Holy is He (Psalm 99)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.189 Warning is Psalm Ninety nine. Psalm Ninety nine, listen, for this is 2 00:00:13.269 --> 00:00:21.070 the word of the Lord. The Lord Reigns. Let the People's tremble. 3 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:28.100 He sits enthroned upon the Cherubim. Let the earth quake. The Lord is 4 00:00:28.179 --> 00:00:33.579 Great in Zion. He is exalted over all the People's let them praise your 5 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:39.969 great and awesome name. Holy is he. The king in his might loves 6 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:46.090 justice. You have established equity, you have executed Justice and Righteousness in Jacob. 7 00:00:47.409 --> 00:00:52.159 Exalt the Lord our God. Worship at his footstool. Holy is he. 8 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:58.560 Moses and Erin were among his priests. Samuel also was among those who 9 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:03.840 called upon his name. They called to the Lord and he answered them. 10 00:01:03.989 --> 00:01:07.870 In the pillar of the cloud, he spoke to them. They kept his 11 00:01:08.069 --> 00:01:14.069 testimonies and the statute that he gave them. Oh, Lord our God, 12 00:01:14.230 --> 00:01:17.909 you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger 13 00:01:18.069 --> 00:01:23.819 of their wrongdoings. Exalt the Lord our God, worship at his Holy Mountain, 14 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:29.980 for the Lord our God is, is holy. That's why the reading 15 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:37.489 of God's word, may He bless it to us now. As I read 16 00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:44.849 through this Psalm, I was reminded of an obvious truth. I came across 17 00:01:45.450 --> 00:01:51.599 just this year that actually startled me the first time I heard it, and 18 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:55.000 the idea struck me that's a weird thing to happen, that an obvious truth 19 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:00.670 would also be shocking or surprising. Now, this is not a statement that 20 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:07.430 any one of US would deny. It's an obvious truth. There's nothing controversial, 21 00:02:07.510 --> 00:02:09.030 and what I'm about to say, but maybe you'll find it shocking, 22 00:02:09.310 --> 00:02:13.750 is as well. I mean, it's painfully obvious, and yet it was 23 00:02:13.789 --> 00:02:20.580 shocking to me. And this obvious truth that the Psalm reminds me of is 24 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:28.340 that the Kingdom of God is not a democracy. The Kingdom of God is 25 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:35.289 not a democracy, right. I mean that's not news to any one of 26 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:39.490 us. Our bibles tell us time and again that Christ is king of kings, 27 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:46.560 Lord of Lords. And in light of all of our political ponderings, 28 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.919 how often do we reflect on the nature of our Lord's reigning, on the 29 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.960 nature, sure of our Lord's kingship and his rule? We all know that 30 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:04.150 God is sovereign. He rules over the entirety of creation. There's nothing outside 31 00:03:04.189 --> 00:03:09.909 of his control. YET IS AMERICANS DEMOCRACY? Right is. It's burned into 32 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:16.060 our DNA and therefore it's easy to forget just how foreign the Kingdom of God 33 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:24.340 truly is to our daytoday experiences. What this psalm does, then, is 34 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:30.370 it? It wakes us up to the nature of our Lord's rule. We 35 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:37.449 hear from these words that our lord's rule is absolute, and yet he rules 36 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:43.199 by being present. He rules by being present with and among his people. 37 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:50.800 When I one of the reasons that I love the psalms is because they're not 38 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:57.509 written in a vacuum. This psalm is placed in and among similar psalms which 39 00:03:57.509 --> 00:04:03.990 express similar concern over the Lord's reign. A few psalms earlier, in Psalm 40 00:04:04.069 --> 00:04:09.789 Ninety six, verse ten, we hear these words the Lord Reigns, let 41 00:04:09.830 --> 00:04:18.019 the Earth rejoice, let the many coast lands be glad. That knows. 42 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:19.980 No, sorry, I'm sorry. So I'm ninety six ten is the Lord 43 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:24.139 reigns. Yes, the world is established, it shall never be moved. 44 00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:30.689 Do you hear how the Lord's reign grants stability to his creation and to the 45 00:04:30.730 --> 00:04:33.370 Psalm Ninety seven. That begins. The Lord Reigns, let the Earth Rejoice, 46 00:04:33.410 --> 00:04:38.250 let the coast lands be glad. And so his reign brings joy, 47 00:04:38.490 --> 00:04:45.120 his reign brings peace, but now psalm ninety nine sounds a little different. 48 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:49.680 The Lord reigns, were told once again, let the people's tremble, he 49 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:58.149 sits and throned upon the Cherubum. Let the earth quake. Now, in 50 00:04:58.230 --> 00:05:02.029 Psalm Ninety six and Psalm Ninety seven, the Lord's reign creates rejoicing, it 51 00:05:02.189 --> 00:05:13.779 creates stability. Here it creates trembling and quaking. What's going on? Well, 52 00:05:13.819 --> 00:05:16.980 it raises an awesome question. What does the presence of God's Holy Reign 53 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:26.449 Do? What is the presence of God's Holy Reign Create? Peace, conflict? 54 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:34.009 The psalter answers will yes, yes, let the People's Tremble, let 55 00:05:34.089 --> 00:05:39.639 the earth quake, for he reigns, he sits and throned upon the Cherubum. 56 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:46.240 Now what's the reason for this trembling? What's the reason for this quaking? 57 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:55.629 The earth quakes because the world is not like God, and we tremble 58 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:59.029 because, though made in his image, we are very different from God. 59 00:06:00.949 --> 00:06:05.620 His holy rule reminds us that he is strong and it shows us that we 60 00:06:06.420 --> 00:06:13.180 are not. We are weak, he is powerful, we are frail. 61 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:21.250 And we're told again and again he is holy, and this shows us that 62 00:06:21.370 --> 00:06:28.970 we are unholy. We are sinners, and not only do the people tremble, 63 00:06:29.089 --> 00:06:34.519 but even the mighty mountains are brought low. The Psalm doesn't end there. 64 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:39.319 Write the song continues. The Lord is Great and Zion. He has 65 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:44.199 exalted over all the People's. Let them praise your great and awesome name. 66 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:53.350 Holy is he. Now the Lord's holy reign truly is humbling. And yet 67 00:06:53.389 --> 00:07:00.269 notice this powerful the presence of our God. It doesn't scatter the unholy people's 68 00:07:00.310 --> 00:07:06.060 to the winds. Now, what is he doing? He is gathering praise. 69 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:14.180 He gathers worship. Rather than driving away the trembling people's, he unites 70 00:07:14.220 --> 00:07:18.490 them in praise. And did you catch the subtle turn in verse three? 71 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:24.009 I love this. It's a turn that will happen many times throughout this psalm. 72 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:30.040 Listen to verses one through three and pay attention to where is the author 73 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:35.959 when he writes this Psalm. He says the Lord Reigns. Let the People's 74 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:40.480 Tremble, he sits enthroned upon the chair them. Let the earth quake. 75 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.389 The Lord is Great in Zion. He has exalted over all the People's. 76 00:07:45.269 --> 00:07:54.910 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he. Did you 77 00:07:54.990 --> 00:08:00.300 catch verse three? There I mean he speaks of our Lord's ruling and reigning 78 00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:05.660 over all the People's, over all the earth. This image of God's global 79 00:08:05.939 --> 00:08:11.660 reign creates distance, it creates separation in our minds, as if God has 80 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:15.449 to be far away, above all, overseeing it all, in order to 81 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:20.689 accomplish that work. And yet our Psalm, which tells us about God, 82 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:28.040 exhorts us about God in Verse Three Turns and addresses God himself. Let them 83 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:33.960 praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he? So where? Where 84 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:41.590 is our author? He's in the presence of the Lord. The Lord who 85 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:48.309 is Great in Zion, exalted over all the People's, is also near his 86 00:08:48.549 --> 00:08:52.750 reign and power and in holiness, and he's doing all of it from right 87 00:08:52.789 --> 00:09:01.460 here, from the presence of his people. Now I'm out of the loop, 88 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:09.889 thankfully, on what's trending nowadays in Evangelical Christian circles, but it used 89 00:09:09.889 --> 00:09:15.610 to be a popular form of evangelism to go up to strangers and ask people, 90 00:09:16.049 --> 00:09:20.889 do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Now it's not that I 91 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:26.799 really care about that question, but the assumption behind that question was usually that 92 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:33.879 your relationship with God doesn't begin until you become a Christian. But is that 93 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:41.470 the assumption of this psalm or SOM reminds us the Lord is reigning, he 94 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:48.990 is powerful, he is holy and he is near. And because of who 95 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:56.059 he is, because of what he's doing, there's already a relationship between God 96 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:01.059 and his creation, and it's a relationship that demands your praise. Let them 97 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:07.809 praise your great and awesome name. So the question isn't do you have a 98 00:10:07.889 --> 00:10:13.850 relationship with Jesus, but what kind of relationship do you have with this king 99 00:10:13.009 --> 00:10:20.049 of creation? Do you reject his great and awesome name, or do you 100 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:26.480 praise his great and awesome name? For you see, we praise God not 101 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:31.879 only for who he is, we also praise him for what he is doing. 102 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:37.149 Let's look at the work of our Lord and verses four and five. 103 00:10:37.710 --> 00:10:43.830 The king in his might loves justice. You have established equity, you have 104 00:10:43.070 --> 00:10:50.299 executed justice and righteousness. In Jacob Exalt, the Lord, our God worship 105 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:56.139 at his footstool. Holy is he. And so, while the Kingdom of 106 00:10:56.179 --> 00:11:03.539 God is certainly not a democracy, it's also not an anarchy, nor is 107 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:09.049 it tyranny. The Kingdom of God is full of his righteousness and justice, 108 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:20.519 and this is because he is holy. We're called a dwell here on the 109 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:24.840 holiness of our God, not only in the continual refrain that that he is 110 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:31.200 holy that us, also the language throughout this psalm that clues us into where 111 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:37.230 this praise is taking play. So the PSALMIST is in the presence of God, 112 00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:41.830 where it's God what us the words of this psalm. He's enthroned upon 113 00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:50.980 the chairman. He's in Zion, worship at his footstool. He Establishes Justice 114 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:56.460 where in Jacob, that is in Israel, and later were told, worship 115 00:11:56.539 --> 00:12:03.049 at his Holy Mountain. All of this is very much the language of the 116 00:12:03.169 --> 00:12:09.250 temple. The Ark of the Covenant had Cherubim Decorations on top. The ARC 117 00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:16.279 was even called the footstool of the Lord. And why was that? Because 118 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:20.639 its throne is in heaven, and this is where heaven and earth meet, 119 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.879 this is where heaven and earth touched. God wasn't encased within the ARC like 120 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:31.350 some statue or idol, he was enthroned above it. And now the Tabernacle, 121 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:37.309 or the tents of the Lord signified the Lord's traveling with his pilgrim people. 122 00:12:37.149 --> 00:12:41.070 There the Lord was on the move as his people traveled from Egypt to 123 00:12:41.190 --> 00:12:46.059 the Promised Land. But now that the people had entered into the promised land, 124 00:12:46.059 --> 00:12:52.539 they had entered into a place of blessing and rest. A temple of 125 00:12:52.779 --> 00:13:01.409 Stone was built to signify the permanence of God's dwelling with his people. And 126 00:13:01.450 --> 00:13:05.210 yet the temple did more than that. Well, the arc took up residence 127 00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:11.370 within the temple, while this throne of God was established with permanence among his 128 00:13:11.570 --> 00:13:16.080 people. You see, the temple not only issued the announcement that that God 129 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:20.279 is in your midst, that you are God's people, that he dwells among 130 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:28.870 you, temple also built walls keeping you away from the holy presence of the 131 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:37.549 Lord, and it was for your own good. He is holy, therefore 132 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:41.059 he is worthy of our praise. Were called to worship at his footstool. 133 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:46.299 But who actually got to do that in the history of all of Israel? 134 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:50.100 Who got to enter into it and look upon the footstool? Which of the 135 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:58.769 people ultimately got to enjoy that close presence? Who got to dwell in the 136 00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:01.009 presence of the Lord? who had access to the throne of the Lord, 137 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:07.690 to the Ark of his presence, though it was within Israel, only the 138 00:14:07.690 --> 00:14:13.639 high priest could enter, and then only once a year, which is why 139 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:18.000 we're drawn to some of God's history, of of meeting with his people. 140 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:24.389 In verses six through eight, there's WHO's mentioned here. Moses and errand were 141 00:14:24.429 --> 00:14:30.750 among his priests. Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. 142 00:14:31.110 --> 00:14:35.389 They called to the Lord and he answered them. In the pillar of the 143 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:39.019 cloud, he spoke to them. They kept his testimonies and the statutes that 144 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:43.500 he gave them. Oh, Lord, our God, you answered them. 145 00:14:43.340 --> 00:14:46.700 You were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrong doings. 146 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:52.970 You see, these priests, they stood between God, they stood between 147 00:14:54.009 --> 00:14:58.009 God and the people, bringing the sins, bringing the cares of the people 148 00:14:58.090 --> 00:15:05.169 before the Lord, and the Lord answered those prayers. The Lord ruled over 149 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:13.000 his people in holiness through men like Moses and Erin and and Samuel. The 150 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:18.480 Lord's righteous rule, his heavenly reign in the midst of his people, means 151 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:26.870 that he's addressing his people, he's answered prayers, He gave statutes, Moses 152 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:31.590 writes them down, and so by now the scope of this psalm becomes more 153 00:15:31.750 --> 00:15:39.139 clear and showing us who our God is. It's showing us how he reigns. 154 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:46.100 He reigns in righteousness, he reigns in holiness, and here were shown 155 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:52.009 he reigns by his word. These priests are mentioned not simply for their function, 156 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:56.610 but to show us what the Lord was doing, answering, speaking, 157 00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:04.679 giving statutes, forgiving, even avenging. And so while this imagery then draws 158 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:14.120 us toward temple worship, it also draws US beyond the temple, for again 159 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:18.190 and again our psalmist shows us that he is in the presence of God. 160 00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:26.870 All the while he's addressing the people of God. And while the imagery of 161 00:16:26.909 --> 00:16:30.269 the temple shows us that he is holy, that he is worthy of praise, 162 00:16:30.669 --> 00:16:38.059 the function of the temple shows us that we are not holy. In 163 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:42.340 fact, why did Moses go up to the Holy Mountain of Sinai, into 164 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:47.809 the presence of the Lord? It's because of the people knew, the people 165 00:16:47.850 --> 00:16:51.610 declared in Deuteronomy Five. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God 166 00:16:51.809 --> 00:16:57.250 anymore, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who that 167 00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:00.759 has heard the voice of the Living God speaking out of the midst of fire, 168 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:06.359 as we have, and still lived? They tell Moses, you go 169 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:08.640 near, hear all that the Lord our God will say, speak to us 170 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:12.119 all, that the Lord our God will speak to you and we will hear 171 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:19.230 and do it. Do you see, then, how our psalm can end 172 00:17:19.789 --> 00:17:26.230 with verse nine like it does, exalt the Lord our God, worship at 173 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:37.539 his Holy Mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. The Psalm beautifully 174 00:17:37.579 --> 00:17:45.769 takes us from trembling to worship, from quaking the earth to a holy mountain 175 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:53.890 where God's people are not killed or consumed but are worshiping. That's our worship 176 00:17:53.970 --> 00:17:57.759 is simply a response to who the Lord is, to what he's done. 177 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:04.279 Look at all the things he's accomplished throughout this brief psalm. He rules and 178 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:12.710 strength. He rules in justice, like a king, he rules in holiness 179 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:22.349 and righteousness like a priest. He rules speaking statutes, giving his word, 180 00:18:23.789 --> 00:18:32.539 like a prophet. And so do you see God himself fulfilling the functions of 181 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:37.220 Prophet, priest and King already here in Psalm Ninety nine, in a day 182 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:45.410 when Israel still had living prophets and and priests and kings. The Psalm shows 183 00:18:45.450 --> 00:18:52.730 us that God fulfill bulls their functions himself. And for what purpose? To 184 00:18:52.890 --> 00:19:00.839 what end? To be present with his people in praise. He rules, 185 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:07.240 he purifies, he speaks not to scatter but to draw US near to him, 186 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.950 not near a temple, not near a structure made by human hands, 187 00:19:11.990 --> 00:19:21.150 but to draw US near to himself and spirit and in truth, as the 188 00:19:21.230 --> 00:19:25.500 Lord says in Isaiah Sixty six, thus says the Lord, Heaven is my 189 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:27.779 throne, the earth is my footstool. What is the house you would build 190 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:33.220 for me? What is the place of my rest? So you see, 191 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:38.930 this psalm truly reveals the character of our Lord by driving us to the fulfillment 192 00:19:40.089 --> 00:19:44.410 of the True Temple, by driving us to the fulfillment of the person and 193 00:19:44.569 --> 00:19:48.569 work of Jesus Christ. We're shown here that it's not a denial of his 194 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:56.720 character to to love us and to draw near to US sinners. He doesn't 195 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:00.880 have to turn his back on his justice, he doesn't have to shy away 196 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:07.630 from His Holiness. He draws near to us, inviting us to his footstool, 197 00:20:07.869 --> 00:20:15.630 inviting us to the holiest of Holy Places, because he forgives according to 198 00:20:15.750 --> 00:20:19.349 his justice. God is both a just and the justifier of the one who 199 00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:26.339 has faith in Jesus Christ. The requirements, then, of God's perfect justice 200 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:30.619 have been met in Christ. The purity of body and soul has been found 201 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:36.690 in Christ so that we could gather, that we could be gathered near our 202 00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:41.690 heavenly father and give him glory, give him honor, exalt his great name. 203 00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:51.359 For to think about it, who, who is the one ultimately speaking 204 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:59.279 this word, of the words of this psalm to you? Who is able 205 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:03.710 to stand in this holy place made without human hands and lead God's people in 206 00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:10.829 Praise and worship? who was able to stand both in the presence of God 207 00:21:10.990 --> 00:21:15.509 and at the same time addressing the entire world, saying, let them praise 208 00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:22.539 your great and awesome name? Ultimately, this psalmist is drawing our focus to 209 00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:27.700 the word of God, the word who became flesh to dwell among you, 210 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:37.089 to be Emmanuel, God with us, to lead us, ruling in holiness, 211 00:21:37.690 --> 00:21:42.890 righteousness and praise us, as he gathers us all to the Heavenly Mount 212 00:21:42.930 --> 00:21:48.720 Zion that we hear about in Hebrews twelve. But you've come to Mount Zion, 213 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:53.759 to the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable 214 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:59.160 angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in 215 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:02.549 heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits 216 00:22:02.549 --> 00:22:08.109 of the righteous made perfect into Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, 217 00:22:08.150 --> 00:22:11.990 and to the sprinkled blood. That speaks a better word than the blood of 218 00:22:12.190 --> 00:22:18.180 Abel. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be 219 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:23.539 shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and 220 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:30.089 awe, for our God is a consuming fire. What a privilege it is 221 00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:36.450 to draw near to our Lord, to our God, to gather in his 222 00:22:36.890 --> 00:22:41.730 holy presence, which should stand as a barrier saying stay away, danger, 223 00:22:42.289 --> 00:22:48.400 don't come near. And yet the words of our Lord draw us, compel 224 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:52.359 us. The words of his love, the words of his compassion, the 225 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:59.349 words of his saving grace draw us to praise our Lord and Savior in his 226 00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:03.990 presence forever. Amen, let's pray.