They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.
– Jeremiah 33:9
Is that not a great verse? God is saying to his people, I’m going to provide so much good, so much prosperity for my people that they will fear and tremble. Like let that soak in. Because usually we think about fear and trembling being something we do in light of maybe God’s wrath or God’s justice. And there’s no question we see that picture at different points in Scripture. But we don’t just fear and tremble because of God’s wrath or justice. We fear and tremble because of God’s goodness and mercy.
Jeremiah 33:9 pictures a holiness that humbles us in worship.
In other words, we fear and tremble because of God, period. Because of who he is and all of his holiness, including his holy goodness.
When you see evidence of God’s grace and mercy in your life, which is all around us. Then they should drive us to fear and trembling to awe before God and all of his goodness and mercy. Wow. Part of me wants to encourage everyone who’s listening to this right now just to get on our knees and to pray in reverent awe. And maybe you’re able to do that, or maybe at some point, maybe you’re not able to do that right now. Maybe you’re driving in a car. I don’t know if so.
But at some point, just to get on your knees, on your face before God today… Fear and trembling in light of his grace and mercy. In light of his goodness toward you. God, I just think about where we deserve to be right now, in fear and trembling. We deserve to be cast out of your presence. Lord, we deserve to be in eternal never-ending suffering right now.
Jeremiah 33:9 teaches us to tremble with joy at God’s overwhelming grace.
We praise you for saving us from our sin, for saving us from death, and we praise you for showing us such mercy, love, grace, and goodness. Jesus, we praise you with fear and trembling for dying on the cross for our sins, for taking the punishment, the payment, the just judgment we deserve upon yourself in our place instead of us, so that we could be clothed in your righteousness. Who are we to be clothed in your righteousness?
Yes, God, we pray for a sense of fear and trembling, clothed with the righteousness of Jesus in a way that leads us to live today with fear and trembling, to work out our salvation, as Paul says, with fear and trembling. To be holy. As Peter writes, “As you are holy”. God, help us with fear and trembling to be holy as you’re holy today in all that we think and desire and say and do because of all your goodness in our lives.
We praise you for helping us to live like this because of your grace in our lives. God, for all the good that you provide for us, we praise you, we exalt you, we worship you, God, we worship you. Who are we? God, we pray you help us. Help us to spread your goodness so that others might fear and tremble before your grace and your mercy. We pray it would help us to spread your goodness to people around us today and the people around the world.
Prayer for the Khoja People
God, we pray for the Khoja people of Pakistan and India. For 1.5 million of them. Muslim men, women, and children who don’t know your love for them in Jesus, the Savior of their sins. God, we pray that they would fear and tremble before you because of your grace and your mercy in Jesus. We pray for that kind of fear and trembling to spread across the Khoja people of Pakistan and India. Please bless our brothers and sisters in Pakistan and India for the spread of the gospel to the Khoja. Oh God, we pray all of this in light of your Word in Jeremiah 33:9. Help us, teach us to fear and tremble because of your goodness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
