God is indeed a jealous God－1
He cannot bear to see
That we had rather not with Him
But with each other play.
He cannot bear to see
That we had rather not with Him
But with each other play.
(F.1752/J.1719)
[1] God: gods, the occupants of the gallery (OED 4). a jealous God: a jealous gallery audience who cannot play on stage, or have fun with the crowd.
[3] we: actors on the stage, or audiences in the stalls.
[4] play: a hint on stage play and theater.
The gallery part of an audience has not inappropriately been called the "gods." Their more elevated situation gives them a claim to this title. They possess another prerogative which, in our opinion, confirms the ascendancy－the power to hiss an actor from the stage, or the power to call him back, and make him repeat what has elicited their applause, and this without any reference to the sentiments or wishes of the other parts of the house. This power to decide the destinies of the actor, has long been vested in the hands of the so called "gods," and as they constitute generally the greater part of an audience, and decidedly by far the more clamorous, this power has been quietly and patiently ceded to them.——The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction (1846)
When the orchestra begins playing, before "the gods" have settled into their seats, it is impossible to hear a note of music. . . . Altogether the gallery audience do not seem to be of a gentle nature.——The Literary World (1851)