FAY ROWE

As a fourth grade teacher I've seen children who were very respectful of their parents. They were comfortable with them, and obviously felt well loved and cared for, but they listened to them when they spoke and did what they were told. In front of the teacher, at least. These children were respectful to their teachers as well.

I've also seen children, very few, thankfully, who seemed to be afraid of their parents, one or the other. They were tentative in their presence, not comfortable. I hated to think what life at home was like.

Then there were the children who exhibited no respect or fear for anyone! 

The phrase under consideration in Psalm 19 says "the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever." The word for fear indicates respect. The fact that it is clean indicates that it is pure, not contaminated with something bad, as a cleansed bowl would be clean. There is nothing evil about this fear.

There are two meanings for words translated "fear" from Hebrew or Greek: "respect" and "terror."  Respect shows up much more often in reference to God than does terror. When terror shows up it is spoken to those who are doing evil. Interestingly, the Greek word for this type of fear is the one used when we are told that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.

Our relationship with our father is to be one characterized by respect, not terror. In the old covenant, man's relationship with God was not that of father and child. When Jesus was resurrected, he told Mary he was going to "my God and your God, my father and your father." That would have been the first time they were told to think of God as father! From that time on, our relationship became one in which there should be no terror, only love and honour--the kind of honour and respect that leaves no reason for terror.

This entry completes our musings on Psalm 19. If you recall, my interest was piqued by C.S. Lewis' statement that the references to laws, statutes, commands, testimonies all referred to the same thing and were written that way as poetic offering. As much as I love and respect Jack, I will still disagree.

I hope our little study on Psalm 19:7-10 has been helpful in some way, whether you agree with Jack or me! I hope it has aroused your interest as well and will send you studying on your own. 

"God is greatly to be feared in the assemly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around him. O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like you? ... You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, and high is your right hand. ...Your faithfulness surrounds you. ... Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne: mercy and truth go before your face. Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. In your name they rejoice all day long. ... For you are the glory of their strength. (Psalm 89).