What are the sources of the fear of God?

St. Philoxenus of Mabbug positively and wonderfully differentiates between the fear that is begotten purely from the human mind and serves to destroy the soul, and the constructive fear that is a gift from God. Many people try to attain “fear” purely with their human mind, picturing God as mighty and terrifying, who combs humanity for sins by which He can condemn them while He Himself is isolated in His heavens and unfeeling of human weaknesses. But the truly faithful partake of the “fear of the Lord” as a divine gift that rekindles in them a life of repentance with sincere tears; accompanied by the exalted peace of God, complete trust in God the Savior, and a real hope of enjoying His wonders and the promise of His glories.

The first kind of fear is a serious disease that drives the soul to shrink and close in on itself. It must be eradicated since it drives one to remorse that is often accompanied with despair, distress, and unrest. But the fear of the Lord that is a divine gift grants the believer the exalted peace of God along with the sorrow of repentance. It reveals the love of God and thus grants hope. The believer fears God as a judge, so he flees not to another, but to the Judge Himself as his Savior and Redeemer. The believer remains under the providence of the “fear of God” by which he ascends and enters into the exalted mysteries of God, until he climbs Mount Tabor with the three disciples, Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:1). There, the Lord is transfigured in his heart, and he bows down with them to the ground — not out of shame and despair, but out of the fear that is mingled with the radiance of God’s glory (Matt. 17:6–7). He yearns to never descend from the mountain, but to remain surrounded by this wonderous fear that radiates splendor on the soul as the divine light shines upon it; and he can no longer tolerate being separated from the divine presence. That is why it is necessary to understand the sources of the fear of God, which are as follows:

370 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.7 (162): p. 129.

371 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.1 (159): p. 126.

First: Faith. St. Philoxenus of Mabbug says, “They taught me that the true fear of God is born out of true faith.”³⁷² There is a huge difference between one who pushes himself into fear, and the one who asks with faith for God to grant him fear as a free gift. The first says with his tongue that he fears God, without feeling it in the depths of his heart. This fear, which is lifeless, leads a person to be Pharisaic, so that the person lives hypocritically, speaking without attaining. This eventually leads him into recklessness, boredom, or to aversion to spiritual life altogether. But the one who throws open his inner depths by faith to patiently accept the gift of God, his soul shall be possessed of the fear of God and animate all his activities, that he may live with all his being in the joyful fear of God. He fears God with his tongue and his heart equally, with his body and his soul equally.

St. Philoxenus of Mabbug says, “The fear [of God], I say, is not so that one may say with a word, ‘I fear God,’ or as many appear habitually [to be] ones who fear God, but it is the fear stirred up naturally in the soul, and when the soul trembles and quakes within, it stirs with it as well all the members of the body.”³⁷³

Second: Contemplation of God and remembering Him . St. Philoxenus of Mabbug says, “Because as long as a thought is not retained in a worthwhile conception, it wanders outside of itself and goes back and forth in a place beyond the help of God. Just as when [a thought] reflects on virtues it resides in the light of the recollection of God, so when it leads and applies itself to empty and unprofitable thoughts, all its way is in darkness. Whoever lives in darkness does not see nor is seen. He neither discerns nor is discernable. He neither knows nor is he knowable, but is deprived of the beauty of the vision of creatures, and all those who see are also deprived of the sight of him. He neither discerns the road nor does he recognize the path and does not see the trace of his steps.”³⁷⁴ And, “just as when one opens his eyes light shines into the pupils, so through the remembrance of God the fear of God shines at once into the mind.”³⁷⁵

The fear that accompanies enjoying the divine presence and the constant remembrance of God transports the believer from darkness to the divine light and grants him a sort of illumination. He sees God present in everything in his life and sees everything that He has made as beautiful and enjoyable. He distinguishes God’s will from every contrary will. He knows the mysteries of God and delights in the wondrous works of God. By remembering God, the believer enjoys the fear of the Lord, and so becomes visible, distinguished, and known. Whoever remembers God, God will remember him, and whoever fears God, God will grant him fear, honor, and appreciation in the eyes of the heavenly and the earthly, and

372 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.7 (162): p. 129.

373 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.8 (162): p. 129.

374 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.2 (159–160): p. 127.

375 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.22 (174): p. 138.

even in the eyes of all creation. The fear of the Lord bestows upon the believer special appreciation and grace. Fear God as is fitting, and you will be feared. The author of the Clementines mentions this in his discourse on Satan and his soldiers saying, “The smallest Christian (who fears God) is stronger than the greatest devil.”

Third: Focusing on the word of God . St. Philoxenus of Mabbug sees the word of God as a living source of fear of God, instructing us not to repeat it with our tongues only, but to live it in our hearts, so that divine springs that irrigate the soul can erupt within us and transform the dry desert of the soul into a fruitful garden. He says, “In order that it may not happen to us in this way, let us be occupied at all times with the word of God, not only when the tongue sets it in motion by repetition, but also when the heart reflects and studies it thoughtfully, the aim being that our mouth may speak at all times from the abundances of our heart.”³⁷⁶ When the soul is granted the fear of the Lord as a divine gift, it delights in it and the effective word of God burns like a flame from it continually. The fear of the Lord becomes the law of the soul, its natural spiritual law. This is different from bodily fear.

St. Philoxenus of Mabbug says, “Because just as the fear of the body is of external injuries, or of beasts or of fire, or of swords or of hot irons, or of drowning or of a fall from steep precipices, or a report of robbers or the sight of judges, or painful tortures, or bindings and prisons, so also the fear of the soul is naturally of the hidden judge who is able to punish it along with its body through spiritual afflictions according to its nature. Just as the body naturally fears all these things we have considered, so also the soul naturally fears the memory of the judgment of God … When the body sees things that harm it, it is fearful of them; when the soul observes these things that punish it, it is terrified of them. Not by [any other] means is the body stirred up by these things harmful to it, but as soon as it sees them or reflects on their memory, it is stirred up and is naturally fearful of them. In this same way, when the soul has looked with the eye of faith on future menaces and has seen secretly the fearful things the word of the judge has revealed, immediately it is filled with fear, and all its thoughts—its spiritual members—shake.”³⁷⁷