Psalm 48:1, 5-6 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness….They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
Jerusalem, with its beautiful temple mount, was an awesome sight to behold, for there dwelled the presence of God on the earth. The beauty of holiness inspires either praise to God for His awesome love of the sinner or terror of God for His just judgment of sin. It depends on whether we come into His Presence with faith and worship or with unbelief and pride. Seeing the same God will either draw us closer to Him or push us further away from Him.
For the believer in Jesus, encountering the beauty of Holiness and Love causes us to praise and worship Him, since, through Christ, we are made worthy and accounted as righteous to enjoy Him forever. But for the unbelieving and impenitent sinner, fear and dread takes hold of him and he shrinks away. Philippians 2:10: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess.” The difference is that it is done either gladly and willingly or grudgingly and forcibly. At the end of time Jesus will appear to all people, and the reaction will be either unbounded joy or painful regret. We are on the side of praise.