Psalms 99:1

The Bible says in Psalm 99:1-2, “The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.[2] The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.” We know that God rules in heaven. That is the significance of saying that “he sitteth between the cherubims.” We know that God is with the angelic beings and they all obey Him, but do we also know that he “is great in Zion?” Jesus is the King of kings. That means that whoever is in power on the earth, Jesus is in charge of them. Jesus is in control of them. Jesus raised them up and gave them power, and Jesus will take them down when He chooses. Jesus keeps them from doing anything that He does not want them to do. Jesus holds them responsible for their actions. Jesus is in charge. It says in verse two that He is “high above all the people.” That does not mean only the common people. That means everyone.

The Bible says in Psalm 99:3, “Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.” God is so great that even His name is great. We cannot see God, but we have His name. His name stands for who He is. He is the eternally-existent One, He is the all powerful One, and He is the “holy” One. We need His power because we are so weak. We need His eternal life because we are mortal and life on earth is so short. And we need His forgiveness because He is so holy and we are sinful.

The Bible says in Psalm 99:4, “The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.” Jesus is the king. He is the judge too, so of course, He loves judgment. He loves “equity.” Everyone should be treated the same. Human beings love equity too. We want equality. We know by instinct that equality is the correct emphasis. Here is the good news: God loves equality too. He created equality. The Bible is the greatest book on equality ever written. Everyone is a sinner. God loves everyone. Jesus died for everyone on the cross. Everyone can go to heaven, if they get saved. Everyone gets saved the same way by calling upon the name of Jesus for forgiveness of sins. This is an equality of opportunity, but not an equality of outcomes.

The Bible says in Psalm 99:5, “Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.” Yes, God is holy. Guess who else is holy on this earth from a practical standpoint: no one. That is one of the amazing things about Jesus: He did not sin. It also shows how amazing is His love for us. He loves us even though we are a bunch of sinners. Once we believe in Jesus, He gives us the status of holiness even though we cannot earn it. That is love.

The Bible says in Psalm 99:6, “Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.” This is one of the main things that identify true believers: they call upon his name. You must call upon the name of Jesus to get saved. It says in Romans 10:13, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Once you are saved, you can call upon the name of Jesus every day in order to walk with your Savior. Before Christians were called Christians, they were called “those that call upon his name,” meaning the name of Jesus. It says in Acts 9:14, “And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.” And it says in Acts 9:21, “But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?”

The Bible says in Psalm 99:7, “He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.” Because there is a God who made us, He wants to give us His truth. You can know the truth about God because He has given His truth. That is why He gave a written form of His truth: so that all generations can know it. God gave His truth in written form, and God has preserved His truth. That is why we have the Bible available today. If you are wise, you will keep His testimonies too.

The Bible says in Psalm 99:8, “Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.” Three things that God does in the lives of believers are mentioned in this verse. God answers our prayers. What a tremendous resource we have. We can ask anything, and if it is God’s will, it will happen. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

The Lord also forgives us our sins. The Lord Jesus forgives our sins when we first become Christians in regards to the final judgment and eternal destiny, and He also forgives us our sins daily if we confess them to Him. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The way to keep following Jesus is to confess your sins every day. Every time that you know that you have done something, or said something, or thought something that you should not have, turn to Jesus, and ask for His forgiveness and then and only then you will stay on the straight and narrow way and keep following Him.

If you are a Christian and you do not confess your sins daily, then you will experience the third thing mentioned in Psalm 99:8 and that is God’s chastisement for His children. That is what it is talking about when it says, “though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.” It says in Hebrews 12:6, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” If you confess your own sins early, the Lord will not have to chastise you. That is why it says in First Corinthians 11:31-32, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.[32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

The Bible says in Psalm 99:9, “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.” The word “holy” is used twice in this verse, and of course is the main word of the verse. Holiness. Do not under-estimate the need to be holy in the service of Jesus our Savior. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves. Not of works, lest any should boast. See Ephesians chapter 2:8-9. But a person who truly gets saved is a person who desires to do right. And once we are saved, God wants us to grow in Christ and become better Christians. That is God’s will and that must be our burning desire.

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