Psalm 19:9 ESV — The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, 

When someone has a reverence, honor and respect, for Who the Lord is, it cleanses and purifies the motives of our heart and for our relationship with His heart.

Sourced in the Hebrew and the Akkadian language and drawn from the teachings of Chaim Bentorah, yara’, the fear the Lord, means to accept from God’s Hand, His power, His love, His heart, and His authority, for the battle at hand.

This reverence, honor, and respect for God is the very beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Prov. 1:7; 9:10) and results in the knowledge of the Holy One, who imparts insight, discernment, and understanding.

This relationship includes a hatred of evil and a desire to turn away from it (Prov. 8:13-14; Job 28:28). It includes a hatred for pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech.

May the Lord, by His Spirit and Truth, give us His divine counsel and sound wisdom, that we might have insight and a strength that comes from Him.

Yara’ can speak of a fear of harm that may come to another. This is not a fear in regard to harm coming to Self, but to someone else including a fear of hurting the heart of God.

Therefore, Psalm 19:9 may better translated: “The fear of wounding God’s Heart will cleanse and purify our motives in serving God and refraining from sin.