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O Lord God of hosts - Thou who hast all armies at thy command, and canst serve thyself by every part of thy creation, whether animate or inanimate.

Who is a strong Lord - See Psalm 89:6.

Thy faithfulness round about thee? - Or, more properly, thy faithfulness is round about thee. Thou still keepest thy promises in view. God's truth leads him to fulfill his promises: they stand round his throne as the faithful servants of an eastern monarch stand round their master, waiting for the moment of their dismission to perform his will.

O Lord God of hosts - See the notes at Isaiah 1:9; Psalm 24:10. God, commanding the armies of heaven; leading forth the stars; controlling all forces - all powers.

Who is a strong Lord like unto thee? - The original word here rendered “Lord” is יה Yâhh or Jah. This is one of the few places where that word occurs, except in the compounding of words. It is an abbreviation of the name Yahweh, and has the same signification. See the notes at Psalm 68:4. The meaning is, that there was no one who in respect to power could be compared with Yahweh.

Or to thy faithfulness round about thee? - Rather, “thy faithfulness is round about thee.” That is, It attends thee at all times; it is always with thee; it is a part of thy very nature. To all round about thee, thou art faithful; wherever God is - and he is everywhere - there is faithfulness. He never changes; and people and angels may always trust in him. The psalmist then proceeds to illustrate the greatness of his power, and of his faithfulness, in the works of creation. The design of these illustrations, doubtless, is to keep before the mind the idea of the divine faithfulness as shown in the works of nature, and then to apply this to the covenant which had been made with David. The idea is, that he who is so faithful in nature will be the same in grace; that he who had shown such unchangeableness in the works of creation might be expected to show the like in respect to the promises which he had made.

The more God's works are known, the more they are admired. And to praise the Lord, is to acknowledge him to be such a one that there is none like him. Surely then we should feel and express reverence when we worship God. But how little of this appears in our congregations, and how much cause have we to humble ourselves on this account! That almighty power which smote Egypt, will scatter the enemies of the church, while all who trust in God's mercy will rejoice in his name; for mercy and truth direct all he does. His counsels from eternity, and their consequences to eternity, are all justice and judgment.

O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee?...Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Psalm 89:8, 9. TDG 110.1

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