Psalm 119:33-48
Psalm 119, Day 3. I typically read our day’s verses in the NASB first, then in the ESV. Today I had different reactions from one verse in the two translations. First, in the NASB, Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You. (v. 38) Then in the ESV: Confirm to Your servant Your promise, that You may be feared. I found a major difference in my mind between God’s word “producing reverence” for the Lord as compared to fearing Him. The “fear” of which the Old Testament speaks is not something scary, as we typically think of fear, but rather is that holy reverence, that acknowledgement by us as to Who God is and why we worship Him. So the two translations are saying the same thing, but the word “reverence” catches my eye (and my heart!) while the word “fear” creates a pause in me that demands more reflection. Which is better? I like “reverence”!
I beg to differ, a little. It can indeed be helpful to prefer “reverence” over “fear” insofar as it helps us to even begin to approach our holy God, but we must be careful not to water down Scripture just to make ourselves more comfortable. I touched on this topic back in July in Proverbs, and my cousin wrote about the fear of God just the other day. Sometimes, we need to let Scripture make us squirm a bit…
On another note, as we go through Psalm 119, I think it is useful to think about what the psalmist means by the “law” and all its synonyms (which Fred highlighted at the outset). Is the psalmist just talking about a bunch of “dos and don’ts”, rules and regulations? I don’t think so. It seems to me that if he just had rules in mind, then we would very quickly find ourselves in love with legalism, like the Pharisees, whom Jesus very much opposed. So, what, then, is the psalmist really talking about? You might want to keep asking that question as we continue through this psalm.