Tremble before the Holy God

Psalm 99

1 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
    Holy is he!

4 Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity;
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool.
    Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
    They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
    they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.

8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
    you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain;

    for the Lord our God is holy.

We so easily minimize God. The thought of trembling before God sounds odd to us, out of step with the way our society thinks.

Someone told me that when they get to heaven they are going to say to God, “Hey buddy let’s have a beer.” I didn’t say what I was thinking, “You will be lucky to be flat on the ground before the majesty of God, unable to speak in the presence of such a majestic and awesome God.” This psalm drives home the point that God is greater than anyone or anything else in all of creation. King of all things (vs. 1); exalted over all people (vs. 2); great and awesome (vs. 3); the mighty king who brings justice (vs. 4) before God the only answer is to tremble (vs. 1); praise God (vs. 3); extol and worship God (vs. 5).

Further the repeated statement that God is holy – (vs. 3, 5, 9) – reminds us that God is not like human beings. God is perfect in all God’s ways and doings. Before such holiness, before such perfection, humanity falls on its knees in awe and wonder – worshipping – bringing honour to – God. Notice the links between the statement of God’s holiness and our worship – vs. 3: we are to praise God because “Holy is he!”; vs. 5 we are to worship at God’s footstool because “Holy is he!”; vs. 9 – we worship God because “God is holy.”

The holiness of God has only one response – humanity’s –our – worship. There is joy, hope, and exaltation in the truth that God is holy – that God is greater than us, wiser than us, more just than us, more forgiving than us – this is truly good news, and exaltation of God is good and right.   

PRAYER:

O God, you are holy. Before your holiness, your majesty, your justice and forgiveness – we bow in humble adoration and praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.