s
to offend because he is afraid of the lash. Holy Fear is the fear that
is aroused in the pure heart of a little child who shrinks from that
which would wound the love of a tender father. We find the true
expression of our filial anxiety in the familiar words of Faber's hymn:

"Oh, how I fear Thee, living God,
With deepest, tenderest fears,
And worship Thee with trembling hope,
And penitential tears."

II. _Worry Versus Faith_

The presence of worry is proof of absence of trust in God. The two
cannot abide in the same heart; and there is no more subtle device of
the tempter than this of arousing in us the spirit of worry concerning
our temptations. It is a temptation within a temptation, and this very
{65} complication has the effect of sadly clouding the real issue.

We have the word of the Holy Ghost that "God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."[6] The word
_faithful_ as used here by St. Paul signifies faithfulness in carrying
out an agreement. It is implied that God has entered into a covenant
with the soul that He will permit no temptation beyond our strength to
assail us. The Apostle says that God is faithful and will fulfil His
part in this covenant. But the soul that admits worry is, in
substance, saying that it is not convinced of God's faithfulness in the
matter, and considers, in spite of the promise, that there is much to
fear.

Worry is the mother of an innumerable brood of sins. Well did the
Psalmist say, "Fret not thyself else shalt thou be moved to do
evil."[7] He knew somewhat of the sources of sin. His own experience,
as well as the inspiration of the Spirit, had taught him that the
fretted soul was a fair target for a hundred darts of the enemy. "The
very sound of the word anxiety is painful," says a modern writer; "next
to sin there is {66} nothing that so much troubles the mind, strains
the heart, distresses the soul, and confuses the judgment."[8] Imagine
an army troubled, strained, distressed, confused; what possible chance
would it have of victory against a powerful and confident foe? It
would be the plaything of the enemy, as indeed the human soul often is
when it allows itself to be unnerved by a false anxiety.

Thus we see that the anxious soul is the doubting soul, and the soul
that doubts God's goodness and loving care in the midst of the trial
and conflict has already flung away its weapons and prepared the terms