Psalm 55:5

5 Fear and trembling grip me; horror has overwhelmed me.^[a]

Psalm 55:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 55:5

Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me
Fear and dread of mind, and trembling of body;

and horror hath overwhelmed me;
or "covered me"; he was in the utmost consternation and surprise at what he apprehended would be the issue of things; so Christ in the garden is said to be "sore amazed", ( Mark 14:33 ) ; all which terror, fearfulness, trembling, and horror, arose from a sense of sin imputed to him, even of all the sins of his people, the faith of which must be nauseous to him, and the guilt thereof pressing upon him; and from a feeling of the wrath of God, and the curse of the law, which he endured in the room and stead of his people; and this shows the truth of his human nature, and the weakness and insufficiency of that, without his divine nature, to have performed the great work of redemption; also the evil of sin, the exceeding sinfulness of it, and the strictness of divine justice; and likewise the wonderful love of Christ in becoming a surety for his people, and what ease and pleasure they may take; all the pain, the trembling, and horror, were his, and all the joy is theirs.

Psalm 55:5 In-Context

3 because of the enemy's voice, because of the pressure of the wicked. For they bring down disaster on me and harass me in anger.

4 My heart shudders within me; terrors of death sweep over me.

5 Fear and trembling grip me; horror has overwhelmed me.

6 I said, "If only I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.

7 How far away I would flee; I would stay in the wilderness. Selah

Footnotes

• [a] Ps 18:4-5; 116:3