Day 24 - Psalm 99
Let’s read: it
1 The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name -
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice -
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Some scholars called this the ‘Sanctus’ psalm, as the three main parts end with the statement or refrain ‘He/God is holy’. The first three verses declare the greatness and holiness of God, He is to be awed.
The psalm mentions 4 well known men who encountered God powerfully. Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. Each one of these men were favoured by God to meet with Him on behalf of the people. Each time the Lord spoke to them they declared the greatness of their God.
Holiness to me is all about being set apart, pure, without blemish or fault. Through Jesus we are made holy and blameless in God’s sight (Colossians 1:22) - God calls each one of us to declare who He is to those He’s put in our world, our spheres of influence. We can have confidence that when God asks us to speak, He will give us the words and when we call on Him He will answer us.
I am challenged to not only exalt the Lord with my mouth, but to give Him my heart, to place Him on the ‘throne’ if you like, of my heart. It’s this position in my life that means I should never forgot His awesomeness, His holiness and all He has done for me.
Think it over / Meditate on:
What does holiness mean to you? How can we live lives this way?
Does God have your whole heart today? Have you forgotten how great, how holy He is and yet He choose to love us and sent His Son so He could be in relationship with us? Surrender your life to God again today and worship Him
Charmaine
Charmaine Croxson, Senior Leader