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Bible Encyclopedias
Reverence
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or (usually some form of יָרֵא , φοβέομαι , to fear), a respectful, submissive disposition of mind arising from affection and esteem, from a sense of superiority in the person reverenced. Hence children reverence their fathers even when their fathers correct them by stripes (Hebrews 12:9); hence subjects reverence their sovereign (2 Samuel 9:6); hence wives reverence their husbands (Ephesians 5:33); and hence all ought to reverence God. We reverence the name of God, the house of God, the worship of God, etc.; we reverence the attributes of God, the commands, dispensations, etc., of God; and we ought to demonstrate our reverence by overt acts, such as are suitable and becoming to time, place, and circumstances. For though a man may reverence God in his heart, yet unless he behave reverentially and give proofs of his reverence by demeanor, conduct, and obedience, he will not easily persuade his fellow- mortals that his bosom is the residence of this divine and heavenly disposition; for, in fact, a reverence for God is not one of those lights which burn under a bushel, but one of those whose sprightly lustre illuminates .wherever it is admitted. Reverence is, strictly speaking, perhaps the internal disposition of the mind, φόβος (Romans 13:7); and honor, τιμή, the external expression of that disposition.
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Reverence'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/r/reverence.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
