“Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?”
The dramatic shift in perspective here—"But you are awesome, O God"—turns the psalm toward a doxological response to the power just described. The word "awesome" (nora, from the root meaning "to fear") indicates that God's majesty inspires awe and reverence; the divine character evokes a religious response of worship and submission. This verse functions as a hinge in the psalm, moving from narrative description of victory to the proper human response: fear in the sense of reverent recognition of power. The rhetorical question that follows—"Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?"—emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God's will and the futility of resistance, making clear that the appropriate stance before God is one of humble submission.
Church Fathers on Psalms 76:7
1. The Jews are wont to glory in this Psalm which we have sung, saying, “Known in Judæa is God, in Israel great is the name of Him:” and to revile the Gentiles to whom God is not known, and to say that to themselves alone God is known; seeing that the Prophet says, “Known in Judæa is God.” In other places therefore He is unknown. But God is known in very deed in Judæa, if they understand what is Judæa. For indeed God is not known except in Judæa. Behold even we say this, that…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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