“Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”
The psalmist exhorts all the earth to fear the LORD and all the inhabitants of the world to stand in awe before him. The verb "fear" suggests reverence and respect, the appropriate response to recognizing God's majesty. The expansion to "all the inhabitants of the world" suggests that this reverence should be universal. The command to "stand in awe" emphasizes the emotional and physical response to encountering God's presence. The verse invites the entire cosmos to participate in the reverence that creation owes to its creator.
Church Fathers on Psalms 33:8
1. “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous:” rejoice, O you righteous, not in yourselves, for that is not safe; but in the Lord. “For praise is comely to the upright” Psalm 32:1: these praise the Lord, who submit themselves unto the Lord; for else they are distorted and perverse. 2. “Praise the Lord with harp:” praise the Lord, presenting unto Him your bodies a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 “Sing unto Him with the psaltery for ten strings” Psalm 32:2: let your members be…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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