A God-Fearer — E.A. Johnston

The Blessing of Those Who Fear God

In Psalm 33 18 we read, Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. The thought, his eyes upon them, is twice stated here, first for those who fear God, and then for those who hope in his mercy, thus reinforcing the imagery and declaration that God's eye is on those who fear him.

The Ancient Identity of the God-Fearer

An old-time description of Christians is the God-fearer, that's what believers were called, they were called God-fearers. God's eye is on the person, the church, the nation that fears him and hopes in his mercy.

The Consequences of Self-Reliance

His eye then is not upon the self-reliant person or the self-reliant church or the self-reliant nation, rather his back is turned to them. God's back is turned on America because we've turned our backs to him, we have turned our backs to him in our personal lives, our corporate lives, in our national life.

Standing in Awe of God's Majesty

There is no fear of God in our land today because we are also full of ourselves, full of sin and disobedience and irreverence. Verse 8 of this psalm declares God's command to his creation, let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

National Crisis and a Brief Return to Reverence

When was the last time, brother pastor, fellow believer, that you fell before God in humility before him and stood in awe of his majesty and authority? I thought 9 -11 was going to change things in this country because for a brief time after those terrorist attacks where so many tragically lost their lives in one day, I saw a touch of the fear of God in our churches and in our nation again because we all were so shocked and scared that another attack was right around the corner because as a people we felt exposed and vulnerable.

Military Victory Without Gratitude

Then we dropped a lot of bombs and our brave troops fought hard against those terrorist factions and when we had victory, instead of giving God the glory as a nation, we just strutted proudly, patted ourselves on the back, and bragged over our national power and military might.

And since that time we have moved farther and farther away from God in this nation. It's a wonder God just doesn't destroy us all for being a nation that only mocks him. We should change the words of the anthem from God bless America to America mocks God as a nation.

Legalized Sin and the Rejection of God's Standards

We have legalized sin and legislated God right out of this country. We call evil good and defend it and not only that, we promote it and we call good evil and we try to silence it by enacting laws against it.

But my Bible says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. And my Bible also says, the wicked should be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. Our nation grows more wicked every day.

Idolatry and the Need for Repentance

Nudity and sex are the idols we worship. We don't give a hoot about God in this country. We snub our noses at him. How does your nation hold up friend? Heaven help us all.