God’s “Let” Diary (Part 37) — Let All the Earth Fear the Lord

Daily Scripture Threshing for Friday, July 17, 2020

Today’s Text: Psalm 33:1-22

Key Verses: Psalm 33:8 (NIV): “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.”

Events happen around us that easily reveal how vulnerable to trepidation and fear we all are — and often of wrong reasons and things. Since 9/11, we have all come into realization of how terrorized and terrified our world has been. Land, Seas and air travels have never been or can never be the same again. Now, the onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic further reveals that we live in a fear-ridden world. It has further imposed permanent impacts of fear upon all of us. O how these reveal that we all actually live in irony. We dare the Being (God) we are supposed to fear, and fear the things we are supposed to dare.

David understands that it takes the fear of God to bring us into rightfully acknowledging the divine, and reverencing Him. The key verse explains what David means by the fear of God in the subordinate clause, “let all the people of the world revere him.” The word revere means holy reverence, reference and awe of God, not slavish fear of Him. He must have deliberately chosen an expression equivalent to "worship.” It is actually the lack of holy awe of God that brings humanity into slavish fear of Him. Reverencing God is the heart and soul of serving and worshipping Him. And we must observe that the call to fear the Lord is a call to worship; and it is not just to religious people. It’s a call to all people of the earth; not only to Jews, but also Gentiles; not only to poor and weak people, but to the great and strong.

History tells how Coleman, a populous king of Hungary, having come under great influence of Christianity, fell into fear of meeting God, and sought the counsel of his brother princes Álmos on what he shall do to fix his depravity. But his brother not being able to figure why he should be thus afraid, mocked him instead. This happened in that era in Hungary when executioners sounded a trumpet at a man's door when found guilty of certain crimes: such a man was at once led to his execution. So, it happened that in the dead of that night, king Coleman sent executioners to blast the trumpet at the door of his brother, prince Álmos; and have executioners seize and drag him pale and trembling before him. In an agony of terror Álmos fell on his knees before his brother and begged to know what crime condemns him for execution. At this, king Coleman answered: “If the sight of human executioners is so terrible to you, shall not men, having grievously offended God, fear to be brought before the judgment seat of Christ?"

Let us quit living like Álmos, groping in trepidation of death rather than in trepidation of the God who created death and who shall also bring it at last into final destruction. During His earthly ministry, Jesus, our Lord warns us not to fear “them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matt 10:28), referencing the popular dichotomy of man’s nature — the soul (which is all that truly lives, thinks, wills and is eternal in man); and the body (which the temporal and transient corporeal). However, in His wisdom, Jesus presents an inverted truth: rather than present the Father to us in the character of a destroyer, He chose to use a negative fear to describe Satan the enemy of man, and the spirit behind all evil. Satan is man’s great adversary to whom no man should yield; otherwise, he shall lead his soul captive and shall destroy both his outward and inward life in hell. To escape this negative fear, all inhabitants of the world must stand in awe or reverence of God.

Quote for the Day: "It is actually the lack of holy awe of God that brings humanity into slavish fear of Him.“ (Simon Olatunji)

Prayer: Lord, teach my heart to learn how to rightfully fear You, acknowledging You both as Lord and Savior, and acknowledging Your sovereignty, in Jesus name. Amen.

With all my love and prayer,

Rev Simon Wale Olatunji, PhD

The Darling Bishop (DaBishop),

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