Psalm 31

I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many—
terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

In this psalm terror is magowr, which sounds right, like a menacing growl.

It means to fear. It is derived from guwr, which can also mean to be afraid, but which more literally means to abide with a stranger.

We are afraid of the other. Yet who is more profoundly other than God?

We come to trust in God - That Which Exists - by reaching out and entering into relationship with what can cause fear.

Psalm 31