By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
GOD IS HOLY
Psalm 99:1–9
God is set apart in His greatness. (1–3)
In Psalm 99, God is presented as the Great King who rules the universe: “The Lord reigns,” and “He is enthroned between the cherubim.”
He is the “Mighty King”
(v. 4) who rules the earth from His “holy mountain” (v. 9). And as great kings do, He gives “decrees” and “statutes” (v. 7).
Because He is the Great King who rules the world, God is to be worshipped and revered by all peoples (vv. 5, 9).
As we recite this psalm, we not only join all nations in worshipping the Lord, but we also join the angels.
This picture of God as the exalted and enthroned King who rules from Israel’s temple is similar to Isaiah 6 where Isaiah sees “the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne” (Isa. 6:1). Isaiah also describes God as King in verse 5.
Another theme shared between Isaiah 6 and Psalm 99 is that in both places, we have a threefold use of the word “holy.” In Isaiah 6 the seraphim repeat this word three times — “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of armies” (6:3).
Three times in Psalm 99, God is described as holy (vv. 3, 5, 9). What does it mean to say that God is a holy king?
God is set apart in His justice. (4–5)
That God the Great King is holy means He is devoted to ensuring that justice prevails and wins in the world He rules.
The song of the seraphim that Isaiah hears comes after the first five chapters of Isaiah where Israel’s leaders are repeatedly charged with corrupting justice.
By contrast, God is “exalted by His justice … and demonstrates His holiness through His righteousness” (Isa. 5:16). This means God will see to it that justice prevails.
In fact, Isaiah 11 tells us that when the Son of David comes He will restore justice (11:1–5) and fill the earth with faithfulness — knowledge of the Lord (11:9).
Although God’s justice is not fully here right now, we join the seraphim of Isaiah 6 as we pray Psalm 99 and recite God’s holiness three times, anticipating that God will bring justice to pass.
We have confidence in God’s power and commitment to do this, so we worship Him as though He has already done it: “You have established fairness; you have administered justice and righteousness in Jacob”
(v. 4).
God is set apart in His actions toward us. (6–9)
We cannot take for granted that we will land on the right side of God’s justice.
Just as we remember that Moses, Aaron and Samuel cried to the Lord and God rescued them in His justice, we remember that they kept God’s statutes and decrees (v. 7).
We also seek to be keeping God’s just decrees so that we are found on the right side of God’s coming justice.
We know that God avenges the wrongdoer and forgives those who repent of injustice and turn to the Father and the Son, who give the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of all injustice and transform us into a people who are holy and committed to seeking God’s Kingdom and its justice (Matt. 6:33).
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