19 November 2012
Psalm 99
The mystery of God's justice and grace.
The Lord Our God is Holy
Who is this Holy God? He is the King, reigning over all people and places, in heaven and on earth. He is great, exalted, and deserving of praise. Praise His awesome name – Holy is He!
How is this King holy? He is a lover of justice. He established equity itself. He executes judgement among His people. Exalt His righteous character – Holy is He!
How are we to respond to this Holy God? We have examples: Moses, Aaron and Samuel. These men called out to God and God answered them. Through His awesome signs, God gave them his testimonies and statues, and these holy men of Israel kept them.
Indeed He answered their calls. In His justice, He forgave them their sins. In the same justice, He punished their wrongdoings. Exalt and worship the Lord our God – this is His holiness!
Comments
This psalm makes an unmistakable connection between God’s supremacy, holiness, justice and grace. It tells us about God’s character, giving meaning to the phrase “The Lord our God is Holy.” This God who we worship, this great and exalted Lord who reigns over the universe – He is the lover of justice. He is the creator, executor and embodiment of justice. That is what makes him holy.
The mystery of God’s justice is how it intertwines with His grace.
Here are Moses, Aaron and Samuel – great in the history of Israel though far from being perfect. Yet when they called upon God, He answered them. So in His perfect justice, God graciously responds to sinners who diligently seek Him.
In His justice, by His grace, God reveals to seekers… His justice.
To those who diligently seek God, this is what He gives: His testimonies and His laws. He tells them who He is, what they should do, and how they should do it. So through His grace, God reveals His justice.
Knowing God’s law, whenever they do wrong, God forgives them by His grace while punishing them by His justice. Neither action contradicts the other but they achieve perfect oneness within His character. God is perfectly gracious yet perfectly just. He loves yet disciplines. He is the perfect Father, the perfect King. Indeed He is worthy of exaltation. Praise the Lord our God for He is Holy!
Application
It is difficult enough to wrap one’s head around the justice and grace of God, that He is somehow both at once. But God is the perfect Father: He forgives His children of their sins while disciplining them for their wrongdoing. When Israel turned away from God, He scattered them by the hands of conquerers. Yet He always kept a remnant of Israel and redeemed them for Himself when they turned back to Him.
So it is for all of us as the Church as well as each of us personally. When we turn away from God, we can be sure that we will be disciplined. And these disciplines will not always be easy, for Israel’s opressors murdered, pillaged and enslaved the people. But God also provides a way out. He promises a remnant and to the remant He promises forgiveness when they turn back to Him.
For us, then, this psalm serves first as an illustration of God’s character. God is just and everyone, especially his followers, are subject to His judgement and His discipline. But those who return to God and call upon Him, He will redeem. He will save them from their troubles and forgive them of their sins.
Second, as believers who follow the Lord, having recieved his testimonies and his laws, we must be careful to keep them. Just like Moses, Aaron and Samuel who were set before us as examples, we are to carefully observe His laws. For God is just and His laws are equity. So those who obey them are righteous.
However, some questions remain that are not discussed in this passage: What is God’s justice and what are His laws? How do we observe them? What is grace?