Psalm 99
When we think of the various attributes of God, what are some of the characteristics that first come to mind? We might first think of the fact that God is love. Another might be that He is merciful, or that He is forgiving. These are all very true, and wonderful attributes of God. In today’s Psalm our unknown psalmist seeks to focus our attention on one characteristic that many forget or don’t think about as much, which is that God is holy. Let’s open up our Psalm for this week and see what we can learn from God’s Word.
The word “holy” generally means in the Scriptures that something is sacred, sanctified, and set apart for God’s purpose and use. When the Bible uses this word in reference to God, Himself, it means that He is exalted and worthy of complete devotion. God’s holiness dictates that He is utterly separate, above, and exalted over all other creatures and things. God is also completely holy in His moral character, completely separate from all sin. The psalmist states three times in this brief psalm that God is holy, in verse 3, verse 5, and in verse 9. Knowing this, that God is holy, exalted above all creation, and separate from all sin, isn’t it amazing that such a holy God desires an intimate, saving relationship with us!
In verse one we read that God is enthroned between cherubim. Cherubim are winged angelic beings. They are not cute, chubby, little baby angels we sometimes see on Valentine cards. Cherubim are powerful beings, described in the Book of Ezekiel, as having two pairs of wings and four faces. They were the angelic beings that God placed at the entrance to the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were cast out. Their duty was to guard the way to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24). Moses was instructed by God to make an image of two Cherubim to place on the Ark of the Covenant, guarding the Mercy Seat (Exodus 25:18-22). Here in our psalm and also in the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 37:16) we see that God’s throne in the highest heaven is surrounded by Cherubim and other angelic beings, the Seraphim.
As we read further into the psalm, we are given an admonition in verse 3 to praise God’s Name, and to keep it holy. In a way a person’s name represents their identity. If a high-ranking person in the business, legal, or political realm sends someone to do something “in their name”, that name must carry authority. Misusing their name would bring a penalty. God’s Name symbolizes His nature, His person, His reputation, and His holiness. If misusing a person’s name would be wrong, how much more so should misusing God’s Name be? God’s Name should not be used lightly, nor used as a curse or in vulgar conversation, especially by Christians!
Another thought about how we treat names - Many people are to a degree proud about their family name. Often parents tell their children to remember they are part of a certain family, and that their behavior and actions should bring honor to the family name. As believers, since God is our Father, we need to live worthy of His great Name.
In verse 8 we read how God is the God who forgives. When we get saved, God forgives all of our sins, those committed in the past, those of the present, and all future sins, as well. However, as we are studying, God is all-holy. As such, He is completely separated from sin, and cannot be tainted by it. Nor will He tolerate, ignore, or excuse sin. As a loving Father He still promises to discipline us when necessary (Hebrews 12:5-11).
If we are believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus children of God, He has called us to be holy, as He is holy. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament we see this instruction (Leviticus 20:7; and I Peter 1:15). Though we will never achieve perfect holiness here on earth, this is something we should be striving for. Just as an archer aims for the bullseye of a target, we need to aim for this as we seek to follow our all-holy God.
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