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Psalm 130:3-4

Psalm 130: 3-4

3 If iniquities you watch over, Yah,
My Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you is the forgiveness
So that you are feared.

SO THAT YOU ARE FEARED

It seems illogical that God forgives sins so that he may be feared. Would he allow himself to be taken advantage of? If we think that, we don’t understand what is “fear” and who is the one feared.

In The Idea of the Holy (German 1917; English 1923), Rudolf Otto a German theologian, uses three Latin words to describe the fear of God:

  • Mysterium. God is a mystery, for our rational minds cannot fully comprehend him;
  • Tremendum. God is terrifying, so our physical body reacts with trembling;
  • Fascinans. This awe-ful dread of God also produces an irresistible fascination that draws human beings to God, like a moth to a flame. To have a holy God who forgives blows our minds and draws us to him.

At the same time, the one feared is not to be toyed with. Psalm 130 is part of the Psalms of Ascent that are sung by Jewish pilgrims after the Babylonian exile. They are already living the consequences of their iniquities, yet they come with hope to a God who forgives.

In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean an ex-prisoner runs off with the silverware of a kind bishop who had given him shelter. He was caught by the police and dragged back to the bishop. Knowing the harsh treatment of the authorities in those days, the bishop declared that he had gifted the silverware to Valjean. Thereafter, the clergyman tells the disbelieving thief that God has spared his life, and he should now live for God. That was the turning point in his life.

A misunderstanding of God’s forgiveness is a cover up for sin, but a true understanding uncovers our sin and calls us back to him. Have you been using God’s forgiveness as an excuse for taking sin lightly? Then you don’t know the God of the Bible. Or, are you so laden with guilt and failure that you think God will not receive you? Know that the Lord wants to draw you to him by his out-of-this-world forgiveness.

Rev. Dr Maggie Low