power, so that all who are truly in Christ are kept by the grace of God and persevere in faith to the end.” ⁵

Living in the tension of ‘already-not yet’ means we’re simultaneously justified before God and still growing in holiness.  This tension makes covenant fear a daily necessity.  We don’t fear because we’re uncertain of our standing with God, but because we understand that our choices today matter in light of eternity.  It calls us to fight against complacency and to pursue holiness, knowing that God's grace has already secured our salvation.

Thus, the fear of the LORD is not anxious self-preservation but grateful covenant loyalty.  It is the life-long commitment of one who knows he is loved and therefore longs to please his Father.

The Outworking of Covenant Fear: Walking the Path of Wisdom

Proverbs frames the believer’s daily life as a crossroads. Every moment places us on either the path of wisdom, shaped by covenant fear, or the path of folly, shaped by practical atheism.

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13). Right fear does not merely avoid external sin; it despises the heart’s affection for evil.  It awakens holy discernment.  It gives ballast when the path of folly appears easier, quicker, or more pleasurable.   It reminds us who God is and, therefore, who we are.

Proverbs shows this wisdom in three primary expressions:

1.         Guarding the Heart: The Inner Battlefield

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Proverbs begins sanctification where Jesus does, in the heart (Matt. 15:19). Covenant fear watches the inner man.  It mistrusts self-deception (Prov. 16:2; 21:2).  It submits desires, motives, and internal narratives to God’s scrutiny, knowing His omniscience exposes what we excuse.

John Flavel said that keeping the heart is “the great business of a Christian’s life,” for the heart is “the source of all actions.” ⁶  If covenant fear rules here, wisdom flows outward.  If it does not, folly, no matter how well disguised, soon follows.

Guarding your heart means actively choosing what influences you. It’s about setting boundaries to protect your thoughts and desires.  This may look like limiting time spent with influences that stir up sinful desires or choosing to focus on God's Word daily to reorient your heart toward His wisdom.  It also involves meditating on the scriptures and on the things of God, and reminding your heart of God’s love and holiness whenever you feel tempted to stray from His path.

2.        Choosing Between Two Paths: The Daily Crisis

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). The fool chooses according to sight: what seems right in man’s mind (rational thought).  The wise choose according to fear (awe from knowing God): what God says is right. This is where many modern Christians stumble, influenced by:

• Pragmatism – “If it works, it must be good.”
• Mysticism – “If it feels spiritual, it must be from God.”
• Autonomous reasoning and Rationalism – “If I can justify it with my mind, it must be permissible.”

But covenant fear cuts through these man-centered illusions.  It says, “If God has spoken, I must obey, even when I cannot see why or understand the purpose or reasoning.”  The path of wisdom is often quieter, slower, and more sacrificial, but its end is life (Prov. 12:28).

In every decision, large or small, there is a choice between wisdom and folly.  Do you cut corners at work to get ahead, or do you do what’s right even if it’s harder?  Do you speak the truth when it’s uncomfortable, or do you embellish to make things easier?  Covenant fear helps you choose God’s path because it recognizes that He sees all and will ultimately lead you to life, even when the road is harder.

3.        Patterns of Life: Speech, Work, Relationships

Covenant fear manifests not in mystical experiences, but in ordinary faithfulness.

Speech - “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly” (Prov. 15:2). A reverent heart produces restrained, truthful, gentle speech (10:19; 15:1; 16:24).  We speak as those who live under the gaze of the God of truth (30:5).  The fear of the LORD keeps us from slander, exaggeration, flattery, and quarrelsome tones.

Work - “The hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov. 10:4). Reformed theology recovered the doctrine of vocation: all labor is performed coram Deo (Col. 3:23).  Covetousness, laziness, and corner-cutting reveal a heart that fears man more than God.

Relationships - “He who walks with wise men will be wise” (Prov. 13:20). Fear of the LORD shapes how we choose companions, pursue reconciliation, forgive offenses, practice loyalty, and our worship.  It pushes us away from those who despise God’s ways and toward those who sharpen us (27:17).

The Sustenance of Covenant Fear: Returning to the Fountain

Covenant fear is not self-generated.  It must be continually nourished. Proverbs assumes a life shaped by regular habits of grace, which serve as the means by which we return to the source of all godly reverence, the Lord Himself.

Just as a well needs to be continually replenished to provide life-sustaining water, so too must our covenant fear be sustained through ongoing engagement with God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, and meditating on His divine attributes.  These habits of grace act as the means by which our hearts are kept soft, our awe renewed, and our reverence deepened.

Through the Word and Preaching

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him” (Prov. 30:5). Hearing the Scriptures expounded renews reverence by refreshing our sight of God’s holiness, sovereignty, and unfailing promises.

Through Prayer and Repentance

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Prayer takes the God of Part 1- Behold your God,  and brings Him into the moment-by-moment crisis of life.  Repentance keeps the heart soft and humble, acknowledging the ongoing presence of folly and the need for grace.

Through the Communion of the Saints

“… the sweetness of a man’s friend does so by hearty counsel.” (Prov. 27:9). Corporate worship, shared burdens, loving correction, and godly examples all strengthen covenant fear. We see a great example of this desire for community, a longing to be nourished by the saints and to nourish the saints through community, in Romans 1:9-12.

Paul, though an apostle, humbly acknowledges his own need for encouragement from ordinary believers. In these verses, Paul expresses his deep desire to see the Roman Christians, not just to bless them with his apostolic ministry, but also to receive encouragement and strength from them. His words remind us that we are never too mature or self-sufficient to need the support and prayers of fellow believers.

We can encourage one another in two key ways:

Fellowshipping together in community—Bearing each other's burdens and giving strength during trials, just as Paul longed to be comforted by the faith of the Romans.

Interceding for one another—We must learn to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. What better way to help and encourage one another than by lifting each other up in prayer before God? Just as Paul prayed earnestly for the Romans (Romans 1:9), we are called to intercede for the spiritual health and well-being of our fellow believers.⁷

Through such mutual care and intercession, the fear of the Lord is deepened in us all, and we grow together in wisdom and holiness.

Through Meditating on Divine Attributes (Theology Proper)

We sustain fear by remembering the God we fear: His omniscience - He sees all (Proverbs15:3), His sovereignty - He directs all (Proverbs 16:9; 21:1), His holiness - He opposes all evil (Proverbs 11:20), and His grace - He atones and restores (Proverbs 16:6)

This is why Proverbs’ theology proper (see The Fear of the LORD Part 1: Behold Your God) must never be left behind.  The soul’s awe weakens when the mind forgets God’s perfections. To truly know God and live in awe of Him, we must diligently study His attributes through the lens of theology proper.  As the Puritan writer Thomas Watson emphasized, true wisdom is rooted in a right understanding of God. According to Watson, to be wise in the fear of the Lord, one must deeply reflect on and comprehend His divine perfections. ⁸

In this way, knowing God through the study of His character leads us into a deeper, reverent awe that fuels our covenantal fear, reminding us of His holiness, justice, mercy, and omnipotence.  It is through this deep knowledge that we are transformed and grow in wisdom, not just intellectually but spiritually, living in reverence before Him.

Conclusion: Fear That Leads to Life

Proverbs 9:10 declares that the fear of the LORD is “the beginning of wisdom.” But this “beginning” is not something to outgrow.  It is the ongoing posture of a life lived before the God revealed in His Word and fulfilled in His Son.  Covenant fear is:

• The believer’s daily orientation
• The instrument of sanctification
• The decisive principle of wisdom
• The guardrail against folly
• The atmosphere in which communion with God flourishes.

Rightly fearing the LORD does not imprison the believer; it frees him from sin’s deceit, from self-rule, from the tyranny of human opinion, and from the futility of worldly wisdom.  It anchors him in a life of stability, joy, and eternal hope (Prov. 14:26–27; 19:23). 

May we, beholding the God of Proverbs and the Christ in whom His wisdom shines most brightly, learn to “fear the LORD and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7; Job 28:28).  In doing so, we discover what all the saints have found: that the fear which bows before God is the very fear that leads to life.

Soli Deo Gloria

Footnotes

All Scripture is from the New King James Version and English Standard Version

¹ Craig Fain, “The Fear of The Lord: Behold Your God - Part 1,” The Covenant Wisdom of God Series, January 9, 2026, https://www.gracechurchfrisco.org/gracemen/the-fear-of-the-lord-behold-your-god.

² Stephen Charnock, Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God.

³ Thomas Watson, The Great Gain of Godliness.

⁴ John Bunyan, The Fear of God.

⁵ Trinity Fellowship Churches. The Trinity Catechism: With Proof Texts. Trinity Fellowship Press, June 2024. Question 42, p. 36-42

⁶ John Flavel, The Works of John Flavel, 1:56.

⁷ Craig Fain, “The Heart of Gospel Ministry: Romans 1:8–15,” sermon, Bethesda Gardens, January 18, 2026.



⁸ Thomas Watson, The Knowledge of God (also known as A Body of Divinity), summary of ideas related to divine wisdom and the fear of the Lord, Banner of Truth, 2021.

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