Psalm 96:4

For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Psalm 96:4-6. For the Lord — Hebrew, Jehovah, is great — Infinite in his nature and attributes; and greatly to be praised — All our most exalted praises fall infinitely short of his greatness. He is to be feared above all gods — The gods of the heathen, as the next words expound it. For all the gods of the nations are idols — Or, nothing, as they are called 1 Corinthians 8:4; 1 Corinthians 10:19; and, as אלילים, elilim, here rendered idols, signifies; or, vain things, as others translate the word. The sense is, Though they have usurped the name and place of the Divine Majesty, yet they have nothing of his nature or power in them. Honour and majesty are before him — That is, in his presence, like beams shot from his face, who is the Sun of righteousness. There is an inconceivable glory and majesty in his countenance, and in the place of his presence. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary — Or, in his holy place; that is, where he records his name, and vouchsafes his presence, there are the manifestations of his power and grace, or goodness, and of all his perfections.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

96:1-9 When Christ finished his work on earth, and was received into his glory in heaven, the church began to sing a new song unto him, and to bless his name. His apostles and evangelists showed forth his salvation among the heathen, his wonders among all people. All the earth is here summoned to worship the Lord. We must worship him in the beauty of holiness, as God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Glorious things are said of him, both as motives to praise and matter of praise.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the Lord is great - Yahweh is great. See the notes at Psalm 77:13. This verse is taken literally from 1 Chronicles 16:25.

And greatly to be praised - Worthy of exalted praise and adoration.

He is to be feared above all gods - He is to be reverenced and adored above all that are called gods. Higher honor is to be given him; more lofty praise is to be ascribed to him. He is Ruler over all the earth, and has a claim to universal praise. Even if it were admitted that they were real gods, yet it would still be true that they were local and inferior divinities; that they ruled only over the particular countries where they were worshipped and acknowledged as gods, and that they had no claim to "universal" adoration as Yahweh has.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4, 5. For He is not a local God, but of universal agency, while idols are nothing.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The gods of the nations, as the next verse expounds it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For the Lord is great,.... In the perfections of his nature; in the works of his hands, of creation, providence, and redemption; and in the several offices he bears and executes:

and greatly to be praised; because of his greatness and glory; See Gill on Psalm 48:1,

he is to be feared above all gods; the angels by whom he is worshipped; civil magistrates, among whom he presides, and judges; and all the fictitious deities of the Gentiles, who are not to be named with him, and to whom no fear, reverence, and worship, are due.

Geneva Study Bible

For the LORD is {b} great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

(b) Seeing he will reveal himself to all nations contrary to their own expectation, they should all worship him contrary to their own imaginations, and only as he has appointed.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. The first line is borrowed from Psalm 48:1 a (cp. Psalm 145:3): the second combines Psalm 47:2 and Psalm 95:3. Cp. Deuteronomy 7:21; Deuteronomy 10:17.

4–6. Jehovah’s worthiness to be praised.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - For the Lord is great (comp. Psalm 95:3a), and greatly to be praised. Whatever is "great" excites our admiration, and naturally calls forth our praise. God's greatness is such that he needs to be "greatly praised." He is to be feared above all gods (comp. Psalm 95:3b, and the comment ad loc.). Psalm 96:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Confirmation of the call from the glory of Jahve that is now become manifest. The clause Psalm 96:4, as also Psalm 145:3, is taken out of Psalm 48:2. כל־אלהים is the plural of כּל־אלוהּ, every god, 2 Chronicles 32:15; the article may stand here or be omitted (Psalm 95:3, cf. Psalm 113:4). All the elohim, i.e., gods, of the peoples are אלילים (from the negative אל), nothings and good-for-nothings, unreal and useless. The lxx renders δαιμόνια, as though the expression were שׁדים (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:20), more correctly εἴδωλα in Revelation 9:20. What Psalm 96:5 says is wrought out in Isaiah 40, Isaiah 44, and elsewhere; אלילים is a name of idols that occurs nowhere more frequently than in Isaiah. The sanctuary (Psalm 96:6) is here the earthly sanctuary. From Jerusalem, over which the light arises first of all (Isaiah 60), Jahve's superterrestrial doxa now reveals itself in the world. הוד־והדר is the usual pair of words for royal glory. The chronicler reads Psalm 96:6 עז וחדוה בּמקמו, might and joy are in His place (הדוה( ecalp siH ni era yoj d a late word, like אחוה, brotherhood, brotherly affection, from an old root, Exodus 18:9). With the place of God one might associate the thought of the celestial place of God transcending space; the chronicler may, however, have altered במקדשׁו into במקמו because when the Ark was brought in, the Temple (בית המקדשׁ) was not yet built.