Psalm 112:1  Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! … ⁷ He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.⁸ His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

詩篇 112:1 哈利路亞！敬畏耶和華，甚喜愛他命令的，這人有福了！… ⁷ 他不懼怕兇惡的信息，他的心堅定，倚靠耶和華。⁸ 他的心確定，總不懼怕，直到他看見敵人遭報。

We live in a time full of “bad news”, especially the year 2020. But Psalm 112 says that a man who fears the Lord will not be afraid of bad news. Actually, the choice of the English word “fear” is not the best translation of the Hebrew word “yir’ah” which has the meaning of honor, respect, and reverence. The idea is “to accept [God’s] power, His love, and His heart; to let His hand rest upon us; and to submit ourselves to His authority and become one with Him.” Another meaning of “yir’ah” is related to having fear, but it is a fear that we may hurt God’s heart. The reason we avoid sinning should not primarily be that we fear God will punish us; rather, it should be that we fear we may wound God’s heart. (Hebrew Word Study by Chaim Bentorah). When we have the fear of the Lord then we will  not fear bad news because “our heart is steady”. To fear the Lord is to find delight in His Word and to put it into practice; this truly is “the beginning of wisdom”! (Psalm 111:10)

我們生活在一個充滿“兇惡的信息”的時代，尤其是2020年。但是，詩篇112說，一個敬畏耶和華的人不會害怕壞消息。 實際上，英語單詞“ fear”的選擇並不是希伯來語單詞“ yir’ah”的最佳翻譯，希伯來語單詞“ yir’ah”具有尊榮，尊重和崇敬的含義。 這個想法是“接受上帝的能力，祂的愛和祂的心；讓祂的手放在我們身上；降服於他的權柄並與祂合而為一。” “ yir’ah”的另一個含義與害怕有關，但這是一種擔心我們會傷害上帝的心。 我們避免犯罪的原因不應主要是因為我們擔心上帝會懲罰我們。 相反，應該是我們擔心自己會傷及上帝的心。 （Chaim Bentorah的希伯來語單詞研究）。 當我們敬畏上帝時，我們就不會懼怕“兇惡的信息”，因為“我們的心堅定”。 敬畏耶和華是喜愛祂的話語並將其付諸實踐。 這就是“智慧的開端”！ （詩篇111：10）