Psalms 119:120

120 I shake in fear of you; I respect your laws.

Psalms 119:120 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 119:120

My flesh trembleth for fear of thee
Not for fear of the wrath of God coming down upon himself, nor for fear of eternal damnation; but for fear of what was coming upon the wicked, for their sins and transgressions. The word F14 used signifies such a dread and horror, which seizes a man to such a degree, that it makes the hair of his flesh to stand up; as Jarchi and Kimchi observe; see ( Psalms 119:53 ) ( Job 4:14 Job 4:15 ) ;

and I am afraid of thy judgments;
not of their coming down upon him, but upon the wicked; the thought of which is more awful to good men than to the wicked themselves; and especially when under any darkness, doubts, and fears; lest, being conscious to themselves of their own weakness, they should be left to join with the wicked in their sins, and so be partakers of their plagues.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 (rmo) (oryotricei) , Symmachus in Drusius; "horripilavit", Cajetanus apud Gejerum.

Psalms 119:120 In-Context

118 You reject those who ignore your demands, because their lies mislead them.
119 You throw away the wicked of the world like trash. So I will love your rules.
120 I shake in fear of you; I respect your laws.
121 I have done what is fair and right. Don't leave me to those who wrong me.
122 Promise that you will help me, your servant. Don't let proud people wrong me.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.