Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. – Psalm 2v11
This is an interesting saying. Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm, but it is also a song that deals with a world that generally opposes God. In this section it appears that God is telling the world, including His opponents, how they can turn things around.
The point, I think, is clear. Serving the Lord and following Him is not something to be taken lightly. Yes, there is a great blessing in serving the Lord, but at the same time we don’t enter into a life of following Him without the knowledge of who we are following. He is a righteous and holy God. It is not enough for one just to jump on the God bandwagon and go along for the ride.
When we decide to finally follow the Lord we do so with a holy fear and reverence. It is a truly, in the literal sense, and awesome thing to serve a holy God.
The verse goes on to say that we are to ‘rejoice with trembling.’ I think this gives is a real picture of what true joy is. True joy is not some trivial emotion that we can stir up. True joy is mixed with the knowledge that it is totally based on what God has done for us. It is a holy joy based on God’s holiness and our unworthiness.
Joyful service comes with fearful trembling. May the Lord teach us that balance.
1 comment:
rodger saw your blog im trying to evoke more joy in my life and i saw the phrase rejoice with trembling...your post helped me see the depth of this endevor. Keep up the good work and have a great day!!
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