“He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 10:21 Mean?
Moses declares God's identity through Israel's experience: "He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen." God is simultaneously your praise (the object of your worship, the subject of your celebration) and the one who does great and terrible things before your eyes. The same God who is your song is the God who splits seas and shakes mountains.
The phrase "great and terrible things" (gedolot ve-nora'ot) combines glory and awe: great (impressive, magnificent, worthy of wonder) and terrible (fearsome, awe-inspiring, producing trembling). The events of the Exodus—plagues, sea-crossing, Sinai, manna, victories—were both beautiful and frightening. They produced both worship and fear. The God who feeds you with manna also consumes rebels with fire. Both are Him.
The emphasis on "thine eyes have seen" makes this personal testimony, not secondhand theology: you saw these things. Not your ancestors. Not the next generation. You. With your own eyes. The events weren't stories passed down. They were lived experiences. The generation Moses addresses personally witnessed God's great and terrible acts. Their theology is built on observation, not information.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'great and terrible things' have your own eyes seen God do?
- 2.Is He both your praise (the subject of your worship) and your awe (the source of your trembling)?
- 3.Your theology should be built on observation, not just information. What have you personally witnessed?
- 4.If the same God who feeds you also frightens you, how do you hold both responses in your worship?
Devotional
"He is thy praise, and he is thy God." The object of your worship is the God who does great and terrible things—things you've seen with your own eyes. Not heard about. Seen. The theology isn't abstract. It's eyewitness. The God you praise is the God who parted water, dropped bread from heaven, and shook the earth with His presence.
Great and terrible. Both words describe the same God. Great: magnificent, wonderful, worthy of celebration. Terrible: fearsome, awe-inspiring, producing trembling. The God who feeds you is the God who frightens you. The God who provides manna is the God who opens the earth under rebels. Both are true. Both are Him. And both produce worship—the worship that comes from being simultaneously amazed and terrified by the same being.
"Which thine eyes have seen." The strongest possible authentication: personal experience. You saw it. Not read about it. Not heard from a preacher. Saw. With your own eyes. The plagues. The sea. The fire. The manna. The victories. Your faith isn't built on arguments. It's built on observation. The evidence is in your memory, and the memory is fresh enough to be cited.
If your eyes have seen God do great and terrible things in your life—if you've witnessed His provision, His power, His presence in ways that are both wonderful and frightening—then He is your praise. Not as a theological position. As a personal declaration based on personal observation. He is your God. He did these things. You saw them. Now praise.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
He is thy praise,.... The object and matter of it, who deserves the praises of all his creatures, because of his…
Here is a most pathetic exhortation to obedience, inferred from the premises, and urged with very powerful arguments and…
He in an emphatic position.
thy praise Either the object of thy praise (cp. Psa 109:1, God of my praise), or cause of…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture