Fear and Revere – Psalm 34:9-14

A text – Psalm 34:9-14

34:9 O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.

34:10 The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

34:11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

34:12 Which of you desires life and covets many days to enjoy good?

34:13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

A reflection:

Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. If we are seekers of the Lord, then, even when we go through bad times, we lack no good thing. When we are in distress, which comes to every human being, God is daily providing everything we will need to get through those times. That is a good reason to fear the Lord.

Is the meaning of fear what we usually think of when we use the word fear? Well, a little, but more like revere. What things do we fear? Storms? War and cruelty? The loss of a loved one? Yes. What do we revere? What brings us to reverence? Any person? Any place of beauty? Any activity? Perhaps. But we are to revere, respect, be in awe of, fear the Lord God. Why? Because the Lord is the source of every good thing, even our lives. We are the Lord’s creatures, created like art or music or sculptures. The Lord has made us and wants us to live out our fullest life in relationship with our Creator. So behaving the way the Lord intends us to behave, living in relationship to God while revering God in our very bones, this relationship is the source of every good thing we will ever have, including eternal life.

When we hold our relationship with God as sacred and reverent, we can then leap for joy, create things of our own, bless others, care for the neighbor, because these actions come from the bounty in which the Lord wants us to live our lives. Things will go wrong, of course, but our trusted and reverent relationship with the Lord will right the tipped-over stuff before damage gets out of hand. We are fully ourselves as God’s beloved children when we are connected in relationship with the Lord. This awe-filled relationship is the source of all goodness for us. Keep the Lord in mind always. Or as Jesus repeated as the greatest commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being in permanent relationship with us, for giving us all the good things in our lives. Help us to always stay near to you and revere our deep connection with you so that we stay whole and wise and strong. Amen.