Fearfully made?

Did God’s hands tremble with fear as our Creator knitted us together in our mother’s womb?  I’ve been pondering Psalm 139 this week.  In particular, I’ve been drawn to verse 14 of Psalm 139 in which the Psalmist proclaims that he has been “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Oftentimes we translate the Hebrew word for “fear” to mean awe, or respect, or reverence.  Yet, as Old Testament scholar Ellen F. Davis points out in her commentary on “the fear of the Lord,” the distinction between the “fear” of the Hebrew bible and ordinary fright should not be drawn too sharply.  “Fear” in the Hebrew bible is more than an emotional response.  “Fear” is an acknowledgement and recognition of the power and the authority that the other holds.[1] So when God made us, was God afraid?  Was fear palpable in the air as God formed my inward parts, knit me together in my mother’s womb, and created me in the depths of the earth?  I imagine so.  I imagine so because as the God who has searched me and known me, as the God who knows when I sit down and when I rise up, and as the God who can discern my thoughts from far away, God knows that I (as a human being) have the power to hurt, and to destroy, and to wander far away from God’s righteous path.  With our power as human beings we can do great harm, or with it we can do great good.

Yet, we are also “wonderfully made.”  “Wonderfully” comes from a Hebrew word that means to be different, striking, remarkable—outside of the power of human comprehension.[2] We are so wonderful, in fact, we don’t even know how wonderful we are!  But God does.  Which is why God made us.  Which is why God loves us.  Which is why God believes in us to do great good, rather than great harm.

May the words of my mouth, the meditations of my mind, and the feelings of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Amen.

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[1] Ellen F. Davis, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs: Westminster Bible Companion, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 2000, pg. 28.

[2] Nancy deClaisse-Walford, “Commentary on Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, http://www.workingpreacher.org.