Holy is He!

Psalm 99 (February 14, 2010)

1) The Text

1The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
3Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
4Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
6Moses 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.
7He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
8O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.

2) The Context

Psalms is a collection of collections. The psalms were written over many centuries, stretching from the days of Solomon's temple (about 950 BC) to after the Exile (about 350 BC.) Psalms are of five types: hymns of praise, laments, thanksgiving psalms, royal psalms, and wisdom psalms. Within the book, there are five "books"; there is a doxology at the end of each book.

Psalm 99 is a hymn of praise to God as king. The endings of Vv. 3, 5 and 9 are perhaps a refrain, said or sung by worshippers as they “extol” (v. 9) God. God, on his throne above the “cherubim” (v. 1, the half-human, half-animal creatures thought to hover above the altar) in the Temple, is to be praised by “all the peoples” (v. 2). V. 4 lists some qualities God has shown “Jacob”, the people of Israel. (His “footstool”, v. 5, is the Ark). For Israel, God has also helped people in need (vv. 6, 8), given them just laws (v. 7); and punished and forgiven them where appropriate (v. 8).

“Moses ... Aaron” (v. 6) and “Samuel” were known for communicating with God, and were his representatives. “His holy mountain” (v. 9) is Mount Zion, the hill on which Jerusalem stands.

3) Interpretation

Psalm 99 is the last of a group of four psalms (Psalms 96-99) which speak about the sovereignty or kingship of God. There is a threefold structure to this psalm. After an initial statement about kingship of God in the third person expressing the influence of that kingship not only in Zion but over nations (vv. 1-2), there follows an address to the Lord with the refrain ‘Holy is He’ (v. 3). It could be that this refrain is meant to be said by all people. There is a further address to the Lord (v. 4) with a final call to the people to repeat the refrain (v. 5). On this occasion the nature of God’s sovereignty is explored a little with references to God loving justice, establishing equity, and executing justice and righteousness in Israel. These are all the things earthly kings were responsible for too (cf. Psalm 72). Indeed the human monarch’s ability to deliver such ideals was dependent on their relationship with God. This may be evident in the Hebrew at the start of v. 4 which translates ‘and a king’s strength’ implying that God is the strength behind any human monarch, rather than the NRSV emendation ‘Mighty King’ referring to God.

The psalm concludes with a lengthier third section (vv. 6-9) in which there is reference to Moses, Aaron, and Samuel as three of God’s particular servants, to each of whom God spoke, answered, forgave and avenged their wrongdoings. These three stand out as exemplars of faith from the past, and yet ordinary individuals within the history of the community. This section ends with a third call to the people and a longer concluding refrain for them to say (v. 9).

There are some points which we should note about God’s sovereignty from this psalm. First it is universal in nature (v. 1) but expressed in a special relationship to God’s people. There is specificity in the psalms about God’s kingship which we can’t ignore. God is always proclaimed king vis-a-vis someone, namely Israel. God’s sovereignty is never some abstract, absolute entity without ties to human affairs. So just as lament psalms are willing to name the enemies of God, so enthronement psalms such as this one name those who are faithful and define clearly the nature of the one to whom they are faithful (v. 4). God’s sovereignty over the world, and over peoples proceeds from that point. The sovereignty of God is expressed in specific human instances of justice, equity and righteousness and in relation to the lives of real people.

In vv. 6-7 there is a twofold nature to the response to God’s sovereignty. There is the possibility of those who are faithful to cry out to God for deliverance from some trouble. The other side of that is obedience to God’s law, the ‘decrees’ and ‘statutes’ of v. 7c. If God’s sovereignty is expressed by an attentive divine response to God’s people, then there is the requirement of an equally attentive response by those same people to God’s ways. There is an expectation of both divine presence and a corresponding obedience to divine will. Divine presence and obedience to divine will both involve justice, equity and righteousness.

Verse 8 of the psalm probes matters deeper and reveals two sides to God’s presence and will. First God is a forgiving God. But God is also an avenger of the wrongdoings of God’s own people. When one, therefore, proclaims ‘The Lord is king’ as called forth in v. 1, one must do so in full awareness of the nature of the relationship which that statement reflects and the demands attendant upon it. To cry ‘Holy is He’ as the psalm calls for, is to proclaim God’s holiness not only in word but in relationship.

4) Thought Exercise

How does one demonstrate faithfulness to God’s ways?

How does God demonstrate His sovereignty in our lives?