PSALM 3 : Peace in the Midst of the Storm

 

This Psalm which is ascribed to David also carries this important piece of information in the superscript:  “When he fled from his son Absalom”.  This event refers to 2 Samuel 15-19.

There is a long prelude to this story. Having had more than one wife and so many children he was not only a poor husband but also a poor father. But it all escalated with Batsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his top soldiers!  He took another man’s wife, and in the end he paid dearly. In, fact When the Holy Spirit finally brought conviction into David’s life by the agency of Nathan the prophet, he was broken! Shattered!   Psalm 51 was composed as a result. Although David was forgiven by God, David was informed that there would be perpetual trouble in his household. The prophet Nathan, speaking on behalf of God said: “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”   (2 Sam. 12:10)

What followed, he could scarcely have imagined.  The first trouble came when his son Absalom (3^rd son by his wife Maacah – 2 Sam. 3:3) attempted to take the kingdom from him by force. 2 Sam.  15:6 says that, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel”.  The situation became so serious that David actually had to leave Jerusalem to flee across the Jordan river. It was a desperate time.  He did not know who was with him and who was against him. 

 

DIVISION:  This Psalm may be divided into four parts  

1. 3: 1- 2 David  CONFESSES  his  ANXIETY
2. 3:3 -6   He  DECLARES   his  ASSURANCE in the Lord
3.  3: 7   He  EXPRESSES    his ANGER  in imprecatory  prayer towards God 
4.  3:8   He  DECLARES  his  ASSURANCE in the Lord once more  

 

This Psalm represents a full range of emotions in human experience, particularly those arising from fear , anxiety and a sense of forsakenness. Many Psalms deal with this theme (e.g. Ps 46, 73, 77,88). As a pastor I have been  privileged to sit with many people  for whom,  from their perspective  the end had come , and what joy it is  to  help them to  lift their eyes above the circumstances … “ I lift my eyes to the hills . From where does my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Ps 121:1,2).  It is wonderful to “lead (them) to the rock that is higher than  (themselves) “ (Psalm  61:2) We thank God for the perspective of the Psalms! 

As we survey this Psalm we must know that it is fairly normal to experience (extreme) fluctuations in emotions. These fluctuations is  a part of our experience  as  fallen human beings.

You will note that David moves from anxiety to assurance to anger, and back to assurance.  If he had lived in our day, a modern psychologist might have classified him as bi-polar, and put him on anti-depressants. But there were no anti- depressants in those days. What does one do when one’s life is turned upside down? Where do you go?  As you   read the Psalm , note that even though David is at sea with his emotions, God is not!  The constant is God!  David has learned to go to God.

 1.  DAVID’S ANXIETY  (3: 1-2)

 1 O LORD, how many are my foes!  Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah                 

Note the repetition … many, many, many…David is clearly overwhelmed and anxious. Now if you   look at  2 Samuel 15:12 you will find there that, "while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.”  There is the situation. Many enemies! “When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions”. (Shakespeare: Hamlet).  “Troubles always come in flocks. Sorrow hath a numerous family “  (Spurgeon).  When trouble piles up, the heart sinks. Anxiety!

The most damaging assault upon David’s heart and mind however occurs in 3:2: “many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.” 

This is the most devastating blow!  If God forsakes us – if God is against us, who can be for us? This is like saying – there is no hope for David. That thought of God- forsakenness is the scariest thing to conceive of in my mind. Spurgeon comments,  

“If all the trials which come from heaven, all the temptations which ascend from hell, and all the crosses which arise from the earth, could be mixed and pressed together, they would not make a trial so terrible as that which is contained in this verse. It is the most bitter of all afflictions to be led to fear that there is no help for us in God.” [1]

 This God forsakenness is what Jesus feared most – “ My God, my God why have you forsaken me?“ This was the curse of curses!   To be deserted of His Father was worse than to be the despised of men.

 

"Selah" :  A musical pause; the precise meaning of which is not known. Some think it simply a rest, a pause in the music to reflect and consider the serious nature of what is being said.

 

Note what  this pause  brings … ASSURANCE

 

2. 3:3-6    David   DECLARES   his  ASSURANCE in the Lord

 

As David verbalizes his anxiety, and as he pauses a while to reflect, this thought is brought  to mind,

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

All of a sudden there is perspective! 

·         The Lord is his shield! The fiery darts of the evil one assaulting his anxious mind are able to bounce off. 

·         The Lord is his glory! Someone greater than his circumstances is   here!

·         The Lord is the lifter of his head. When our head hangs down, we lose perspective. When our head is lifted we can see above the circumstances.

And again Spurgeon comments to very helpfully, “a divine trio of mercies is contained in this verse!— defence for the defenceless, glory for the despised, and joy for the  downcast.[2]

3:4  I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

In his anxiety, David prayed- aloud (lit. with my voice). As soon as David prayed in his distress, God sent an answer from His holy hill – from heaven. This request was instantly answered, because God saw the need to preserve David at this very moment, lest he sink into  utter despair  (beyond what he could bear: 1 Cor.  10:13 -  “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

 

Here  follows  another Selah.  Another pause for reflection …

 3:5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.     

This Selah leads to a long pause.  And this is the answer to David’s prayer.  In His   mercy, God gives David exactly what he needs at this stage: sleep!   One of the most terrible effects of having a distressed soul and an anxious spirit is that you struggle to sleep at night. Not David in this case! He finds his rest in God.

In Psalm 127  we  some further perspective on the connection between anxiety and  sleep: “It  is in vain that you rise up early sand go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil ; for He gives to His beloved sleep.” (v.2)

God gave David sleep! What wonderful recuperative powers are there in sleep. Once your body and mind is rested, your spirit copes much better, and your emotional resources  are  restored. See how this affects David:

3:6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Please note! Nothing has changed in terms of his situation. His enemies are still many, many, many.

So what has changed? His perspective under God has changed. Emotionally he is coping because He presently knows that God is in charge – with God for us , who can be against us ? (Rom. 8:31)

 3.  3:7   David’s Divine Anger &  Imprecatory Prayer

 7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

In the beginning of the Psalm we find David fearful and anxious. Following a good sleep, perspective returns as he prays. But there is more than perspective which returns to him now.

David realizes that those that have become his enemies, and who have driven him from the throne,  where he  sat as the God ordained king, - that these  men  are actually sinning against God. He is actually now in the wrong place. He should be ruling   his people, but instead he is being chased like a dog. 

What can he do? He can pray:  “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! “. Salvation here does not refer  to the salvation which we need to become the children of God. He refers here to the salvation from this particular situation.

What else does he pray?  For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. This type of prayer is called ‘imprecatory prayer‘. We have a number of Psalms where such prayer is used (see for instance 7:6,9;  10:15; 35:1; 55:9 etc.) There is a time when we are called to pray in such a fashion, particularly when the wicked rule a city or country.

 4.  3:8   David   DECLARES  his  ASSURANCE in the Lord once more  

 3:8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah

This verse contains the cherry on the top. It contains that truth that ought to make every believer jump for joy: Salvation belongs to the LORD!  Remember verse 1? There is no salvation from him in God.  That is what they say. But what does God say? What is He saying to David after his perspective has been refreshed  after physical rest  and spiritual reflection? “Salvation belongs to the LORD”;   

·         Not only that salvation by which we are made the children of God,

·         but also  the ongoing salvation, by which the LORD continues to deliver His people from Satan’s onslaughts and its  accompanying effects such as depression  (melancholy)  which comes upon us from time to time  as we consider our  ‘ hopeless’  circumstances .

 In the last sentence  the objects of  God’s salvation are plainly stated: "Your  blessing be  upon your people." God’s blessing is upon His chosen people. In this case His blessing is on His chosen king – David who is the representative of the people of God in the OT dispensation.  

 

This is followed once again by the "Selah:"

Pause to reflect and think  upon this fact,  that  although  the child of God, and the king of God are  brought under immense pressure (even sometimes due to their own fault), yet the love of God is not taken away  from us, if we truly belong to Jesus. “Your  blessing is upon your  people."

I close with Spurgeon’s comment at this point:

“Pause, my soul, at this Selah, and consider thine own interest in the salvation of God; and if by humble faith thou art enabled to see Jesus as thine by his own free gift of himself to thee, if this greatest of all blessings be upon thee, rise up and sing!

In singing this, and praying it over, we must own the satisfaction we have had in depending upon God and committing ourselves to him, and encourage ourselves, and one another to continue still hoping and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord. ( Matthew Henry)

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[1] C.H. Spurgeon : Treasury of David, Psalm 3

[2] ibid

PSALM 80 “HOW LONG WILL YOU BE ANGRY WITH YOUR PEOPLE’S PRAYERS?”

 

Superscript:  A Psalm of Asaph. “Upon Shoshannim-eduth”[1] translated here  in the ESV as “According to Lillies”. A testimony  (Hebr. eduth [2]- reference to the contents of the Psalm as a public testimony in regard to the dealings of God with his people)

Psalm 79 closes with -  “we are your people, the sheep of Your pasture” (79:13) while Psalm 80 begins with these words, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock” (80: 1). As NT believers we are immediately reminded of John 10 where Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd.

Some commentators think that the background for Psalm 80 is the Assyrian invasion and deportation of the northern tribes in 722 B.C. (see 2 Kings 17:6)- the reference to the northern tribes of Joseph – Ephraim and Manasseh; The name of Joseph  is applied to the whole nation in other Asaph psalms (Psalm 77:15; Psalm 81:5). Others think that it refers to the later Babylonian captivity in 587 BC with reference to the broken walls in 80:12.  It is impossible to determine with certainty the time or the occasion of its composition.

What is clear is that this Psalm is written by Asaph at a time when Israel   wasn’t doing well – spiritually, morally or physically.  The glory days had gone.  The heavens were like brass. This is seen in 80:4 -   “how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?”   God seemed distant and absent. The world was laughing at them (80:6). 

The modern evangelical church can identify with these words in Psalm 80. While sports stadiums  and  shopping  malls  are springing  out of the ground,  bursting with enthusiastic   sports supporters and shoppers, most  churches struggle  to  keep their people  focussed  on the kingdom  of God. Those churches that appear to thrive are often pandering to the present culture and by entertaining the people. When people walk their dogs  past our church on a Sunday morning and evening,  and when they hear the sounds of our singing, what do they think? “I am missing out on something here!”  Somehow, I don’t think so.  So, what is God doing in the world?  The straight forward answer is this: He is still building His kingdom in the midst  of this fallen humanity.  

So how come we don’t see  it? The answer to that  is more complex,  and it is reflected  in this 80th Psalm.

The Psalm divides into three parts. Each part ends with this refrain: “Restore us oh  God…” -  see 80: 3,7,19. 

This is essentially an appeal for restoration

 Outline

1.      80:1-3  An Appeal to God to hear  and save Israel

2.      80:4-7  Agony  over the lack of God’s  manifested presence among his people

3.      80: 8-19  An Appeal to God’s historical involvement   and a  renewed call for the  restoration of Israel

1.         80:1-3   An appeal to God to hear  and save Israel

80:1 “Give ear O Shepherd of Israel”. It is the nature of a shepherd to hear the cries of his sheep.  God is still the Shepherd of His people, even when they do not feel like He is…. 

“you who lead Joseph like a flock”.  The reference is here made to Joseph the second youngest son of Jacob, the firstborn to Rachel. Joseph became a second father to the tribes of Israel when they were in Egypt. He was the human agent by which Israel was saved from certain death in that great famine. See Jacob’s blessing upon Joseph in Gen. 48:15,16  and 49:22-26. 

Asaph appeals  to the God  of the holy of holies: “you who  are enthroned upon the cherubim shine forth ”-  a depiction of  God enthroned in the temple above the golden cherubim on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Remember that the mercy seat (the ark of the covenant with its atoning function) in the tabernacle / temple was the place of God’s manifested presence, and here Israel always found her final court of appeal. In her darkest  times Israel would appeal to the mercy seat.  Here at the mercy seat God heard His people’s prayers and here He revealed His grace to them.  As NT believers  we remember that Jesus is our  atonement. He is the true mercy seat and we may appeal to Him boldly. Our greatest fear ought to be the withdrawal of the Lord’s presence which happens when sin invades  the church.

80:2  “Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your might and come to save us!”  Rachel’s sons Joseph (v.1) and Benjamin (v.2) represent the Northern and the Southern kingdoms, respectively. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons. They became the dominant tribes of what was later known as the northern kingdom.  In Numbers 2:17-24 these three tribes were always camped together on the western side of the tabernacle.  

80:3 “Restore us (lit. turn us), O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved”  (so also vv.  7, 19). God’s people in desperate days  need  the restoring and refreshing of their souls that only the Shepherd can provide (Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul”).  God’s face “shining upon” someone is symbolic of His favour. (see the  Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26)

2.         80:4-7  Agony  over the lack of God’s  manifested presence among his people

80:4 “O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?  God is angry with the nation, and the question is “how long?” (cf. Psalm 13:1ff)  This question is asked in 79:5. 

80:5 “You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure”. The absence of God causes grief. This is the same dilemma which troubles many people today. Prayers are  unanswered for reasons they do not fully understand. All they knew was that life was harsh and painful. Tears were their daily diet, tears were given them  to drink in full measure.’

80:6  Worse still, their  neighbours and enemies (Edom, Moab)  were laughing and jeering at them. Where is your God? (Psalm 42:3,10)

80:7  Refrain repeated

3. 80: 8-19 An appeal to God’s historical involvement  and a renewed call for restoration of Israel

80:8 - 10 “You brought out a vine from Egypt” .  Genesis 49:22 is probably in view here. Other such metaphors include the vineyard in Isaiah 3:14-15; 5:1-7; 27:2-6; Jeremiah 2:21; 12:10; Hosea 10:1; Matthew 21:33-46; and John 15:1.  The vine is a metaphor for Israel. This vine settled  and established in the promised land by God. The purpose of this vine  was to flourish  and produce fruit.

80:11 “It sent out its branches to the sea . . . the River”. These geographical references identify western and eastern limits of the Promised Land -  the Mediterranean Sea and the River Euphrates.

80:12-13 These boundaries were now invaded and disregarded by “a boar from the forest”.   The boar might symbolize Assyria and her invasion of Israel and Judah. Assyria carried the northern ten tribes into captivity (722 B.C.).  It could also refer to the Babylonian exile. 

[Interesting fact:  According to the Talmud, the middle letter in the Hebrew word translated “forest” as the middle letter of the Psalter.]

80:14 -16 “O God of hosts”  (cf. vv. 3, 7, 19). Their prayer is that the God of hosts (He can summon all the powers of heaven and earth to do His will, to help His people—will look down from heaven and take care of “this vine”…  “turn again now” - the crux of the Psalm: a plea that in his mercy God will look on this vine again, and thus do for  this vine something  that it cannot do for itself.  This Shepherd of Israel must bring the straying sheep back, for they will never come back of their own accord.

80:17 “the man of Your right hand”. This could be a reference to Benjamin (whose name means, “son of my right hand”), “the son of man”. Some commentators take this as a reference to the Messiah. This was also the view of the early rabbis.Such phraseology in this verse could also refer to Israel (cf. v. 15; Ex 4:22) or to their king, but from a NT perspective we know that  only  the Son of God  can fix this broken  generation. Our hope is in Him alone.

 COMMENTARY

We learn from the Scriptures  and from history  that a  people who has received God’s  Word and His favours, and  who are  then  despising  the means of His grace, ignoring  God’s call  to holy living in favour of the pursuit of  their pleasures and idols – that  such people   are  left behind by  God,  and  they are left exposed to their enemies  (see  80:6,13,16)

The Shepherd of Israel, who is also the good Shepherd of the church (Ps. 80:1; Jn. 10) has brought this nation, this people, this vine  out of Egypt  to be planted in  Canaan (80:8). In  pursuit of that goal He  drove out the nations from Canaan. He made this nation to grow and prosper (80:10,11), particularly  under the reigns of David and Solomon.  But it all ended – first with  the divided kingdom under Rehoboam, and then  with the exile of the respective kingdoms-the northern kingdom under the prophetic ministry of Isaiah (around 722 BC) and the  southern kingdom  under the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah  (around 586 BC).

In  80:12 all hangs in the balance: “Why then have you broken down its walls….?“. It is at this low point  in Israel’s history that Asaph  calls upon God in prayer (Psalm 80:14-19). From the Scriptures we  know that God hears His people’s  prayers when they cry out to Him with truly repentant hearts. He never forsakes His people- even when they sin.  Though He  cannot  ignore their sin because of  His holiness (He must  punish all  their sin to remain holy and just), yet  He is  also committed to delivering  His people from their  sin. Those are twin truths  about God that must never be  separated!

With that as our background 80:17&18  become truly meaningful: “But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call  upon your name!

Our man is the Lord Jesus Christ! And brothers and sisters,  the church of these last 2000 years has gone through prosperity and adversity, according to her faithfulness or  faithlessness  to God her Saviour, and then being   restored  at various times (in revival and reformation) according to the mercy of God, and through pleadings like  this Psalm.  This Son of man  is our  only hope: But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call  upon your name!

We have entered the season  of Advent. We shall  now  enter into a period of remembering  the Lord Jesus, the Son of God who became the Son of man, so that the sons of men  might become the sons of God. 

Let us use this season then to seek Him afresh, trusting Him for  another restoration of the church of our day.

O may  He shine His face upon us that  He will no longer  be angry with His people’s prayers  - and that we may be saved.  

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[1] Psalms 45,60,69

[2] See  60

PSALM 99 “EXALT THE LORD OUR GOD … HE IS HOLY ”

 

This Psalm is part of a group of theocratic Psalms (Psalms 93– 100). The general subject is the kingship of God the LORD (Yahweh), and the praise derived from the fact that He reigns. OUTLINE

I. The LORD Is Holy in His  Being (vv. 1-3)

II. The LORD Is Holy in His  Justice (vv. 4-5)

III. The LORD Is Holy in His  Forgiveness (vv. 6-9)

This threefold repetition of God’s holiness reminds us of the angels refrain in Isaiah’s vision of God: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:3). Spurgeon calls it the “Holy, holy, holy Psalm”.[1] In Isaiah, the manifestation of God’s presence causes the thresholds of the temple to tremble (Isa 6:4); so here in Ps. 99:1b, the whole earth quakes.

I chose this Psalm for this evening, because I wanted us to think about the attribute of God’s holiness. There is probably no attribute of God which needs to be rediscovered more in our day than His holiness. The modern church seems to be more enamoured with the therapeutic and psychological uses of God to provide us with inner peace, than  with the fact that He is holy and therefore, having created us in His image, He is calling us to be holy.  

Holiness is what defines God’s character most fundamentally. The holiness of God (Hebr. quodesh) is a quality which separates God from everything else He has created. To use a German phrase  - “ER ist der ganz Andere” – He is the wholly Other. God’s holiness is closely associated with His glory (Hebr. kabod),  a word which associates God with being weighty. The point is that if we do not revere God as holy, then He rests lightly on us. And that is the curse that we find in our modern church. God is not seen and understood as holy and glorious. He rests lightly on us.We easily  substitute Him for created glory,  and that is what causes  God to  hand  us over to our depraved  beings (Romans 1:8ff) - when we are, as it where, left to our own devices and left to destroy ourselves. Oh, brothers and sisters pray that the Lord would rend the heavens and come down … to make His name known to our adversaries  and that the nations  might tremble at His presence” (Isaiah 64:1 ,2)

I.                    99: 1-3 The LORD Is Holy in His  Being

99:1 The Lord reigns.  He is the Great I AM that I AM. YAHWEH is His Name. He is the undisputed Ruler of the Universe – there is no one besides Him. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end; let the people tremble[2] (cf. 96:9)... let the  earth quake.

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim (cf. Ps 80:1). The allusion here is to the Shechinah glory - manifested in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, in the holy of holies on the mercy-seat, between the cherubim. Here God promised to have His earthly visible dwelling[3]. The cherubim are first mentioned as guarding the gates of Paradise (Gen.3:24);  In Ezekiel 1 & Ezekiel 10 we find them carrying the throne of God upon their wings through the clouds;  But here in the tabernacle/ temple they are made as statues overlaid with gold. They overshadow the cover of the ark of the covenant. Between the two cherubim in the temple, the Shechinah, or visible symbol of the presence of God, rested and therefore God is represented here as “dwelling between the cherubim,”[4]

99:2 The Lord is great in Zion – (cf. Psalm 95:3). We have already seen that the LORD reigns in the earth. That signifies His greatness. But we see now in particular that He is great in Zion -  in context Jerusalem, but beyond that  this also refers to  the  manifested presence of  the  city of God, which is the church – His people,  and ultimately the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9).   God is ever within the true Church. But remember this – the greatness of the true Church is God. Not her wealth, prestige, orthodoxy, culture, or intelligence, but His inhabitation – according to the covenantal promise: I will be your God- you will be my people!

And “he is exalted above all the peoples” - Above all the nations. He has them under his control. He rules over all. The God who rules in Zion – the church, also rules all the nations of the earth.  The peoples of the earth do not bow to him now, but the day will come when every knee will bow, and every tongue confess to God (Isa. 45:23 cf. Rom. 14:11; see also Phil. 2:10-11 –  where  this is applied to  the Lord Jesus)

99:3 Let them praise your great and awesome (being feared) name. The Name and the Being of God in its very nature evokes awe and reverence. The word “them” here refers to both Zion and all peoples. The entire world owes  God praise by virtue of who He is – and again , if they do not do so now, they will then, when He appears in glory!

The first section ends, as the second and third do, by stating, ”Holy is He!  This fundamental attribute of God needs to be meditated upon. We need to understand this. We need to see Him for who He is, being absolutely distinct from all His creatures, and exalted above His creatures in infinite majesty. His holiness is seen by us in His display of holiness. No man can see God and live. The holiness of God is seen in  His absolute moral purity. He is completely without sin and apart from it. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This means that nothing unclean, defiled, sinful, dark can enter His presence.

Do you now appreciate the atoning death of Jesus, whose blood cleanses us from sin, and who presents us faultless in the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24)?

God is called holy more often than any other title. His name, which signifies all his attributes is holy (Ps. 103:1).  There is no other attribute of God repeated three times in the praise of it. We never read of the angels crying out, “Eternal, eternal, eternal” or “Faithful, faithful, faithful” or “Love, love, love.” In fact, we can say that God’s holiness relates to all of His perfections: His justice is a holy justice; his wisdom a holy wisdom; his love is a holy love  etc.

II.  99:4-5 The LORD Is Holy in His  Justice

99:4 The King in his might loves justice. The word king here refers to God as a king, cf. 99:1. The word rendered “might” means strength and the reference here is to what constitutes the main strength or power of His character and the nature of His government. God’s essential character, and all the displays of his authority, display justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.  God is always on the side of justice and  always on the side of that that which is  right.

99:5 Exalt the LORD our God - Let his name be lifted up on high. Let it be seen from far away.  Let it be done with a raised voice!  Worship at his footstool.  Worship (Hebr. shahah here literally translates as “be prostrated/ bowed down”). Exalting God as a human being relates to the act of lowering/ humbling ourselves – to see ourselves in proper relation to Him. To worship at his footstool.  The reference here is to the footstool on which the feet of a king rested when he sat on his throne (see also Ps. 132:7 ). It reflects a common ancient near eastern practice of bowing at the feet of a king on his throne. Holy is he (cf. 99:3). The fact that God is holy is a reason for humbling ourselves, bowing down before Him.

III.  99:6-9 The LORD Is Holy in His  Forgiveness

99: 6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among them that call upon his name.  Moses, Aaron and Samuel were spiritual leaders. These three interceded for the people of Israel and at various times acted as guardians of the Lord’s testimonies and statutes that they had received. They were responsible for leading Israel in true worship.   They called to the Lord and he answered them. They were the example, they were the custodians of public worship. They taught Israel how to approach God, as the elders of our church are also reminding you this coming week concerning how to approach God in prayer and fasting.

“And he answered them” -  When they approached God, He heard their prayers. „ “He” is an emphatic pronoun: “They called on the LORD, and He Himself answered them.”

It is not a useless thing to praise and worship God Him. In fact, it is right and fitting for His creatures to do so! We must come to God in prayer expecting to hear from Him. Indeed, prayer and praise is a right response  to  a holy God.

99:7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them - the pillar which guided the Israelites in the wilderness - the “Shechinah” - the visible symbol of the divine presence. They kept his testimonies ...  They obeyed his laws, and therefore God heard them and answered them.  Note – “He spoke . . . He gave . . . You answered (v.8)”.  God is a prayer answering God.

9:8 O Lord our God you answered them.  You were a forgiving God to them - They were not perfect; they were sinners; they often offended  the LORD , and yet He  answered them, and showed them mercy. He is a forgiving God.  Only God can forgive our sin.

“…but an avenger of their wrongdoings”  -  their sins. There is no allusion to  any particular sin  here, and so we take it in a general sense. God being holy does not overlook sin – whether it be the sin of these leaders of the sin of this nation.  Most commentators believe that the reference is primarily to Israel’s sin.

99:9 Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain - In 99:5, “at his footstool.” The “holy hill” here refers to Zion, as the seat of the national worship. For the Lord our God is holy – cf. 99:5. This closes the Psalm with the repeated fact he fact that God is a holy God This remains at all times the highest reason for our praise of Him.

APPLICATION

·         The Lord is  King – let us  tremble. This is true for all peoples of the world

·         The Lord loves justice

·         We must abandon sin, because God is holy.

·         We must praise Him  because He is holy

·         We must bring our petitions to God, because He answers prayer.

·         We must exalt and worship God, because He forgives sin.

·         Our prayer and praise becomes richer and deeper when we study the holiness of God.

 

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[1] C.H. Spurgeon : The Treasury of David, Vol II, p.225

[2] The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this, “Let the people rage” - or, be angry: as if the idea were that God reigned, although the people were enraged, and were opposed to him.

[3] Exodus 25:18, Exodus 25:22; Exodus 37:7; 1Sa 4:4; 1 Kings 6:25

[4] Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1