Psalms 99 KJV
The Lord Is Holy
About This Psalm
The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble. Holy, holy, holy. God is both exalted and accessible.
1he LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.
3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
4 The kingโs strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
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Did You Know?
The psalm's reference to God 'sitting between the cherubims' evokes the specific iconography of the Ark's mercy seat in the Holy of Holies, implying a temple liturgy where divine kingship was ritually enacted through procession or enthronement rites.
By naming Moses, Aaron, and Samuel together as answered intercessors, it uniquely bridges the lawgiver, priestly, and prophetic offices, portraying God's revelation as mediated through Israel's distinct institutional traditions rather than solely through monarchy.
The paradoxical statement that God 'forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions' alludes to wilderness incidents like the golden calf or Meribah, illustrating a theology where mercy and retributive justice operate simultaneously in covenant history.
Its placement among the enthronement psalms (93-99) creates a deliberate arc from cosmic kingship to Zion-centered holiness, with the triple refrain 'He is holy' functioning as a liturgical anchor that anticipates the Trisagion of Isaiah 6 and later Christian Sanctus.
The call for nations to 'tremble' while Zion rejoices juxtaposes universal theophany motifs (earthquakes, Sinai-like awe) with particular election, reflecting post-exilic efforts to affirm Yahweh's sovereignty amid both Gentile powers and Israel's restored cult.