Sun 8 May

What is man’s duty? If you had to, in a few words, summarise the duty of man, what would you say? The Westminster Confession of Faith would say this. The purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Solomon would write, “Fear God and keep His commandments.” What does it mean to fear God? Without fear we will not keep His commandments. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7) Is fear the same as afraid? We might have a fear of spiders. Or we might be afraid of the dark. What does it mean to fear God? Do we have a deep reverence for God? This leads us to honour Him. This leads us to respect Him. It is obvious as we have moved through Ecclesiastes that Solomon has wanted God’s people to fear God. Without such fear we will not keep His commandments. Why would we keep His commandments if we have no respect or reverence for Him? May be this is the reason our world pays no attention to the creator God – there is no fear of Him.