Psalm 96 invites all the earth, not just humanity, to tremble before the Lord. As I ponder trembling, it occurs to me that it is an involuntary response, usually associated with fear, so upon first reading I’m thinking that when we remember the awesomeness of God we feel a holy terror causes us to tremble. Why wouldn’t we tremble, and shake, when we consider the unfathomable mystery and deep wildness of the One who once had something to say and the unending, ever expanding universe came into being.

But terror isn’t he only thing that causes trembling. When we consider the many facets of our relationship with God we also tremble:
-like a child on Christmas morning that realizes the gift that was only hoped for, not really expected, is right there under the tree.
-like the youngster on the edge of the board, just before that first jump off a high dive, excited, afraid, forgetting to breathe, thinking about how good it will feel to know that the dare was answered.
-like the athlete who has trained for hours every day for months and the race is about to start.
-like when the person you admire most has just given you the compliment it would have been embarrassing to admit you longed for.
-like the young lover who knows the first kiss is a moment away.
-like opening the acceptance, or rejection, letter that will change your life’s course.
-like the puppy in the kennel that spots its owner coming for it and it knows we are on our way home.

All that. More than we hoped for, a challenge that calls for all, complete acceptance, our deepest heart’s desire, joy, love… sometimes it causes me to tremble.