Read Psalm 99:1-5. 1The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! 4The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!
If Psalm 98 was pure joy, Psalm 99 is pure reverence and awe. Awe in God’s holiness. Holy is he the psalmist declares (twice). His is a holiness that produces the trembling of the people, and the quaking of the earth. Why? Because he alone brings justice, equity, and righteousness.
What the psalmist is describing is true of God all the time, but this psalm was written to describe the final advent of God. What Christians call the Second Coming of Christ. The coming to Earth of Jesus to rule and reign over creation as its king. To be worshiped at his footstool by all who love him and his appearing. To be exalted for his holiness.
Holiness?
Yes, above all else Christ is holy. He is set apart. Unique. Different. He is above all in purity and perfection. And yet, it is that same holiness that refuses to let the world remain impure and imperfect. It is that same holiness, the holiness that keeps God from us, that impelled the sending of Christ to us, to rescue us from our own inherent impurity and imperfection.
To live is Christ is to worship Jesus for his holiness. And it is to thank him for the holiness he has imputed to us by our union with him.
Prayer. Jesus, you are holy. Reign over my heart today as I await your coming to reign over the Earth in all justice, equity, and righteousness. Amen.
To Live is Christ 