PSALM 99    THE HOLY GOD

20^th Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday 18th October 2020

This is one of those psalms that records the condition of well-being in the community: it is focussed not on the wealth or peace of the land but on the almighty goodness of God. Our perceptions of God are often coloured by the sense of righteousness of God – if he does something it is always good and just – at least so we think.

1       The Lord is king let the nations tremble:
he is enthroned upon the cherubim let the earth quake.

Why is the image of trembling and quaking so much part of this royal coming? In human terms it is based on fear – afraid of being in the presences of such a holy and mighty King often in a sense of our unworthiness.

2       The Lord is great in Zion:
he is high above all nations.

3       Let them praise your great and terrible name:
for holy is the Lord.

In verses 2 & 3 we find two qualities of the Mighty One: he loves Justice, and he is Holy. The justice of God makes a difference to situations, where the poor are mistreated the justice of God brings punishment but at the same time the holiness of God brings mercy and grace. Hold those two together and we begin to gain an in insight into the ineffability of God.

4       The Mighty One is king and loves justice:
you have established equity you have dealt righteousness and justice in Jacob.

5       O exalt the Lord our God: and bow down before his footstool for he is holy.

The first line of verse 4 is a repetition of the first line in verse 1 and seems like a chorus but its purpose is to move us onto another aspect of God’s sovereignty. God loves justice. It is he who has established the rule of law that governs the life of the people of Israel.

The intimate character of this section receives special emphasis from the fact the hymn now turns to the prayer style of dialogue with God. The congregation are now called upon to worship with awe and thanksgiving in the joyous hope of the coming of the righteous rule of their God over the whole world. The Good News we celebrate is also a hope for the rule of God over the world in Christ Jesus.

6       Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among those who call upon his name
they called to the Lord and he answered.

7       He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud:
they kept to his teachings and the law that he gave them.

8       You answered them O Lord our God:
you were a forgiving God to them and pardoned their wrongdoing.

The greatest statement the poet can make with regard to God’s nature is neither that God’s universal might has a power to shake the whole world nor that God has established rule of law that governs every life, but that he has shown himself to be the God of grace.

Even in his grace God remains a holy God. And that holiness manifests itself in the fact that the utter seriousness of the righteousness by which he punishes the sins of humankind invariably continues to hold its own side by side with seriousness of the love by which he forgives sins.

9       O exalt the Lord our God:
and bow down towards his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Having reached this culminating point, the hymn quite naturally ends in a call to the congregation to praise God, worship and adore him. This verse simultaneously expresses their difference from God and their bond with him, their awe and terror and their joyful confidence. It is the joint effect of both these which alone is able to produce the true note of biblical faith.

Thank you, Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the appointed psalm