📖 Biblical Definition
"This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isa 66:2). "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you" (Phil 2:12-13). Moses at Sinai was "trembling with fear" (Heb 12:21). The jailer in Philippi came trembling before Paul and Silas (Acts 16:29). Trembling is the body's acknowledgment that it is encountering something larger than itself. A Christianity devoid of trembling has probably met a domesticated god; the real LORD makes the knees knock.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
TREM'BLING, n.
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TREM'BLING, n. Quivering; shaking. In Scripture, trembling is the body's proper response to encountering the holiness, power, or word of God. Moses trembled at Sinai. Isaiah's lips quivered as he saw the LORD high and lifted up. The jailer fell trembling at Paul's feet. Philippians commands the Christian to work out salvation "with fear and trembling." A trembling-free Christianity has not yet met the holy God.
📖 Key Scripture
Isaiah 66:2 — "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."
Philippians 2:12-13 — "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."
Hebrews 12:21 — "Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear.""
Acts 16:29 — "And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern worship has mostly lost trembling. A friendly God produces no trembling; the real God makes the mountains quake.
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Seeker-sensitive worship trimmed trembling out of Christian experience. The god of the modern service is approachable, warm, and friend-like. But Scripture's God is all those and also utterly holy: Isaiah saw Him and cried "Woe is me!" Moses hid his face. The jailer fell trembling. The right human response to genuine encounter with God includes trembling. If your worship never produces it, you may be meeting a mirror rather than the LORD. Pray for trembling; pray for a vision of God that shakes the knees.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H2729 — charad. G5156 — tromos.
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H2729 — charad (חָרַד) — to tremble, to be terrified.
G5156 — tromos (τρόμος) — trembling; NT word for reverent shaking.
Usage
"He trembles at my word — that is whom God looks to. A Bible that never makes you tremble is a Bible you have not yet met."
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Paul did not say "with relaxed confidence.""