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Psalm 119:120
My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN
118You reject all those who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is in vain.
119You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love your testimonies.
120My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN
121I have done what is just and righteous. Don’t leave me to my oppressors.
122Ensure your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me.
Notice
Trembling flesh makes the fear of God physical here: the speaker has considered God’s rejection of wickedness, and his own body registers the weight.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference does the word “flesh” make to your reading of this fear?
Write on thisHow does God’s rejection of wickedness in the preceding lines shape your understanding of the speaker’s trembling?
Write on thisWhat would you want to say to God after reading this direct expression of fear?
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Where else Scripture says this
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Isaiah 66:2For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says the LORD: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a …Both passages describe trembling before God’s authority: the psalm names his judgments, and Isaiah names his word.
Exodus 15:11Who is like you, LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?Both passages speak of God with fear, expressed through trembling in the psalm and praise of his incomparable holiness in Exodus.
Matthew 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.Both texts connect fear with judgment that reaches the body, though Matthew also names the soul and Gehenna.
Jeremiah 5:22Don’t you fear me?’ says the LORD; ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it can’t …Jeremiah’s question about fearing and trembling before God finds a direct counterpart in the psalm’s confession of both.
Philippians 2:12So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and …Fear and trembling appear in both texts, attached to God’s judgments in the psalm and working out salvation in Philippians.
1 John 4:18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.Both address fear in relation to judgment or punishment, though John speaks of perfect love casting fear out.
Habakkuk 3:16I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place because I must wait quietly for the …Both speakers describe bodily trembling, though Habakkuk names an approaching invasion while the psalm names fear of God’s judgments.
Genesis 3:10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”Both speakers tell God they are afraid; Genesis adds nakedness and hiding, while the psalm names God’s judgments.
Hebrews 12:21So fearful was the appearance that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.”Moses’ words join terror with trembling, matching the psalm’s close connection between fear and the body’s response.
Hebrews 12:28–29Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,Both describe a response to God marked by awe or fear, with Hebrews connecting reverence to acceptable service.
Daniel 10:8–11So I was left alone and saw this great vision. No strength remained in me; for my face grew deathly pale, and I retained no strength.Both describe a bodily response: the psalm names trembling before God, while Daniel names lost strength at a vision.
Habakkuk 3:2LORD, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In …Both speakers address God with fear or awe at his acts; Habakkuk also asks for mercy amid wrath.
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One step
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Encouragement
The speaker tells God himself that he is afraid. Even these trembling words belong in prayer; God’s judgments carry a weight that reaches the flesh.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).