September 22, 2009
Holy, holy, holy, lord god almighty!
Psalm 99
Ben Solomon
Central Truth
God cannot enter into relationship with unholy people. His holiness demands justice. In the Old Testament, justice came through the blood sacrifice of an animal. Today, we are made holy under the new covenant. The blood sacrifice of Christ paid the price for our sin and satisfied God's wrath.
Key Verse | Psalm 99:9
Praise the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy!
(Psalm 99:9)
Psalm 99
The LORD Our God Is Holy
1
The LORD reigns; 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
The King in his might loves justice.
1
99:4
Or The might of the King loves justice
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5
Exalt 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 upon his name.
They called to the LORD, and he answered them.
7
In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute 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
Exalt the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy!
Dive Deeper | Psalm 99
As a little kid, I remember wrestling with questions like, “How big is the universe?” and “How long is eternity?” Frustrated, I would lie in bed at night trying to wrap my mind around these concepts until eventually my mind surrendered to sleep. As an adult, when I think about the idea of holiness, it creates similar emotions in me. What does it mean for God to be holy? How did Jesus live a life that was perfect and without sin?
What I see in Psalm 99 is that maybe our task isn’t as much to understand what it means to be holy, but rather to understand how we are to respond to the holiness of God. In verse 1, we see that God’s holiness should make us tremble as we realize the chasm between Him and us. In verse 3, the people are praising God who is exalted far above them. In this word picture I see an understanding of the fact that there is a vast distance between His holiness and our depravity. Praise and worship are an appropriate response.
Despite the distance between God and man, we also see the personal nature of His holiness in verse 6 as Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were close enough to God to be able to call upon Him, and He answered. Verse 8 also demonstrates the merciful aspect of His holiness as The-God-Who-Forgives.
Ultimately, the separation between His holiness and our sin is too great for us to bridge. Yet, when we respond as He calls us to respond, acknowledging our sinful nature and our need for Him, He bridges the gap through Christ on our behalf.
Discussion Questions
1. What words or images come to mind when you hear the word “holy”?
2. Why does God’s holiness demand that something be done about our sin?
3. What tangible responses should you have today to the fact that our God is holy?