“What did David mean when he wrote that he was ‘fearfully’ made (Ps. 139:14)?”

QUESTION: What did David mean when he wrote that he was “fearfully” made (Ps. 139:14)?

ANSWER: Psalm 139 describes some of God’s attributes. He knows everything (1-6), His Spirit is present in the universe (7-12) and each person is created by Him (13-16). The verses before and after 14 describe the development of a baby from conception. This caused David to praise God, and exclaim that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (139:14 NIV). The Hebrew word translated “fearfully” is yare. In Vine’s Dictionary it means “to be afraid, stand in awe, fear.” When used of an exalted person it means “standing in awe.” This implies honor, reverence and respect for the person. To be “fearfully” made means to be “awesomely” made.

Other Psalms of David that mention yare as a response to God are: “fear(s) the Lord,” “those who fear You (God),” “those who fear Him,” “see and fear (God),” “have no fear of God,” “all mankind will fear (God)” (Ps. 15:4; 22:23,25; 25:12,14; 31:19; 34:7,9; 40:3; 52:6; 55:19; 60:4; 61:5; 64:9; 86:11; 103:11,13,17; 145:19). David had strong reverence for God.

What about Christians today? The New Testament says Christians should worship God “with reverence and awe” (Heb. 12:28). He is the ultimate authority over humanity; He observes us and will judge us (1 Pet. 1:17; 2:17). We will all give account of ourselves at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10). Those who reverence God will honor Him by holy living and by submitting to one another (2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:21). So, like David, we should stand in awe of God and respect His great power and position. This is expressed in a song by Rich Mullins:

Our God is an awesome God;
He reigns in heaven above
With wisdom, power and love:
Our God is an awesome God.

By George Hawke