The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"the LORD reigneth," Hebrew YHWH malakh (יְהוָה מָלָךְ). The enthronement cry that opens the other kingship psalms opens this one too, but here it is followed by a different note. The fact of His reign is the fixed ground on which everything else in the psalm stands.

"let the people tremble," yirgezu ammim (יִרְגְּזוּ עַמִּים). Where the other enthronement psalms call the earth to rejoice, this one calls it to shake. Both are true responses to God's reign, joy and trembling, and a worship that has only one of them is out of balance; here the psalm leans on the trembling.

"he sitteth between the cherubims," yoshev keruvim (יֹשֵׁב כְּרוּבִים). The King is enthroned above the mercy seat of the ark, in the very place where His holy presence dwelt among Israel, so near and so holy that the people rightly tremble.

"great and terrible name," shimkha gadol venora (שִׁמְךָ גָּדוֹל וְנוֹרָא), great and awesome. "Terrible" here is not terrible in the sense of bad, but awesome, fearful, a name that makes the knees weak. It is a name to be praised and dreaded at once.

"for it is holy," qadosh hu (קָדוֹשׁ הוּא). This is the first of the three refrains that sound through the psalm (verses 3, 5, and 9), echoing the seraphim who cry "Holy, holy, holy" before the throne. It is God's pure, set-apart, blazing otherness that makes His name both glorious and fearful.

Explanation

Where the other enthronement psalms open by calling the earth to rejoice, this one strikes a different note first: "The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble." Both are true responses to God's reign, joy and trembling, and a worship that has only one of them is out of balance. Here the psalm leans on the trembling, because its whole theme is God's holiness. The King who reigns "sitteth between the cherubims", enthroned above the mercy seat of the ark, in the very place where His holy presence dwelt among Israel, so near and so holy that the people rightly tremble. And His name is "great and terrible", not terrible in the sense of bad, but awesome, fearful, a name that makes the knees weak. Why? The answer is the refrain that will sound three times through this psalm: "for it is holy." This is the first of the three (verses 3, 5, and 9), echoing the seraphim who cry "Holy, holy, holy" before the throne. It is God's holiness, His pure, set-apart, blazing otherness, that makes His name both glorious and fearful, that makes His worshippers tremble even as they praise. We are too casual with God because we have forgotten this. Psalm 99 will not let us forget: the God who reigns is holy, and the only right approach to a holy God begins with trembling reverence.

Gospel Focus

"Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy", the thrice-holy God of this psalm is the God whom Isaiah saw enthroned, while the seraphim cried, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:3), and whom John saw in heaven, where the living creatures rest not, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" (Revelation 4:8). And the New Testament tells us whose glory Isaiah beheld: "These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him", of Jesus (John 12:41). The holy LORD enthroned between the cherubim, before whom the people tremble, is the One who came near in Christ. And He sits "between the cherubims," above the mercy seat, the very place of atonement, for God set forth Christ "to be a propitiation" (Romans 3:25), the true mercy seat where the holy God meets sinners. So the holiness that makes us tremble is not held at a distance; in Jesus the thrice-holy God has drawn near, that trembling sinners might be cleansed and brought in. Praise His great and holy name.

Word Study

"the king's strength," Hebrew oz melekh (עֹז מֶלֶךְ). Raw power, in the hands of one who does not care for justice, is the most fearful thing in the world, a tyrant with no restraint. The psalm names the King's strength first, and then tells us what that strength loves.

"loveth judgment," mishpat ahev (מִשְׁפָּט אָהֵב). The strength of this King is bound to a love of what is right; His omnipotence delights in justice. He does not merely have the power to do as He pleases; what pleases Him is righteousness.

"thou dost establish equity," attah konanta meisharim (אַתָּה כּוֹנַנְתָּ מֵישָׁרִים). His love of justice is not sentiment but action: He sets fairness firmly in place, and "thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob." A holy God with unlimited strength who loves judgment is the safest ruler the universe could have.

"his footstool," hadom raglav (הֲדֹם רַגְלָיו). To worship at the footstool is to come low, to bow at the feet of the enthroned King, taking the posture of a subject before a sovereign: "Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool."

"for he is holy," qadosh hu (קָדוֹשׁ הוּא). The refrain sounds a second time and seals the section. We exalt Him and we bow low before Him for the same reason we tremble at His name, because He is holy, and holiness both draws our worship and bends our knees.

Explanation

Here is a truth that turns God's overwhelming power into a comfort rather than a terror: "The king's strength also loveth judgment." Raw power, in the hands of one who does not care for justice, is the most fearful thing in the world, a tyrant with no restraint. But the strength of this King is bound to a love of what is right; His omnipotence delights in justice. "Thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob." He does not merely have the power to do as He pleases; what pleases Him is righteousness. This is why we can tremble before His holiness and yet not despair: the Almighty loves to do right, and will never use His power unjustly. A holy God with unlimited strength who loves judgment is the safest ruler the universe could have. And the fitting response is worship, humble worship: "Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool." To worship at the footstool is to come low, to bow at the feet of the enthroned King, taking the posture of a subject before a sovereign. And again the refrain seals it, the second of the three: "for he is holy." We exalt Him and we bow low before Him for the same reason we tremble at His name, because He is holy, and holiness both draws our worship and bends our knees.

Gospel Focus

"The king's strength also loveth judgment", this King whose power delights in righteousness is the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the Father says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom" (Hebrews 1:8). His reign is not raw force but righteousness enthroned, and of Him it was promised, "he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth" (Isaiah 42:4). And the call to "worship at his footstool" is answered in the Lord Jesus, before whom every knee shall bow, for the earth is God's footstool (Matthew 5:35), and the day comes when His very enemies are "made his footstool" (Hebrews 10:13). We come low and worship at the feet of the holy King, not cowering as before a tyrant, but bowing before the One whose strength loves justice and who used that strength to save us. Exalt the Lord Jesus, and worship at His feet, for He is holy.

Word Study

"they called upon the LORD," Hebrew qor'im el-YHWH (קֹרִאים אֶל־יְהוָה). Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are named as men who called on His name. The blazing holiness of God does not make Him unapproachable; these men drew near and called.

"he answered them," ya'anem (יַעֲנֵם). The holy God who makes us tremble is also the God who hears prayer. "They called upon the LORD, and he answered them." Holiness and nearness are not enemies.

"thou wast a God that forgavest them," El nose hayita lahem (אֵל נֹשֵׂא הָיִיתָ לָהֶם), a God who lifted, pardoned. The word pictures guilt being lifted and carried away. God truly pardoned His people; He did not merely tolerate them but bore their guilt off.

"tookest vengeance of their inventions," venoqem al-alilotam (וְנֹקֵם עַל־עֲלִילוֹתָם). Hold this half together with the last, for the two are the very heart of holy grace. He did not simply overlook their sins as if they did not matter; He dealt with the wrong even while He forgave the sinner.

"the cloudy pillar," be'ammud anan (בְּעַמּוּד עָנָן). This is the exact pillar that stood at the tabernacle door when "the LORD talked with Moses" face to face (Exodus 33:9) -- Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are named together because each of them heard God speak from that same visible, covenant presence.

"his holy hill," har qodsho (הַר קָדְשׁוֹ). This is Zion, the LORD's own dwelling-place -- the same "mount Sion" the New Testament says every believer has already come to: "ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God" (Hebrews 12:22).

Explanation

The psalm now grounds God's holiness in history, and it does so with two beautiful surprises. First, the holy God who makes us tremble is also the God who hears prayer. It names three great men, "Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name," and says of them, "they called upon the LORD, and he answered them." The blazing holiness of God does not make Him unapproachable; these men drew near and were heard. Holiness and nearness are not enemies. Second, and most profound, is the way this holy God deals with the sins of His own people: "thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions." Hold both halves together, for they are the very heart of holy grace. God forgave His people, truly pardoned them, lifted their guilt away. And yet He "took vengeance of their inventions", He did not simply overlook their sins as if they did not matter; He dealt with the wrong, He disciplined, He upheld His justice even while He forgave the sinner. This is holy forgiveness: not a God who winks at sin and pretends it never happened, but a God who pardons the person while still taking sin with deadly seriousness. A forgiveness that ignored justice would not be holy; a justice that offered no forgiveness would not be grace. The holy God gives both, and the third refrain crowns the whole psalm: "for the LORD our God is holy."

Gospel Focus

"Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions", how God can both forgive the sinner and take sin seriously is the deepest question of all, and it is answered fully at the cross of Jesus Christ. There God poured out the full "vengeance" His holiness required, not on us, but on His Son, who bore our sins in His own body; and there, on that very ground, He freely forgives all who believe. So the cross lets God be exactly what this psalm says He is: a God who forgives without ever winking at sin, "that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26). And the three intercessors who "called upon the LORD, and he answered them" point to the one Mediator through whom we now draw near, for Christ "ever liveth to make intercession" (Hebrews 7:25), and He promises, "whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do" (John 14:13). So come to the holy God through Jesus. He hears the prayer of those who call on His name, and He forgives them fully, holy in His mercy and merciful in His holiness, for the LORD our God is holy.