December 1998 Issue

J. H. Jowett in his sermon, The Fear of the Lord,¹ concentrates on verse 10 of our Psalm. Though the sermon is brief, perhaps communion meditation, it is effective. It evokes a number of striking images.

Jowett begins by stating that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but not a beginning faithful people can ever leave behind. He says of this fear, "It is like the alphabet which, while forming the beginnings of literature, yet enters vitally into the loftiest creations of a Shakespeare or a Milton. Without the alphabet there can be no literature; without reverence there can be no religion."

Since fear of God is the foundation of life, it supersedes even faith, hope, and love in terms of importance for those seeking the truth of God. Jowett comments on the Seraphim of Isaiah 6 that four wings were used for reverence (covering faces and feet) while only two were used for practical service (that is, for flying). A concluding comment says, "We so often fail in service, because we have forgotten or ignored the creative beginnings of things, which is the fear of God."

The sermon concludes with several statements which bring to bear the attitude of reverence so vital to religious experience. The mood a person brings to any religious transaction is more important than a certain quality of one's intellect. "We enter the secret place not by logic but by disposition."

C. H. Spurgeon's sermon, Covenant Blessings, focuses on verse 5 of Psalm 111.² Spurgeon says praise of God is one of the highest exercises for those who have entered the new life. "Our life should be one continual psalm."

Like many sermons of the day, "Covenant Blessings" is broken into three major points. First, Spurgeon uses the phrase "he hath given meat" (v. 5) to consider the gift God has given, fulfilling both people's temporal and spiritual necessities. In this section, Spurgeon speaks about his theology of preaching. For instance, "Sermons need to be instructive; there should be a teaching in them of the things of the kingdom."

Second, Spurgeon considers the phrase, "He will ever be mindful of his covenant." One statement looked especially worthy of further consideration. In Spurgeon's words: "Some people believe in a rickety kind of covenant, which I never could find in the Bible, a covenant that has conditions in it which you and I are to fulfill... The covenant of grace is a covenant without any conditions on our part whatever, of any sort, in any shape, in any form, or in any fashion. The covenant, in fact, is not made between us and God; it is made between God and Christ, our representative."

The concluding third part of the sermon explores the character of "them that fear." Beginning with the doctrine of predestination, Spurgeon tries to prove that fear shows the condition of whether one is saved or damned. He states emphatically, "the fear of God in the heart is the proof of being God's elect one." Near the conclusion is a powerful story of faith and logic—worth the effort to obtain a copy of this sermon!

Karl Barth, on 20 July 1958, preached this sermon: The Beginning of Wisdom.³ He starts by asking, "What, then, is wisdom? Wisdom is the knowledge of life or, as we might say, the art of living."

Speaking of how people gain wisdom he systematically eliminates common sense answers: Growing old, experience, and psychology. "No, `the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,' we are told." He then pursues the connection between wisdom and the fear of the Lord.

Using an extended image of Solomon as a biblical model of wisdom, Barth says, "Solomon became wise—he proved himself wise already—in that he did not presume to be wise. He was not ashamed to confess: `Give me wisdom!'" Barth goes on to point out Solomon's wisdom also consisted of this fact: Be asked for things he needed not for himself but for others. At this moment in the sermon, Barth makes a distinction between true and false fear of the Lord. False fear, as he calls it, is rightly called anxiety.

The remainder of the sermon is a summary of true fear of the Lord. This fear is grounded in a person's discovery of the absolute sovereignty of God's grace. "It is not unlike the experience of Columbus who, sailing out for India, suddenly hit upon the continent of America. This I did not know. This nobody ever told me. This, I could never have found out by myself—that God is this God, that God does these things." It is discovery of this covenant God, Barth offers to people who are seeking the beginning of wisdom.

Paul Scherer bases his Psalm 111 sermon, "Life Never Says Please," on verse 7: "The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure."⁴ Again, this sermon's structure consists of an introduction followed by three points.

Scherer begins by saying that life does not do the very thing all children are taught from the time they are very young—to say, "please." Life does not ever say please; it does not coax, persuade, or exhort. It commands.

The first point of this sermon centers on the moral order of the world, which is a given reality for people they never set up nor can they alter. He says, "And the life that won't begin with it would do better perhaps not to begin at all! There isn't much use buttoning a vest or a coat if you start with the wrong button!"

The second point explores what Scherer calls freedoms: Speech and worship. He concerns himself with the difference between "freedom from" and "freedom for." The third point explores the possibilities religion offers to those who live the life which never says please. Using faith as the only viable alternative to despair, Scherer illustrates his notion with multiple images. The sermon ends with a powerful folk story about a village cynic trying to make a fool out of a hermit known for his wisdom. This is a perfect ending to a wonderful sermon.

David Neil Mosser

1. J. H. Jowett, Springs in the Desert: Studies in the Psalms (New York: George Doran Co., 1924), pp. 238-240.
2. C. H. Spurgeon, Sermons of Reverend C. H. Spurgeon, Vol. VI (London, Funk and Wagnells), pp. 230-249.
3. Karl Barth, Deliverance to the Captives (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961), pp. 126-135.
4. Paul E. Scherer, The American Pulpit Series, Book III (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press), pp. 76-93.