strength · noun, common masculine singular absolute
greatly
רַבָּ֑הra.Bah
H7227
abundant (in quantity · adjective, feminine singular absolute
feared
נַ֭עֲרָץNa.'a.rotz
H6206
to awe or (intransitive) to dread · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
assembly
בְּסוֹדbe.sod-
H5475
a session · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
saints
קְדֹשִׁ֣יםke.do.Shim
H6918
sacred (ceremonially or morally) · adjective, masculine plural absolute
reverence
וְ֝נוֹרָ֗אve.no.Ra'
H3372
to fear · conjunction + verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
about
סְבִיבָֽיוse.vi.Vav
H5439
(as noun) a circle · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 47:2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
Psalms 76:7-11 Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
Hebrews 12:28-29 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear…
Jeremiah 10:7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all th…
Isaiah 6:2-7 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he…
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not…
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in…
Luke 12:4-5 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 89:5-14
These verses are full of the praises of God. Observe,
I. Where, and by whom, God is to be praised. 1. God is praised by the angels above: The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord! Psa 89:5; that is, "the glorious inhabitants of the upper world continually celebrate thy praises." Bless the Lord, you his angels, Psa 103:20. The works of God are wonders even to those that are best acquainted and most intimately conversant with them; the more God's works are known the more they are admired and praised. This should make us love heaven, and long to be there, that there we shall have nothing else to do but to praise God and his wonders. 2. God is praised by the assemblies of his saints on earth…
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,.... Which Jarchi and Kimchi understand of angels again, and render it "God is to be feared in the great assembly of them"; for they are a very large number, even an innumerable company, in and by whom the Lord is feared and worshipped, Hebrews 12:21, but rather an assembly or congregation of holy men are designed: it is the duty of such to assemble together publicly for religious worship; they ought to do it on account of the Lord, who requires it, and encourages it by his presence, he has promised; on the account of themselves, it being for their profit and pleasure; and on the account of others, for their conversion and comfort; an…
Psalm 89:5-8
5. And the heavens shall praise thy wondrous work, O Jehovah! thy truth [525] also in the congregation of the saints. 6. For who in the clouds [or in heaven] can be compared to Jehovah? who among the sons of the gods [526] is like to Jehovah? 7. God is very terrible [527] in the assembly of the saints, and to be feared above all who are around him. 8. O Jehovah! God of Hosts, who is a strong God as thou art? and thy truth is round about thee.
5. And the heavens shall praise thy wondrous work. The prophet, having spoken of God's covenant, even as faith ought to begin at the word, now descends to a general commendation of his works. It is, however, to be observed, that when he t…
The Church Fathers
O such strictness toward the righteous! O such abundant forgiveness toward the sinner! He finds so many different means, without himself changing, to keep the righteous in check and forgive the sinner, by usefully dividing his rich goodness. And listen how. If he frightens the sinner who persists in sins, he brings him to desperation and to the exhaustion of hope. If he blesses the righteous, he weakens the intensity of his virtue and makes him neglect his zeal, since he considers himself already blessed. For this reason he is merciful to the sinner and frightens the righteous. "For he is terrible to all who surround him." And, "The Lord is good to the whole world." "He is terrible," David says, "to all who surround him." And who are they but the saints? "For God," David says, "who is glorified in the council of the saints, [is] great and terrible to all who surround him." If he sees someone who has fallen, he extends a loving hand. If he sees someone standing, he brings fear on him. And this reveals righteousness and righteous judgment. He establishes the righteous one with fear, and he raises up the sinner with benevolence.
..."God is very greatly to be feared in the counsel of the righteous, and to be had in dread of all them that are round about Him" [Psalm 89:7]. God is everywhere; who therefore are round about Him, who is everywhere? For if He has some round about Him, He is represented as finite on every side. Moreover, if it is truly said to God and of God, "of His greatness there is no end;" who remain, who are round about Him, except because He who is everywhere, chose to be born of the flesh on one spot, to dwell among one nation, in one place to be crucified, from one spot to rise again and ascend into Heaven. Where He did this, the Gentiles are round about Him. If He remained where He did these things, He would not be "great, and be had in dread of all them that are round about Him;" but since He preached when there in such a manner as to send preachers of His own name through all nations over the whole world; by working miracles among His servants, He is become "great, and to be had in dread of all them that are round about Him."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ezrahite — A title given to Ethan (1 Kings 4:31; Ps. 89, title) and Heman (Ps. 88, title). They were both sons of Zerah (1 Chr. 2:6).
Hermon — A peak, the eastern prolongation of the Anti-Lebanon range, reaching to the height of about 9,200 feet above the Mediterranean. It marks the north boundary of Palestine (Deut. 3:8, 4:48; Josh. 11:3,…
Fear, Godly · Necessary to: The worship of God — Necessary to: The worship of God
Titles And Names Of The Church · Assembly of the saints — Assembly of the saints
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
At the close of the promises in Psa 89:4-5 the music is to become forte. And ויודוּ attaches itself to this jubilant Sela. In Psa 89:6-19 there follows a hymnic description of the exalted majesty of God, more especially of His omnipotence and faithfulness, because the value of the promise is measured by the character of the person who promises. The God of the promise is He who is praised by the heavens and the holy ones above. His way of acting is פלא, of a transcendent, paradoxical, wondrous order, and as such the heavens praise it; it is praised (יודו, according to Ges. 137, 3) in the assembly of the holy ones, i.e., of the spirits in the other world, the angels (as in Job 5:1; Job 15:15,…
mightiest angel: Literally son of God (see study note on 29:1-2).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 89:7
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints. The holiest tremble in the presence of the thrice Holy One: their familiarity is seasoned with the profoundest awe. Perfect love casts out the fear which hath torment, and works in lieu thereof that other fear which is akin to joy unutterable. How reverent should our worship be! Where angels veil their faces, men should surely bow in lowliest fashion. Sin is akin to presumptuous boldness, but holiness is sister to holy fear. "And to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." The nearer they are the more the…
