Rejoice with Trembling Ps. 2:11 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Ps 2:11 says, Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  How do you rejoice with trembling?  I understand serving with fear but to rejoice with trembling doesn’t seem to make sense.

If we could see God’s glory [Ex 33:18-23; Ex 40:35; 1 Ki 8:11], or hear his voice [Ex 20:18-21], we would fear and tremble.  That’s why Paul told us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, because God is working in us [Phil 2:12-13].  We rejoice with trembling because of the results of serving the Lord with fear.  Because of the fear of the Lord:

We rejoice in his mercy – Ps 103:17 his mercy is extended to those who fear God.

We rejoice in his liberty – Prov 29:25; Ps 27:1 – we are ensnared by the fear of man until we fear the Lord; then we are liberated from the fear of man.  It is only he whom we must please.

We rejoice in purity – Ps 19:9 – the fear of the Lord is clean.  Imagining yourself in the presence of the glory of God causes you to fear even harboring a wicked thought.  The fear of the Lord keeps you clean.

We rejoice in contentment – Ps 34:9-11 – there is no want to them who fear God.  When you fear God, contentment and satisfaction settle in your soul.

We rejoice in his wisdom – Job 28:28 – the fear of the Lord is wisdom.  When you fear him, you seek his will and counsel and decide according to his words.  This eliminates second-guessing.

Conclusion: if you serve the Lord with fear, you will “tremble” and yet you will rejoice in your trembling because of the mercy, liberty, purity, contentment and wisdom that will be given to you by the Lord.