Read 1 Samuel 10, Ezekiel 21, and Psalms 99-101.
This devotional is about Psalm 99.
Human beings have a tendency toward grandiosity, elevating what we like to the highest possible degree.
Or, maybe that’s just an American trait. But, I hear a lot of people saying that the thing they like is the best ever.
- This place has the best pizza I’ve ever tasted.
- Our team has the best offense.
- We have the best country, the best prime rib, the tastiest coffee, the best fudge.
Whenever we say that someone or something is special, we are saying that it is set apart–it is different in an especially good way. That’s what the word “holy” means in scripture. It means “special, set apart” in one or more ways. And that is how this Psalm sings about God. This Psalm calls us to exalt God’s holiness.
Three times we are told “he is holy.” You can see that in the last line of verse 3, the last line of verse 6, and the last line of verse 9.
The last line of verse 3 says, “He is holy.” The last line of verse 6 says, “He is holy.” The last line of verse 9 says, “…for the LORD our God is holy.” But how is God’s holiness–his specialness–demonstrated to us? This Psalm tells us three ways:
- God is a special ruler (vv. 1-3).
- God exercises his rule in special ways (vv. 4-5).
- God speaks in special ways (vv. 6-9).
First, God is a special ruler according to verses 1-3. The nations should “tremble” according to verse 1a and the earth itself should “shake” according to verse 1d. There have been powerful men throughout human history, so powerful that nations may have shaken before them. But the earth itself? Only God, the all-powerful creator–can do that. He is “great” according to verse 2. His greatness transcends every nation, according to verse 2 and his greatness is symbolized by his name. God is holy. He is special because as the Creator-king, there is no other ruler like him.
Second, verses 4 and 5 tell us that God is special because, “he loves justice” and has “established equity” according to verse 4a-b. Some human rulers are totally corrupt, but even the best rulers have some mixture of good and bad rulings. A human ruler can be swayed by his own biases. He can be persuaded by bad actors who are good at making a case. Every human ruler is subject to ignorance about some of the facts of a case or a cause. Many human rulers can be bribed or convinced to show favoritism to friends or powerful people. Not God! He is a special ruler because he always deals in righteousness and treats people equitably and with justice. God is holy. He is special because he rules justly without foolishness, corruption or partiality.
A third way in which God is holy is that he speaks like no one else. Verses 6-9 remind us of men who spoke with God because God revealed himself to them in miraculous ways. Not only did God reveal himself to these men, but he “answered them” as verse 6d and verse 8b tell us. That’s because they called on him for guidance and for forgiveness. Verse 8c-d says that God was “to Israel a forgiving God,” even though he “punished their misdeeds.” Try that with a human ruler. Try coming to him and begging for forgiveness and getting a forgiving answer from him. But this song, and many, many Bible passages tell us that God’s mercy is abundant in God’s character and that he is quick and thorough in his forgiveness when people come to him in repentance. God is holy. He is special because he communicates like nobody else can, including the communication of forgiveness that no one else can give.
The intent of this Psalm is to reflect on this one aspect of God–his holiness–in a few precise ways. But the Psalmist had a response in mind from us. Verse 3 calls on us to “praise” God. Verse 5 calls on us to “exalt” him and “worship at his footstool.” Verse 9 also calls us to “exalt” him and “worship at his holy mountain.”
In your prayer times, have you taken time to worship the Lord? Have you thought about how he has forgiven your sins and worshipped him for that? Have you praised God for his justice and for his word, which he gave through men like Moses and Samuel?
Take some time to do that now. Worship the Lord! He is special. He is holy!