He was afraid So far was he from being puffed up with this divine vision. The more we see of God, the more cause we see for holy fear and blushing before him. Those to whom God is pleased to manifest himself, are laid and kept very low in their own eyes, and see cause to fear even “the Lord and his goodness,” Hosea 3:5. And said, How dreadful is this place! That is, the appearance of God in this place is never to be thought of but with a holy awe and reverence; I shall have a respect for this place, and remember it by this token as long as I live. Not that he thought the place itself any nearer the divine visions than any other place; but what he saw there at this time was, as it were, “the house of God,” the residence of the Divine Majesty, and “the gate of heaven,” that is, the general rendezvous of the inhabitants of the upper world, as the meetings of a city were in their gates; or, the angels ascending and descend ing, were like travellers passing and repassing through the gates of a city.
Related Commentaries of Genesis 28:17
Genesis 28:17
17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.