Dominion and fear [are] with him, he maketh peace in his high places.
Ver. 2. Dominion and fear are with him] God is therefore to be feared, because Lord over all. If an earthly king be so dread a sovereign, if an apparition of angels hath so amazed the best men, who would net fear that King of nations, since to him doth it appertain? Jeremiah 10:7. "God is greatly to be feared in the assemblies of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him," Psalms 89:7. Power and terror are with him, so the Vulgate hath it here. He that is able to destroy both body and soul in hell, is surely to be feared; yea, therefore to be feared, Matthew 10:28. If servants should fear their masters because they have power over the flesh, Colossians 3:23, what should we do, since he can sooner undo us than bid it be done?
He maketh peace in his high places] Or, Among his high persons, those heavenly courtiers, the angels and saints. By an unchangeable decree, God keepeth all persons and things in the heavens, both visible and invisible, in a most firm and quiet condition, so that there is no clashing, but a happy harmony among them. He appeaseth, saith Senault, the differences of the elements, and obligeth them to force their own inclinations, to preserve the quiet of the world. He shakes all the heavens with so much evenness, that in the contrariety of their motions they never disorder themselves. Finally, He maintains peace among the angels, and tempering his justice with his goodness, he makes himself equally loved and feared of those blessed spirits. Therefore Job did ill, saith Mayer, to offer to make a disturbance there (as Bildad at least conceited he did), where there was all peace, Job 23:4 .