NOTES for Sir 2:1-11
1 My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation. |
2 Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble. |
3 Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end. |
4 Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate. |
5 For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. |
6 Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him. |
7 Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall. |
8 Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail. |
9 Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy. |
10 Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him? |
11 For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction. |
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Look carefully at the words of today's reading. "You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy, and do not turn aside from Him, so that you do not fall. You who fear the Lord, trust Him, and your reward will not be lost. You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for eternal joy and mercy." Doesn't something here feel inconsistent? How can we fear and at the same time wait for mercy, fear and trust, fear and hope for good things? Fear destroys; it separates us from the one we fear. Then the question arises: what is the fear of God, if the one who fears Him also trusts Him so much and counts on His support and help? The fear of God is very different from human fear. It is not so much terror before Him as holy awe, reverence before greatness. If we imagine even a small part of His greatness, we feel how small we are before Him. And the awareness of His wisdom and power, and of our own smallness, is the fear of God.
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