You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?
Parallel Translations
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You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?
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Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
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(76-8) Thou, even Thou, art terrible; and who may stand in Thy sight when once Thou art angry?
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Psalms 76:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Nahum 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
- Psalms 2:12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
- Psalms 89:7 a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him?
- 1 Chronicles 16:25 For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods.
- Ezra 9:15 Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for no one can stand before you because of this.”
- Psalms 90:11 Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?
- Psalms 130:3 If you, Yah, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?
- Jeremiah 10:7-10 Who shouldn’t fear you, King of the nations? For it belongs to you. Because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is no one like you. But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood. There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the engraver and of the hands of the goldsmith. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of skillful men. But Yahweh is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to withstand his indignation.
- Matthew 10:28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- 1 Corinthians 10:22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- Revelation 6:16-17 They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
- Revelation 14:7 He said with a loud voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”
- Revelation 15:4 Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 7. Thou, even thou, art terrible. The repetition of…
7. Thou, even thou, art terrible. The repetition of the pronoun Thou, is intended to exclude all others from what is here predicated of God, as if it had been said, Whatever power there is in the world, it at once vanishes away, and is reduced to nothing, when He comes forth and manifests himself; and, therefore, He alone is terrible. This is confirmed by the comparison added immediately after, which intimates that, although the wicked are so filled with pride as to be ready to burst with it, yet they are unable to abide the look and presence of God. But as he sometimes keeps silence, and seems merely to look on as an idle spectator, it is expressly asserted, that as soon as he begins to be angry, ruin will be near all the wicked. Although they may then for a time not only stand, but also rise above the clouds by their fury, we are here, notwithstanding, admonished that we ought to wait for the time of wrath. Let us also mark that this terror is denounced against the wicked in such a manner as that it sweetly draws all true believers to God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain God with a look is able to destroy all…
God with a look is able to destroy all the power and activity of the enemies, were they never so many, or mighty.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 76:7 Thou, [even] thou, [art] to be feared:…
Psa 76:7 Thou, [even] thou, [art] to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
Ver. 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared] Herodotus saith, that under Sennacherib’s statue in Egypt, was written, Let him that looketh upon me learn to fear God, Eμε τις εσορεων ευσεβης εστω.
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And who may stand in thy sight?] Thou canst look them to death.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Stand in thy sight, to wit, to contend with…
Stand in thy sight, to wit, to contend with thee. Standing is here opposed to flight or failing before the enemy. See Jos 7:12; Dan 8:4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain This glorious victory with which God had graced and…
This glorious victory with which God had graced and blessed his church is here made to speak three things: -
I. Terror to God's enemies (Psa 76:7-9): "Thou, even thou, art to be feared; thy majesty is to be reverenced, thy sovereignty to be submitted to, and thy justice to be dreaded by those that have offended thee." Let all the world learn by this event to stand in awe of the great God. 1. Let all be afraid of his wrath against the daring impiety of sinners: Who may stand in thy sight from the minute that thou art angry? If God be a consuming fire, how can chaff and stubble stand before him, though his anger be kindled but a little? Psa 2:12. 2. Let all be afraid of his jealousy for oppressed innocency and the injured cause of his own people: "Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, then when thou didst arise to save all the meek of the earth (Psa 76:8, Psa 76:9); and then the earth feared and was still, waiting what would be the issue of those glorious appearances of thine." Note, (1.) God's people are the meek of the earth (Zac 2:3), the quiet in the land (Psa 35:20), that can bear any wrong, but do none. (2.) Though the meek of the earth are by their meekness exposed to injury, yet God will, sooner or later, appear for their salvation, and plead their cause. (3.) When God comes to save all the meek of the earth, he will cause judgment to be heard from heaven; he will make the world know that he is angry at the oppressors of his people, and takes what is done against them as done against himself. The righteous God long seems to keep silence, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. (4.) When God is speaking judgment from heaven it is time for the earth to compose itself into an awful and reverent silence: The earth feared and was still, as silence is made by proclamation when the court sits. Be still and know that I am God, Psa 46:10. Be silent, O all flesh! before the Lord, for he is raised up to judgment, Zac 2:13. Those that suppose this psalm to have been penned upon the occasion of the routing of Sennacherib's army take it for granted that the descent of the destroying angel, who did the execution, was accompanied with thunder, by which God caused judgment to be heard from heaven, and that the earth feared (that is, there was an earthquake), but it was soon over. But this is altogether uncertain.
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II. Comfort to God's people, Psa 76:10. We live in a very angry provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man, which seems boundless. But this is a great comfort to us, 1. That as far as God permits the wrath of man to break forth at any time he will make it turn to his praise, will bring honour to himself and serve his own purposes by it: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, not only by the checks given to it, when it shall be forced to confess its own impotency, but even by the liberty given to it for a time. The hardships which God's people suffer by the wrath of their enemies are made to redound to the glory of God and his grace; and the more the heathen rage and plot against the Lord and his anointed the more will God be praised for setting his King upon his holy hill of Zion in spite of them, Psa 2:1, Psa 2:6. When the heavenly hosts make this the matter of their thanksgiving-song that God has taken to himself his great power and has reigned, though the nations were angry (Rev 11:17, Rev 11:18), then the wrath of man adds lustre to the praises of God. 2. That what will not turn to his praise shall not be suffered to break out: The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Men must never permit sin, because they cannot check it when they will; but God can. He can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea. Hitherto it shall come and no further; here shall its proud waves be stayed. God restrained the remainder of Sennacherib's rage, for he put a hook in his nose and a bridle in his jaws (Isa 37:29); and, though he permitted him to talk big, he restrained him from doing what he designed.
III. Duty to all, Psa 76:11, Psa 76:12. Let all submit themselves to this great God and become his loyal subjects. Observe, 1. The duty required of us all, all that are about him, that have any dependence upon him or any occasion to approach to him; and who is there that has not? We are therefore every one of us commanded to do our homage to the King of kings: Vow and pay; that is, take an oath of allegiance to him and make conscience of keeping it. Vow to be his, and pay what you vow. Bind your souls with a bond to him (for that is the nature of a vow), and then live up to the obligations you have laid upon yourselves; for better it is not to vow than to vow and not to pay. And, having taken him for our King, let us bring presents to him, as subjects to their sovereign, Sa1 10:27. Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land, Isa 16:1. Not that God needs any present we can bring, or can be benefited by it; but thus we must give him honour and own that we have our all from him. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord our God. 2. The reasons to enforce this duty: Render to all their due, fear to whom fear is due; and is it not due to God? Yes; (1.) He ought to be feared: He is the fear (so the word is); his name is glorious and fearful,; and he is the proper object of our fear; with him is terrible majesty. The God of Abraham is called the fear of Isaac (Gen 31:42), and we are commanded to make him our fear, Isa 8:13. When we bring presents to him we must have an eye to him as greatly to be feared; for he is terrible in his holy places. (2.) He will be feared, even by those who think it their own sole prerogative to be feared (Psa 76:12): He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he shall slip it off as easily as we slip off a flower from the stalk or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit those that are most daring and make them heartless; for he is, or will be, terrible to the kings of the earth; and sooner or later, if they be not so wise as to submit themselves to him, he will force them to call in vain to rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from his wrath, Rev 6:16. Since there is no contending with God, it is as much our wisdom as it is our duty to submit to him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thou, even thou, art to be feared,.... By his…
Thou, even thou, art to be feared,.... By his own people with reverence and godly fear, because of his greatness and goodness; and to be dreaded by his enemies; which seems to be the sense here, as appears by what follows:
and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? or "from the moment thou art angry" (b); so the Targum, from the "time", and Jarchi, from the "hour": that is, as soon as ever his anger begins, when it is kindled but a little, and how much less when it burns in its full strength? there is no standing before his justice, and at his judgment seat, with boldness and confidence, and so as to succeed, or come off acquitted, without having on his righteousness; and much less is there any standing before his wrath and fury, when his hand takes hold on judgment to execute it; see Nah 1:6.
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(b) "ex quo irasceris", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "a momento, vel tempore irae tuae", Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared]…
Verse 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared] The Hebrew is simple, but very emphatic: אתה נורא אתה attah nora attah, "Thou art terrible; thou art." The repetition of the pronoun deepens the sense.
When once thou art angry?] Literally, From the time thou art angry. In the moment thy wrath is kindled, in that moment judgment is executed. How awful is this consideration! If one hundred and eighty-five thousand men were in one moment destroyed by the wrath of God, canst thou, thou poor, miserable, feeble sinner, resist his will, and turn aside his thunder!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 76:7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared…
Psa 76:7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared — Thy majesty is to be reverenced, thy sovereignty to be submitted to, and thy justice to be dreaded, by those that have offended thee. Let all the world learn, by this event, to stand in awe of the great God. Who may stand in thy sight — Namely, to contend with thee? Standing is here opposed to flight from, or falling before, the enemy. Surely, “neither the wisdom of the wise, nor the power of the mighty, no, nor the world itself, can stand a single moment before him when once he is angry.” If God be a consuming fire, how can the chaff and the stubble stand before him, though his wrath be kindled but a little? “Yet men continue to dread any frowns but those of heaven; and one poor, vain, sinful man shall, through a course of sixty or seventy years, incessantly and undauntedly tempt and provoke him who destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand in a night. What is this but madness?” — Horne.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Thou, even thou, art to be feared - To…
Thou, even thou, art to be feared - To be had in reverence or veneration. The repetition of the word “thou” is emphatic, as if the mind paused at the mention of God, and remained in a state of reverence, repeating the thought. The particular “reason” suggested here why God should be had in reverence, was the display of his power in overthrowing by a word the mighty hosts that had come against the holy city.
And who may stand in thy sight - Who can stand before thee? implying that no one had the power to do it. “When once thou art angry.” If such armies have been overcome suddenly by thy might, then what power is there which could successfully resist thee?
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. When once thou art angry—From the moment of…
7. When once thou art angry—From the moment of thy anger, or when once thine anger forms itself into a purpose. Time, with God, is nothing. He can do in an instant, as by the fiat, “Be light,” (Gen_1:3,) as easily as in a thousand years. “He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth.” Psa_104:32. He touched the Assyrian camp, and they slept the sleep of death.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. to be feared] The same word as in…
7. to be feared] The same word as in Psa_76:12, and in Psa_47:2.
who may stand] Cp. Nah_1:6; Psa_1:5; Psa_130:3.
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7–9. It was the irresistible judgement of God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Thou, even thou, art to be feared. God is…
Thou, even thou, art to be feared. God is to he feared as well as loved. Only "perfect love casteth out fear", (1Jn_4:18) and "perfect love" is not for mortals. And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? literally, from the time of thine anger. (comp. Exo_5:23Jo Exo_14:10)
The fear of God.
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Consider
I THE FORMS IT ASSUMES. There is:
1. The fear of terror. The dismay of the vanquished enemies of God seems specially to be pointed at here, (cf. Rev_6:16)
2. The fear of dread. The might and majesty of God awe the soul, as they well may.
3. The fear of reverence. The holy character of God, when seen, cannot but inspire this.
4. The fear of love. Such fear trembles and shrinks from causing pain to the object of its love. This is the sweet filial fear which is blessed indeed. It is but another form of the "love which casteth out fear." Some fear of God every soul must one day know: which shall it be for ourselves?
II THE SOURCES WHENCE IT SPRINGS.
1. The beholding of God"s judgment on his foes.
2. The experiencing of God"s mercy to ourselves.
III THE CHARACTER IT BEARS.
1. It will be the supreme motive of the soul. No matter which form it assumes, it will be the supreme motive whilst it reigns.
2. It will be exclusive. "Thou, even thou as if shutting out all other fear.
IV THE BLESSINGS IT BRINGS.
1. The Christian life cannot be begun without it.
2. Nor perpetuated; for life without it has no root.
3. Nor perfected. S.C.
The Divine anger.
"Who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?" God can only be apprehended through human figures with which we are familiar. So we find in the Divine revelations of Holy Scripture anthropomorphic figures for God, taken from man"s limbs and bodily organs; and anthropopathic figures taken from man"s feelings, emotions, and passions. But in applying such figures to God, we must carefully eliminate the sin element which belongs to all such things when they concern man. As man is made in the image of God, from man we may learn of God. But as man has marred the image by his wilfulness and sin, we must take care how we apply the likeness which we now think we see. In applying such terms as "anger" to God, it is important to observe the distinction between the anger of an official and the anger of a private person. The anger of an official a king, or a judge should have no feeling in it; it should be the proper response to some public wrong. The anger of an individual may have feeling in it, and be a sign of hatred. In this psalm God is thought of as an official. He is the great King, and so his "anger" is really indignation against the foe that imperils the country, and against the self-willed people who play into the hands of the national enemy. There is, then, a sense in which the king of a country ought to be angry; but in his anger there should be no feeling of hate, no feeling towards individuals, only feeling concerning the wrong which either individuals or combined bodies may do.
I THE SENSE IN WHICH GOD MAY BE ANGRY. Three terms need to be carefully defined and illustrated. Indignation is the proper revolt of all noble natures against wrong doing, and especially wrong doing of a mean character, as when the strong takes advantage of the weak. Anger is the state of mind suitable for a king, governor, or judge, in the presence of any form of public injustice or crime. Wrath is the term that brings in the additional idea of giving expression, in vigorous action, to vigorous feeling. In some senses, each term may be applied to God.
II THE FEAR WHICH GOD"S ANGER MAY PROPERLY INSPIRE. Because it is associated with perfect wisdom, absolute righteousness, and irresistible power. We smile sometimes at the futile anger of men; for they can do nothing. We dare not smile at God"s anger; for he can do everything. None can stand before him. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared.…
Ver. 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared. Not Sennacherib, nor Nisroch his god, but Jehovah alone, who with a silent rebuke had withered all the monarch's host.
"Fear him, ye saints, and then ye shall
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Have nothing else to fear."
The fear of man is a snare, but the fear of God is a great virtue, and has great power for good over the human mind. God is to be feared profoundly, continually, and alone. Let all worship be to him only.
And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Who indeed? The angels fell when their rebellion provoked his justice; Adam lost his place in Paradise in the same manner; Pharaoh and other proud monarchs passed away at his frown; neither is there in earth or hell any who can abide the terror of his wrath. How blest are they who are sheltered in the atonement of Jesus, and hence have no cause to fear the righteous anger of the Judge of all the earth.
Whole Psalm. No Psalm has a greater right to follow Psalm 75 than this, which is inscribed To the Precentor, with accompaniment of stringed instruments (vid. iv. 1), a Psalm by Asaph, a song. Similar expressions (God of Jacob, Ps 75:10 77:7; saints, wicked of the earth, Ps 75:9 76:10), and the same impress throughout speak in favour of unity of authorship. In other respects too, they form a pair: Psalm 75 prepares the way for the divine deed of judgments as imminent, which Psalm 76 celebrates as having taken place. Franz Delitzsch.
Ver. 7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared. The emphasis in the word thou, redoubled, implies as much as if he had said, Not principalities, not powers, not hell, not death, nor anything for themselves, but thou, O Lord, alone art to be feared. Arguments and reasons to confirm it are two, here laid down in the text: the first is drawn from God's anger, who hath decreed, and accordingly executes vengeance upon all the proud. The second is drawn from his power; not princes, not armies, not men, not angels, are able to endure the breath of his fury; for, Who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?... The anger of God is a terrible, unspeakable, unsupportable, intolerable, burden. Every word in the text hath a special emphasis to prove this. Who may stand? Who? Shall angels? They are but like refracted beams or rays, if God should hide his face, they would cease to shine. Shall man? His glory and pomp, like the colours in the rainbow, vanish away, when God puts forth in anger the brightness of his face. Shall devils? If he speak the word, they are tumbled down from heaven like lightning. Stand in thy sight. Stand. What! a reed against a cedar, a thistle in Lebanon against a cedar in Lebanon; a feather against a flame; a grasshopper against an Almighty, a head of glass against a rod of brass? When once thou art angry. Angry. By sending out his wrath, that it wounds like arrows; angry, in pouring it out, that it drowns like water; angry, in kindling of it, that it burns like fire; a consuming fire, but you tell me such a fire may be quenched; an unquenchable fire, but since that may cease to burn, when it lacks matter, it is in one word an everlasting fire, that never goes out. That, that's it; such anger as is never fully shown, but in punishment of reprobates; in no punishment, but that in hell; in none in hell, but that eternal. John Cragge's "Cabinet of Spiritual Jewells." 1657.
Ver. 7. The anger of God. A very suggestive subject.
Psalms 76:8*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 76:7-9 The needy await their victorious God, while the…
76:7-9 The needy await their victorious God, while the wicked stand in fear of him.
76:7 The word translated feared (Hebrew nora’) is a wordplay on the word translated “glorious” in 76:4 (Hebrew na’or).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.