Should we fear God or not?? Part 1

I posted this today on Flickr, and someone had a question!

Tolka Rover said:
Hmmm, But this Psalm commands you to "fear of the LORD" which seems to contradict these other two verses:
2 Timothy 1:7
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
1 John 4:18
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
So should we fear God or not?

This is what I wrote:
Hey Tolka!! That's a good point... but I don't see it as a contradiction! As I understand it, to fear God, as in the Psalms, is to hold Him in awe and reverence. It doesn't mean to be afraid of Him, but to respect Him as God, the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe. To realise that our lives are in His hands.
I think there is a danger today of becoming too pally pally with God... treating him as just your mate, and the reverence is lost.
But the amazing thing is, that this awesome God is also a God of love, and because of Jesus we can come boldy into His presence without fear, i.e., being afraid of Him!
That's how I see it, anyway!!

Tolka Rover writes back:
Maybe the "fear" in the Psalms is just awe and reverence. But to get some context, if you read the Psalm just before this one it sounds like "fear" really means fear:

Psalm 110
110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
110:5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
110:6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.


In reply, I said I'd tackle that question on my blog. So, in the next little while, I'll get back to it. If anyone else has any comments, please enter them. I'd love to hear what others think....