"The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has seized the hypo-
crites . . . "
The context of the phrase (above) is that the Old Covenant church would be tested and tried in the furnace of affliction. The sincere be-
lievers would submit to this, and would come out more purified. The unbelieving hypocrites--who were still in the covenant--would *not* do well at all. They would be fearful; and they would prove to be false.
True Christians may oftentimes experience fear; but they are able, by grace, to undergo God's "proving grounds." A hypocrite will never wil-
lingly suffer anything for the Lord or the true religion. Real believ-
ers--though not enjoying it--are always, in the end, willing to do whatever their Savior requires of them.
[Puritan quote of the day: "He who belongs to the Jerusalem above speaks the language of Canaan." --Thomas Watson, in, "The Great Gain of Godliness"]
