The Fear of the Lord and the Cross of Christ

John Brown (1851):

Nothing is so well fitted to put the fear of God—which will preserve men from offending him—into the heart, as an enlightened view of the cross of Christ.

There shines

spotless holiness,
inflexible justice,
incomprehensible wisdom,
omnipotent power,
holy love.

None of these excellencies darken or eclipse the other, but every one of them rather gives a lustre to the rest.

They mingle their beams, and shine with united eternal splendor:

the just Judge,
the merciful Father,
the wise Governor.

Nowhere does

justice appear so awful,
mercy so amiable, or
wisdom so profound.

HT: Jerry Bridges, The Joy of Fearing God, via David Sunday