Psalms 102:15
in Psalms 102So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
KJV
So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
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This verse in Psalms 102
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSo the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord. Mercy within the church is soon perceived by those without. When a candle is lit in the house, it shines through the window. When Zion rejoices in her God, the heathen been to reverence his name, for they hear of the wonders of his power, and are impressed thereby. And all the kings of the earth thy glory. The restoration of Jerusalem was a marvel among the princes who heard of it, and its ultimate resurrection in days yet to come will be one of the prodigies of history.
This site's exposition
have compassion on Zion
on Psalms 102:13-17
The appointed time has come. The prayer leaves the sufferer and turns to Zion, where what servants love is her stones and dust, affection reaching as far as the rubble. The destitute man's own prayer is heard too, and the nations and their kings see the glory.
This site's exposition
the nations will fear the name
Isaiah 59:19 joins the same pair, the name of the LORD feared in the west and His glory in the east. Solomon prayed at 1 Kings 8:43 that all the peoples of the earth would fear the LORD. The rebuilding of Zion opens that fear to the nations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The heathen shall fear Your Name, O Lord; and all the kings of the earth Your Majesty" [Psalm 102:15]. Now that You have pitied Sion, now that Your servants have taken pleasure in her stones, by acknowledging the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets; now that they have pitied her dust; so that man is formed, or rather re-formed, in life out of dust; hence preaching has increased among the heathen: let the heathen fear Your Name, let another wall approach also from the heathen, let the Corner Stone [Ephesians 2:20] be recognised, let the two who come from different regions, but who no longer differ in belief, meet in close union.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It will be a happy means perhaps of their conversion, at least of their conviction; for so the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, shall have high thoughts of him and his people, and even the kings of the earth shall be affected with his glory.
So the Heathen shall fear the name of the Lord,....
When we consider our own meanness and vileness, our darkness and deadness, and the manifold defects in our prayers, we have cause to suspect that our prayers will be received with disdain in heaven; but we are here assured of the contrary, for we have an advocate with the Father, and are under grace, not under the law.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord. Mercy within the church is soon perceived by those without. When a candle is lit in the house, it shines through the window. When Zion rejoices in her God, the heathen been to reverence his name, for they hear of the wonders of his power, and are impressed thereby. And all the kings of the earth thy glory. The restoration of Jerusalem was a marvel among the princes who heard of it, and its ultimate resurrection in days yet to come will be one of the prodigies of history. A church quickened by divine power is so striking an object in current history that it cannot escape notice, rulers cannot ignore it, it affects the Legislature, and forces from the great ones of the earth a recognition of the divine working. Oh that we might see in our days such a revival of religion that our senators and princes might be compelled to pay homage to the Lord, and own his glorious grace. This cannot be till the saints are better edified, and more fully builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Internal prosperity is the true source of the church's external influence.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord - It is granted that after the edict of Cyrus to restore and rebuild Jerusalem which was about four hundred and ninety years before Christ, the name of the true God was more generally known among the heathen; and the translating the Sacred Writings into Greek, by the command of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, about two hundred and eighty-five years before the Christian era, spread a measure of the light of God in the Gentile world which they had not before seen. Add to this the disperson of the Jews into different parts of the Roman empire, after Judea became a Roman province, which took place about sixty years before the advent of our Lord; and we may consider these as so many preparatory steps to the conversion of the heathen by the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to this last general illumination of the Gentile world the psalmist must allude here, when he speaks of “the heathen fearing God’s name, and all the kings of the earth his glory.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
So the heathen - The nations. That is, The surrounding people, who hear what thou hast done for thy people, will see the evidence that thou art God, and learn to love and worship thee. Shall fear the name of the Lord - Shall reverence and honor thee. And all the kings of the earth thy glory - The sovereigns of the earth will be especially affected and impressed with thy majesty. If this refers to the return from the captivity at Babylon, then it means that that event would be particularly suited to impress the minds of the rulers of the world, as showing that God had all nations under his control; that he could deliver a captive people from the grasp of the mighty; that he was the friend of those who worshipped him, and that he would frown on oppression and wrong.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
You will rise, You will have mercy on Zion for it is time to favor it For so You promised (Deut.:36): “When He sees that their power is gone,” and it is indeed gone.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיִֽירְא֣וּ | veyireu | and they may fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| ג֭וֹיִם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׁ֣ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְֽכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַלְכֵ֥י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃ | kevodekha | glory your | H3519 → | 200 times |
וְיִֽירְא֣וּand they may fear
veyireuH3372 →315 times
ג֭וֹיִםnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׁ֣ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְֽכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מַלְכֵ֥י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
הָ֝אָ֗רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃glory your
kevodekhaH3519 →200 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 86:9All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
it leads to
- Revelation 15:4
Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Isaiah 66:23
From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.
- Psalms 66:4
All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You; they sing praise to Your name.” Selah
- Isaiah 2:2–4
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to…
- Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
- Revelation 15:4
Through
Psalms 138:4All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.
it leads to
- Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 72:11
May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
- Psalms 22:27
Through
1 Kings 8:43then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:46
This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air…
- 1 Samuel 17:46
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 102; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.