About this print

I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Psalm 139:14

A girl sits alone in a field of daisies, turned away from us toward the hills, under one of the gentlest lines David ever wrote about how a person is made.

The painting

We see her only from behind. Long brown curls are gathered with a soft pink ribbon, a cream dress falls to the grass, and a terracotta shawl is wrapped loosely over one shoulder. She sits on a flat stone, hands in her lap, surrounded by white daisies with golden centers and taller stems of dusty pink wildflowers. Two dark cypresses and a hazy green slope fade into the distance.

Nothing in the scene moves quickly. The words float in brown script over plenty of open cream paper: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Because her face is hidden, almost any woman or girl can see herself in the figure, which is part of what makes the image personal.

What does Psalm 139:14 mean?

Psalm 139 is headed “A Psalm of David”, and it is a long meditation on being completely known by God: when the writer sits down and rises up, where he goes, even before a word is on his tongue. Verse 13 moves the thought back before birth, to God covering him “in my mother's womb”. Verse 14 is the response to that discovery, and it begins with praise, not with self-regard.

“Fearfully” here does not mean with fright. In the English of 1611 it carries the sense of awe and reverence: the psalmist is struck by how carefully he was formed, the way someone might stand silent before a great cathedral. “Wonderfully” adds the idea of being set apart, marked out as distinct. The full verse continues by saying that God's works are marvelous and that his soul knows it well.

That is why the line is so often read to young women and girls. It does not flatter appearance; it grounds worth in having been made on purpose, by Someone who was paying attention.

A gift for her

The soft palette of cream, blush and sage suits a bedroom, a dressing area or a college dorm wall. It is a thoughtful present for a daughter, a goddaughter or a friend going through a season of doubt about herself.

Because the psalm speaks of life being knit together before birth, many people also choose it for a baby shower, framed for the nursery of a little girl, where it can stay on the wall as she grows into the words.

Read Psalm 139 and what it means