"The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he!
4 The King in his might loves justice.
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!"
Psalm 99
The second lesson from the Old Testament makes reference to the cloudy pillar, and this is a reminder of the 'double nature' of God: the face that smiled on Israel was hot with wrath against their enemies. How could anyone be familiar with such a God, knowing that there was always this side to Him? The reference to obedience in 7b is a reminder that keeping His commandments was the basis - and it is the only basis - of their fellowship. The third lesson from the Old Testament, in 8, amplifies the manner of the Divine answering of prayer. The holy God is a forgiving God, but inextricably linked with pardon is retribution for evil. The love that will not let us go is at the same time that which will not let us off either - with anything. Pardon for sin does not necessarily remove the consequences of sin, 'penalties which are the natural results of sin, whether in character, memory, habit or circumstances' (Maclaren). As Kidner puts it, there is a 'distinction between the healing of relationships (forgiveness) and the punishment of actions (retribution on wrongdoing). So the negative lesson reinforces the positive, and is twofold: neither to despair of mercy nor to trade on it'.
The emphasis in the Psalm therefore is twofold. First, for those who know not God: He is a holy God, and He is not mocked. There is a flame that burns in Him, that is a consuming fire. Second, for the people of God: He is a holy Father, and we may not trifle with, or presume upon, Him. This is not a word for tender consciences, but for the careless and the complacent! But the last word lies with grace. Of 9b, Kidner says, 'The majesty is undiminished, but the last word is now given to intimacy. He is holy; He is also, against all our deserving, not ashamed to be called ours. Well may we worship.'