Psalm 99 – Nations Tremble
In Psalm 99 – nations tremble, the nations tremble and the earth shakes because the Lord reigns. Why? Why do the nations tremble?
Psalm 99
Psalm 99 is a triple proclamation of God’s holiness. Three times the writer states God is holy, vs. 3, 5, and 9. The proper response to holiness? To fall on our knees and tremble.
The first section speaks of God’s supreme sovereignty as the king, ruler over the nations. Some translations begin with the phrase, “the Lord is king.” (New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version)
God is enthroned between the cherubim, referencing the ark of the covenant and its cherubim-adorned lid.
“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy.” (1-3)
The second section speaks of God’s holiness through the attributes of justice and righteousness.
“The King is mighty, he loves justice—you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done what is just and right.
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.” (4-5)
God in Relationship to People
In the third section was see a God who is not only a just king but one who is in relationship with people. “However, in these closing verses, we find a God who is both sovereign king and lover of justice who also chooses to work through human beings and establish an intimate and lasting relationship with them. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were among those who “cried to the Lord and he answered them” (verse 7).” Commentary on Psalm 99 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
“Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord and he answered them.
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.” (6-7)
The all-powerful God is also forgiving.
“Lord our God, you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.” (8-9)
Our God truly is holy and worthy of praise and worship.
Tremble
To tremble is to “shake involuntarily, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement, or frailty; (of a structure or area of land) shake or quiver slightly.”
We tremble for different reasons. When we are scared, or sick, or in awe. Recently my husband and I found ourselves shaking after a day of overexertion doing yard work. Not a good experience.
So why do the nations tremble in Psalm 99? Is it out of fear or excitement?
God’s Holiness
God’s holiness encompasses awesome power and love and forgiveness. Different from the gods of other nations.
“Yet, God’s forgiving love is simultaneously tempered by divine judgment. While being “a forgiving God to them,” this holy deity is at the same time “an avenger of their wrongdoings” (verse 8). Neither of these attributes of God’s holiness nullifies the other. Instead, they stand inseparably together as the very heart of what makes the God of Israel profoundly different from all others, “for the Lord our God is Holy” (verse 9).” Commentary on Psalm 99 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
While other deities were often petty, quarrelsome, and demanding, the worst in human qualities, our God is set apart, different from these false gods.
“Holiness, at its root, has the idea of apartness… While the word itself signifies simply separateness, and was used with reference to other gods by other peoples, it acquired a new significance in this Divine revelation…. God was revealed as separated from everything unjust, untrue, evil, in His character, and therefore in all His dealings with men, whether in the giving of law, or in the activities of government.” (Morgan) Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 99
We are called to be holy as God is holy.
“The priests of Leviticus repeatedly implore worshippers of God to be holy because the Lord their God is holy (e.g. 11:44, 19:2). Psalm 99 shows us that holiness on our part has little, if anything, to do with personal piety or religiosity. Instead, be different because the Lord your God is different. Just as God chooses not to operate according to the norms of other deities, so also we who belong to God are called to march to the beat of a different drum.” Commentary on Psalm 99 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
Psalm 99 – Nations Tremble
Psalm 99 – nations tremble, reminds us that our God is truly holy, and so we are called to fall down on our knees in worship. The nations tremble before this God who is not like other gods, not like pagan gods who exact retribution and are all too human in their behavior. Some may tremble out of fear of God’s justice. Others tremble in excitement for the same reason. They rejoice knowing God will bring justice and righteousness. They tremble before God who is loving and forgiving and totally awesome. In Psalm 99 – nations tremble with good reason. There will be an accounting.
Our King comes. Are you trembling out of fear or excitement?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 99: God’s Holy Mountain – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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