FEAR here implies, not dread, but rather reverent awe. He who does not revere God is branded as a fool, a simpleton, who in his colossal ignorance often fancies himself wiser than his Creator and so ignoring all advice, plunges headlong into things that are destructive alike to body and soul.
“Life passing aimlessly, seeking for joys,
Building bright hopes upon frail earthly toys;
Satan fills time for us as it slips by
Little we think of God, Soul, you and I.
Pleasure an opiate, making us deem
Hell but an idle threat, heaven a dream;
Caught in his silken web like any fly,
We, Satan’s captives held, Soul, you and I.
Down from the heavens above, God sent His Son;
He died upon the cross, for us undone;
Now through God’s wondrous grace, Christ makes us nigh,
We evermore are His, Soul, you and I.
Praise Him forever, then, who set us free;
Live henceforth unto Him, all His to be;
For us the world’s vain mirth is but a lie,
We have found CHRIST our joy, Soul, you and I.
Washed in His precious blood, no more to be
Derelicts menacing life’s human sea;
No more in Satan’s power, doomed but to die,
We are Christ’s ransomed ones, Soul, you and I.”
—J. A. B.