The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-01-28
For the Central Presbyterian.
Fear Not.

Fear Not.
These words, whenever spoken bv God
or the Lord Jesus Christ, are full of prom
Use and comfort, and shadow forth a -di-
vine love that is ever dwelling upon the
earthly and heavenly blessings OF His re-
deemed ones
1t was Immediately after the Lord said,
Fear not, Abram [ am thy shield, and
thy exceeding great reward" that, the
promise OF an heir was given, and Abram
was informed that his seed should be as
the stars that could not be numbered for
multitude. So the Lord blessed Abra-
ham and comforted him in his old age
by giving him Isaac, the child of promise.
Now, when Isaac grew and was weaned.
Abraham made great feast and during
this feast Sarah saw the son of Hagar,
the bondwoman, mocking Wherefore
she SAID unto Abraham, cast out this
bondwoman and her son: for the son of
this bondwoman shall not be heir with
my son, even with Isaac" And the
bondwoman and her son were cast out
to wander in the wilderness: the water
in the bottle that Abraham had supplied
them with, was spent, and their distress
was such that Hagar placed the child
under shrub to die, and she went to one
side out of sight that she might not wit
ness the death Of the lad, and lifted no
her voice and wept "And God heard
the voice Of the lad and the angel of
God called to .Hagar out of heaven. and
said unto her, What aileth thee. Hagar
fear not for God hath heard the voice of
the lad where he is. Then follows the
promise to make of the lad great nation.
AS Isaac, the child of promise, heir of
the treewoman, Is a type of Christ, heir
OF glory-so Ishmael the child of the
flesh, son Of the bondwoman, is type of
the Jew, the heir of bondage Never
theless what saith the Scripture? Cast
out the bondwoman and her son for the
son of the bondwoman shall not be heir
with the son of the freewoman. So then,
brethren, we are not children of the bond
woman, but of the free" Gal. iv: 80 81.
The blessings following the Fear nots
OF the Old Testament are earthly, while
those of the New are heavenly. These
latter are brimful of delight and exceed
ing comforting to the believers heart
When spoken by our Saviours own lips
they bring to mind with double force
these beautiful lines Let not your heart
be troubled: We believe in God, believe
also IN me. In my Fathers house are
many mansions: if it were not so, would
have told you. | go to prepare a place
for you. Fear not for | am not to be
gone from you always will come
again and receive you unto myself; that
where am there ye may be also"
What precious truth Ought we ever
to be troubled or harassed during our
brief sojourn on earth when such plori
Gus promise is given us? Would that we
could keep His coming before us, and ever
have IN remembrance His words: Fear
not, little flock; for it is your Fathers
good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
:. Fear not, Mary for thou hast found
favor with God. What riches of bless
lngs, to all nations, flowed from that
Fear not. And how the Shepherds
hearts must have glowed with raptures of
gladness as the angels Fear not, sound
ed upon their ears and they received the
message OF good tidings Of great joy
from his heavenly lips
One of the tenderest Fear nots" we
have IS that spoken by the Lord to Simon
Peter, the fisherman, after he had fallen
at Jesus knees, saying Depart from
me; for | am a sinful man, o Lord -
The loving heart Of Jesus could not with
hold the words Fear not; from hence
forth thou shalt catch men," No wonder
that Simon forsook all and followed Him
He felt himself to be a sinner, and as all
who feel this way should do, he followed
the Lord.
In Luke xii 6, 7, we have another
Fear not which is very sweet. 1t
proves conclusively that the watchful
eye and the loving care of Almighty God
Is over allhis creatures, particularly those