Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord (Union) Hardcover – January 26, 2021

I sometimes felt as if the author quoted too much. I don't need to read the entire poem to understand the line in the second stanza that the author was trying to highlight.Still, there were enough excellent points and quotes that this book is worth reading and re-reading.I wish to fear God more. This book has helped me on that journey, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Reeves appears to have written the book by (1) collecting massive amounts of scripture passages and quotes on the fear of God from Luther, Bunyan, Edwards, Spurgeon, etc., (2) arranging them by subtheme, and (3) stringing them together with short meditations. As such, it is a treasure trove of some of the most moving quotes and passages of Scripture I’ve read in one place in several years. Highly recommended as a devotional resource. So, tolle lege, meditate, and richly savor the fearsome beauty of the LORD in these lively pages.

Such understanding and knowledge is imparted. Such wisdom only exists from the fear of the Lord. It precisely provides assurance of God’s awesome benevolence towards us.

Michael Reeves achieves his goal of differentiating sinful and godly fear of the Lord. His clarifications not only correct common misunderstandings, but also call his readers to respond to God as He truly is, with trembling delight.A glance at the sources listed in the notes for each chapter, however, confirms the impression that almost all are Puritans or Reformed. This is not surprising for a Presbyterian writer, or necessarily a negative. But this reader found the frequent and long citations from many of the same sources (Bunyan, Spurgeon, Edwards, etc) excessive and tiresome. Unfortunately, it also made an important biblical discussion seem theologically partisan, which it is not. The author’s skillful references to relevant passages of Scripture demonstrated that.The book is also laden with adjectives to describe the filial fear of God as if the author was not just appropriately overwhelmed, but perhaps a bit frustrated. At times, this came across as overcomplicating truth that could have been communicated more simply. It seemed that he was seeking to emulate the flowery style of the writers he quotes.These criticism aside, the book lived up to the the praise of those who recommended it; and I would recommend it on the basis that its message is too important to allow its style to deter readers.

This book nails the central issue many modern Christians wrestle with thanks to cultural influences. Biblical truth is objectively, positively, and carefully presented. Not only is this high quality writing, but it's simple to understand and SO, SO, SO encouraging. You'll want to read it again and again! (I finished 3 weeks ago, and I'm already craving a refresher.)

The idea of the fear of God is one that I am sure almost every Christian struggles with. Is is merely reverence or awe or is it the fear of God’s judgment? Or is it something else altogether?Michael Reeves argues (rightly in my opinion) that they key is in understanding that there are two kinds of fear - sinful fear and filial fear. He uses Scripture to illustrate the differences and to argue that filial fear is closely linked with love and that it actually brings hope and joy rather than dread.This is a book that every disciple of Jesus should read. I know I’ll be coming back to it again and again.

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We are reading this book for discussion as a Bible study. So far it has been an enlightening perspective.