Psalms 99:1 - Meaning and Application

The foundation of all true religion is this: the Lord reigns. God rules the world by his providence, he rules the church by his grace, and he rules both through his Son. We must believe not only that the Lord lives, but also that the Lord reigns. This was the joy of the Christian church, and it was also the joy of the Jewish church: Jehovah was their King.

From that truth comes this call, let the people tremble. This means, first, that even the people under this king should tremble, because the Old Testament era carried much fear with it. At Mount Sinai, Israel, and even Moses, were filled with fear and trembling. There God was terrible in his holy places, and even when he acted for his people, he did awesome and fearful things. But we have not come to that mountain that burned with fire (Hebrews 12:18). Now that the Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice. Then he ruled more through holy fear, now he rules through holy love.

Second, the enemies of this kingdom should tremble all the more. God will either bring them into obedience to his golden scepter, that is, his ruling authority, or break them with his iron rod. The Lord reigns, even if people rage against it and waste their strength in anger. Their fury is useless. He will set his King on his holy hill of Zion in spite of them (Psalm 2:1-6). In the end, if not before, he will make them tremble (Revelation 6:15).

The Lord reigns, let the earth be moved. Those who submit to him will be firm and not moved (Psalm 96:10), but those who oppose him will be shaken. Heaven and earth will be shaken, along with all nations, but Christ’s kingdom cannot be moved. What cannot be shaken will remain (Hebrews 12:27). In those things there is lasting strength (Isaiah 64:5).

God’s kingdom, established in Israel, is the subject of the psalmist’s praise. Two things are especially affirmed. First, God directed the worship of his people. He sits between the cherubim (Psalm 99:1), as on his throne, to give law through the messages delivered from there, and as on the mercy seat, to receive prayers. This was Israel’s honor, that the special presence of God, with the holy angels attending, was among them. The temple was the royal palace, and the Most Holy Place was the audience chamber.

The Lord is great in Zion (Psalm 99:2). There he is known and praised (Psalm 76:1-2), and there he is served as great more than anywhere else. He is high above all people there. Just as something high is easily seen and looked up to, so in Zion the perfections of God’s nature appear more clearly and brightly than anywhere else. Therefore, those who live in Zion and worship there should praise his great and awesome name, and give him the glory that belongs to it, for it is holy. God’s holiness makes his name truly great to his friends and truly fearful to his enemies (Psalm 99:3). This is what those in heaven adore: Holy, holy, holy.

Second, God was everything in their civil government (Psalm 99:4). In Jerusalem was the testimony of Israel, where the tribes went up, and there were thrones for judgment (Psalm 122:4-5). Their government was a theocracy, a rule directly under God. God raised David to rule over them, and some think this psalm was written when David was peacefully and happily settled on the throne. He is the king whose strength loves justice. His strength comes from God, and he does not use power to support wrongdoing, as earthly rulers often do. Instead, he loves justice. He uses his power to do right, and he does it gladly. In this, he pointed ahead to Christ, to whom God would give the throne of his father David, so that he would do justice and righteousness. He has power to crush, but his strength loves justice. He does not rule harshly, but with balance, wisdom, and tenderness.

Israel had a good king, but they were taught to look higher, to God, by whom their king ruled. God established equity, that is, he gave them those good laws by which they were governed, and he executed judgment and righteousness in Jacob. He not only carried out his own laws through his direct acts in history, but he also ordered justice among them through civil magistrates, that is, public officials, who ruled under him and through him gave just decisions. Their judges judged for God, and their judgment was his (2 Chronicles 19:6).

Putting these two things together, we see Israel’s happiness above any other people, as Moses had said (Deuteronomy 4:7-8). God was so near to them, sitting between the cherubim, and they had such righteous statutes and judgments, by which equity was established, and God himself ruled in Jacob. From this, the psalmist gives the command to that blessed people: Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; give him the glory of the good government you enjoy, as it is now settled in both church and state (Psalm 99:5).

The greater the public blessings we share, the more we ought to join in public praise to God. The setting up of Christ’s kingdom, especially, should fill us with praise. When we come near to God in worship, our hearts must be filled with high thoughts of him, and he must be exalted within us. The more we humble ourselves, and the more lowly we are before God, the more we honor him. We must worship at his footstool, at his ark, which was like the footstool of the mercy seat between the cherubim. Or we must bow down on the floor of his courts. We have every reason to be reverent, because he is holy, and his holiness should fill us with awe, just as it does the angels themselves (Isaiah 6:2-3).