Photo Story"The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, and in them that hope in His mercy" (Ps. cxlvi. 11). Hope and fear might appear to be contradictory terms, yet Scripture in the Old and New Testament enjoins them both together. They are not inconsistent when rightly understood. There is, indeed, a kind of fear which is an offence against God, a cringing slavish fear as of an arbitrary master, which would willingly sin against Him if it were not for the personal consequences. But there is also a reverential and loving fear, as of a son who dreads to offend a tender father, and lose his esteem and affection. God Himself places the two alternatives before us as motives to serve Him, the prospect of possessing Him if we are faithful, and the dread punishment of eternal separation from Him if we persist in sin. The thought of reward is a legitimate motive for the practice of virtue; and the dread of hell makes for righteousness, and is therefore legitimate as restraining us from sin. In the old times it was specially necessary to develop the terrors of divine judgments to a half-civilized and stiff-necked oriental race; but even now our love is by no means so perfect that we can afford to dispense with the inferior motive as a supplement to the higher. Certain systems of religion make the mistake of looking at one aspect of the truth while neglecting the other. Some indulge an excessive confidence without attending to the duty of holy fear; others promote discouragement till it destroys all hope. Cultivate both virtues at once; let each balance the other and maintain a perfect harmony.
