AWE AND HOPE
Psalms 33:18 (32:18 LXX)
Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
Encouraging Words
How can the terms fear and hope be used in the same sentence and still be considered encouraging? One of the unfortunate things about our English language is how we have singular terms that mean multiple things. Take the word love for example. In the Greek, you would find love as agape, philio, eros, or storge, which are all different types of love. The word fear has similar variations. In many of the Old Testament renditions of the word fear, what was originally intended was great awe and respect. This is what I believe the psalmist was referring to. God keeps His careful, loving, merciful watch on those who hold Him in great awe or respect, those who have placed Him at the Center of their lives. It is this God, the loving, merciful God that we put our hope in. We hope for His great mercy to be applied to us even though we never do deserve it. Glory be to God!
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