Quotes About the Fear of God

Quotes about the fear of God from throughout Christian History.

Rainbow, taken from the road
in front of my house

Hermas, c. A.D. 160

"Fear," said he, "the Lord, and keep his commandments. For if you keep the commandments of God, you will be powerful in every action. Every one of your actions will be incomparable, for fearing the Lord you will do all things well. This is the fear that you ought to have, that you may be saved. But don't fear the devil, for fearing the Lord you will have dominion over the devil, for there is no power in him. (Shepherd of Hermas II:7)

Clement of Alexandria, c. A.D. 190

Since God deemed it advantageous that from the law and the prophets men should receive a preparatory discipline by the Lord, the fear of the Lord was called the beginning of wisdom. It was given by the Lord, through Moses, to the disobedient and hard of heart. For those whom reason will not convince, fear tames. The Instructing Word, seeing this from the beginning, purified by each of these methods and adapted the instrument suitably for piety. (Miscellanies II:8)