"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling."
Psalms 2:11
(verse 2 of the 44 H1523)
The Context: In Psalm 2, the psalmist is talking to the "rebel-kings," who have decided to throw off the bonds of God and his anointed people. He calls it a vain act and cautions them against it, since it will only lead to their destruction. And so in verse 11 we find his recommendation. Another version, The Message, states, "Worship God in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe."
The Modern Application: The psalmist is encouraging them to run to God, rather than from Him. Though it's a little intimidating to think of God getting angry if you go against Him, I think that in terms of perspective this is how consequences can seem. There are consequences for everything, good actions are more likely to reap good consequences and vice versa.
As a side note, I say "more likely" because I don't think there is never a guarantee, despite our best efforts, that the effect of our actions will be a match to them. An example of this, quite simply, is good parents with bad kids. This lack of a guarantee seems to be a source of much anxiety for those folks who think things ought to be fair, "But I did everything right, why didn't it work out?" or "I'm a nice person, I don't deserve to be treated like this." Really, it's an issue of control and fear, they want an equal return on their actions so that they can have a sense of security that their efforts are then controlling their future.
There also seems to be a conception that if God were a good God then life would be fair. I think in order for that to happen you would have to take away free will. Whether you believe in Sin or not, you have to admit that a major factor of any human life are the external choices of other people, which are entirely out of your control, even with efforts of manipulation, and that really when you say you wish life to be fair, you selfishly wish God to trump another person's free will in order for their to be something better happening, because you think it is deserved and God obviously doesn't know how to dole out the rewards properly. And ironically that, in and of itself, is "unfair" to that person who will you wish to be trumped. Really God is being fair because He offers the same freedom to all people to make the choices they do, which in turn affect other aspects of other peoples lives, whether they like it or not and whether they give a crap or not. Its a tremendous responsibility to act in the best interest of others, or Love, and few take that action in our culture of selfish indulgence and material attachment.
And how does that tie into the verse? To me, it's saying you have a choice of action: 1) Deny God or 2) Worship God. What happens if you deny God? Bad things. You won't be in his favor and protection anymore and so you're at the mercy of... everything else. What happens if you turn your eyes on Him and see Him for the giving, protecting God that He is? You'll have reason to worship and rejoice, to the point of trembling. In a way, then, it comes down to perspective. How will you choose to see God? As a slave holder, wrapping you in bonds, or as a protector and provider who desires to, as verses 7 through 9 puts it, treat you like a son on his birthday, offering him whatever he wishes? Since there is bad in the world and it's not fair, and denying it certainly doesn't make it go away, I am more inclined to get whatever help I can to get through it. I have an option besides my strength to do that. I can rest and have peace in the storm because I have the choice to detach from a selfish controlling nature and trust God to take care of it, even if i don't understand how or why He does it the way he does. I encourage you to see the good in God and appreciate it. Its a much better way to live.
