Luke 1:74 That he would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, And as I was brought up under the influence of fear of my parents, so I was also brought up under the influence of fear of God. I do not believe that there is any creature in India that goes before monstrous-mouthed idols with more quaking than I felt when I thought of Jehovah. I used to read those hymns of Watts, where he threw blood on the blazing throne, and quenched indignation, and brought forth love and mercy; and if I have not been through purgatory under the experience bred by the view presented in those hymns, nobody has I That which I hungered for and needed from the beginning was not terror. I was terrified enough. I had too much fear. And I remember perfectly — all eternity will not burn it out — when a change came over my feelings. I was walking near [Jane Seminary (where I studied theology without a hope), and was working over a lesson that I was to hear recited; and the idea dawned on me, not that there had been a covenant formed between God and His Son, but that Christ revealed the nature of God, whose very soul was curative, and who brought Himself and His living holiness to me, because I needed so much, and not because I was so deserving; and that instant the clouds rose, and the whole heaven was radiant, and I exclaimed, "I have found God!" and it was the first time I had found Him. Good His name was; and I went like one crazed up and down through the fields, half crying, half laughing, singing and praying and shouting like a good Methodist. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, |
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