Psalms · psalm 99 of 150
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Psalm 99 proclaims that the Lord reigns, sits enthroned on the cherubim and is great in Zion, and three times it says that he is holy. He loves justice and established equity in Jacob. It recalls Moses, Aaron and Samuel, who called on his name and were answered, and shows God as one who forgives and also corrects, before whom the people must worship at his holy mountain.
Psalm 99 has no title and closes the group of psalms about the Lord's reign (Psalms 93 and 95-99) in Book IV. Its own mark is God's holiness, repeated like a refrain in verses 3, 5 and 9. It looks back to Israel's history, with Moses, Aaron and Samuel, as examples of those who drew near to this holy God.
The psalm begins with the reign of the Lord: he reigns, let the peoples tremble; he sits enthroned on the cherubim, let the earth quake. The Lord is great in Zion and exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise his great and awesome name, for he is holy. This is the first refrain.
Verses 4 and 5 say the King is mighty and loves justice: he has established equity and has executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. The people are to exalt him and worship at his footstool, for he is holy, the second refrain.
Verses 6-8 recall Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord and he answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud, and they kept his testimonies and the statute he gave them. The Lord answered them as a forgiving God, but also an avenger of their wrongdoings. The psalm concludes by urging us to exalt the Lord and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord reigns and sits enthroned between the cherubim, so the peoples and the earth should tremble. The cherubim evoke the ark and the most holy place, where Israel saw God's throne.
The peoples praise his great and awesome name because he is holy. Holiness is not only moral purity: it means that God is set apart from everything and worthy of absolute reverence.
The mighty King loves justice and has established equity, executing justice and righteousness in Jacob. God's power is not arbitrary: it is put at the service of what is right.
The Lord answered his people as a God who forgives, but also as one who corrects their wrongdoings. His holiness includes mercy and justice at the same time.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: On the cherubim. — Psalm 99:1
Answer: That the Lord is holy. — Psalm 99:3
Answer: He loves justice and has established equity in Jacob. — Psalm 99:4
Answer: Moses, Aaron and Samuel. — Psalm 99:6
Answer: In the pillar of cloud. — Psalm 99:7
Answer: As a God who answered and forgave them, but also punished their wrongdoings. — Psalm 99:8
Psalm 99 reminds us that to worship is to draw near to someone holy. In a service or small group we can think about how the heart is prepared to pray and worship with reverence without losing confidence, because this holy King also listens. Moses, Aaron and Samuel were real people who cried out and were answered.
It also balances our picture of God. He forgives and corrects at the same time, and both flow from his holiness. That invites us not to see his discipline as rejection or his forgiveness as indifference to sin. For Christians, Christ is the priest who brings us to this holy God with freedom.
Psalm 99 ends with a call to worship at the Lord's holy mountain. Psalm 100, the psalm for giving thanks, invites all the lands to enter his gates with praise and to recognize that we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
They are heavenly beings in God's service. Two cherubim figures stood over the ark of the covenant, and the Lord is often described as seated between them or on them. The psalm uses that image to speak of his royal throne.
The three appear as men who interceded for the people and were answered. Jeremiah 15:1 remembers Moses and Samuel as great intercessors. The psalm places Samuel among those who call on the Lord's name.