Psalm 99
Praise to God for His Holiness
1 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he! 4 Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them. 7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. 9 Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.
How great is our God!
Every now and then, I need to stop and remember who God is, and who I am in relationship to God. How easy it is to put me first, and for me to tell God what I think God ought to do and how God ought to do it.
How about you? Sound familiar?
There are days when I need to remember that God is God and I am not!
How about you? Sound familiar?
Psalm 99 is a bold statement that reminds you and me that God is God, and worthy of our praise.
From Eugene Peterson’s transliteration, “The Message,” the first few verses of Psalm 99:
1-3 God rules. On your toes, everybody! He rules from his angel throne—take notice! God looms majestic in Zion, He towers in splendor over all the big names. Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you! Holy. Yes, holy.
4-5 Strong King, lover of justice, You laid things out fair and square; You set down the foundations in Jacob, Foundation stones of just and right ways. Honor God, our God; worship his rule! Holy. Yes, holy.
He towers over all the big names!
God doesn’t get as much press as all the big names in our society, so a reminder is in order every now and then, yes?
I believe you are making that happen by beginning today with this devotion. Daily scripture and prayer is a wonderful way to get things in a proper order.
Give thanks to the Lord for God is good. God’s steadfast love endures forever. God is the Lord of Life, and through Jesus Christ has destroyed death forever.
How great is our God!
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Ruler of the Universe, we are in awe of your power, and we marvel at your creation. Open our eyes to your splendor, our hearts to your love, and our lives to your forgiveness and hope. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Beloved, our Risen Savior. Amen.