Intro
Who is in charge? Have you ever asked that question? Have you ever been asked that question? Sure, we can say who is in charge at our office or at the lodge and our government. But who is really in charge? Is it Wall Street? Is it some secret group of lobbyists? Is it another nation? Such questions are not new, the Israelites asked them as well. So, when they gathered together to worship, they were reminded of the answer. Psalm 99 is one of those answers
Psalm 99
The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. 2 Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name-- he is holy.4 The King is mighty, he loves justice-- you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right. 5 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the LORD and he answered them. 7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.
The way in…
Have you ever been a part of a group led by someone whose leadership you had, let us say, doubts about? According SFC Tucker, one of his old soldiers had had such doubts for a long time. He was often questioning SFC Tucker’s leadership as well as the Platoon Leader. Well, the day finally came when both the Platoon Leader and SFC Tucker were away which meant that SFC Jones was in charge. The platoon was assembled the first morning of his leadership and so he stood before them beaming with pride and gave his inaugural speech to inspire their confidence in which he said, “1st Platoon, SFC Tucker is gone and now I’m in charge and I plan on turning this platoon around 360 degrees to get it going in the right direction…”
Who is in charge?
Who is in charge? Psalm 99 is the last in a series of royal enthronement psalms that answer that question. Each of these Psalms declare in one place or another the words that open our Psalm, “The LORD reigns.” (93:1, 96:10, 97:1, 98:6[1]).
Chew on this phrase for a minute if you will. What sort of feelings does this phrase create for you? Comfort? Joy? Pride? Security? Fear? How does it make you feel to hear the words, “The LORD reigns…”
According to the psalmist, the way you feel about this statement likely depends upon where you stand. Let’s take a look.
The nations.
“The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.” The Psalmist starts with the whole shebang, all the nations. And what is there response to the reign of God? Fear and trembling. And just so we don’t miss where God is reigning from the Psalmist tells us, “Great is the LORD in Zion (that is in Jerusalem),’ where, ‘he is exalted (that is lifted up) over all the nations.’
And what should be the appropriate response by the nations? The Psalmist tells us, “Let them praise your great and awesome (fear-inducing) name.” And then the opening stanza ends with all the people declaring, “He is holy.” The message is clear, our God rules the world and if you are smart, you will respond with praise. What about the next group?
Jacob/Israel
The Psalmist begins this stanza with a direct reference to the King declaring, “The King is mighty, he loves justice…’ The leader then likely turns back to the altar and addresses God saying, “You have established equity in Jacob (Jacob is nickname for the nation of Israel) you have done what is just and right.”
Justice is a good thing, we have a whole system established to ensure it. Righteousness is a good thing, it is the condition when all things are as they should be. God, the king, according to the Psalmist has established it in the nation of Israel. And so, what shall the people do in response? Once again the Psalmist tells us, “Exalt (that is lift up) the LORD our God (this time he adds a relationship, YHWH belongs to us, or we belong to YHWH depending on how you view it) and worship (that is bow down) at his footstool.” According to Isaiah 66:1, “Heaven is God’s throne and the earth is his footstool.” Jesus echoes this in Matthew 5:35 when he tells the people not to swear by the earth ‘for it is God’s footstool…” So, the Psalmist tells the people to lift God up, while we bow down, here on earth. Then all the people shout as before, “He is holy!”
Prophets and Priests
In the third stanza the Psalmist takes a departure from the pattern and says nothing about kings, worship or holiness. Rather, he reaches back into Israel’s history to bring out a few folks who could give testimonies regarding the goodness of the King. It is almost as if a reporter is standing next to 3 robbed figures who the audience knows to be Moses, Aaron and Samuel; three of the most revered figures in Israel’s history. Moses, the liberator; Aaron, the priest; and Samuel, the prophet one who crowned Israel’s first and second kings. The reporter asks what these figures might have to say about God as king and they reply, “Well, I can tell you this, we called on his name and you know what? He answered.” “Yep,’ interjects Moses, “in fact with me he spoke through a pillar of cloud.” “Of course,’ said Aaron, “we did keep his statutes and decrees.”
The congregation
After the interview, the Psalmist begins the final stanza by once again turning to God and declaring, “O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.” And with that the Psalmist waves his hand and the people once again recite the chorus, “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain.’ This time the place is more specific, not just his footstool, but the mount in Jerusalem where the temple sat; this is where the people were to bow down. Then in unison all the people declared for the third time not just he but “the LORD our God is holy!”
Our response to this king
“The LORD reigns!” Let me say it again, now after a brief rehearsal of this song, how does it make you feel? Are we among the nations? Trembling and shaking. Are we amidst Israel? Assured that God has established justice and righteousness in our community, in our realm. Perhaps we identify with the three historical figures and could stand up with our own testimony about God as king. Where do we sit? Before you answer, we would do well to consider another image of the king, one to which this Psalm hints, but only guesses. I invite you to consider the coronation which Cami read in Matthew.
The peasant king (Matthew 21)
“As they approached Jerusalem…Jesus sent two disciples,’ to find a donkey. The disciples do so while the author Matthew tells us why this occurred. He quotes the prophet Zechariah who wrote, “Say to the Daughter Zion, ‘See your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey…” The king is coming, yes this is a big deal, but wait, how is he coming? Gently? I would have expected rage. And riding on a donkey? I would have expected a chariot, a war horse or at least a stallion those are fit for a king, but what is this king riding? A donkey. Does this sound like the king from Psalm 99? Nevertheless, some people recognized him and what did they do in response? Did they tremble? Did they quake? No, but they did pick up a refrain, “Hosanna to the son of David! (that is the king par excel lance) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna in the highest, with their voices they lifted up this peasant king and with their branches and cloaks they lowered themselves before him. In light of this coronation, how do you feel when you hear the phrase, “The LORD reigns!”
Competing or complementary images?
When I was a kid I used to wonder how in the world the people of Jesus time didn’t recognize him as God’s son. He gave sight to the blind, cured the lepers and healed the lame. He turned water into wine and a few fish into a feast. He even raised the dead and walked on water for Pete’s sake. How could so many people have missed it? Psalm 99 offers a hint. Had you been raised on this song and others like it, songs in which the Lord caused the nations to tremble, established justice, spoke from a cloud and punished misdeeds; had you been raised on such songs, would we have recognized the poor Nazarene on the donkey as a king? Not likely. But maybe, just maybe, had you listened really closely to the songs, you might have heard as TS Eliot wrote, “the hint half guessed, the gift half-understood the incarnation.” Where in Psalm 99 are the hints that God’s reign would arrive on a donkey?
Forgiving God and Cain
Listen to the next to last verse, “O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God…” The word for forgive is af'n" (NiSa) and it literally means ‘to lift, carry or take…’ The first place it shows up is in Genesis 4. After Cain kills Able, the Lord tells him he will now be cursed and forced to wander the earth. To this Cain replies, “My punishment is more than I can bear.” This word ‘to bear’ is the same word used to mean ‘forgive.’ What does this mean? The manner in which God, the king of Psalm 99 forgives is by ‘carrying, by bearing the faults and misdeeds of Israel.’ Are you with me? Do you hear the hint? “You,’ the Psalmist writes, “were to Israel a forgiving God.” You, the Psalmist is saying, were to Israel a God who carries the sins and faults of our people. You took them. Does this sound like another king?
Does this sound like one who was given a crown of thorns and even a sign above his head that read “King of the Jews.” And how did this king when his authority was not only questioned but mocked? The gospel of Luke tells us that he looked upon his executioners and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The way out….
I think what I’m trying to say is this; the king portrayed in Psalm 99 is true but it is not complete. Psalm 99 hints at the image of God as king, but we only discover the full truth in the crucified and still forgiving king, the one who carried the sins of the world upon his shoulders; the one who poured himself out for his subjects; the one who proclaimed that the greatest among you will be your servants. This is the king of kings and Lord of lords.
The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble…but let them know that all is forgiven and all are welcome as well.
In light of the reign of Christ, perhaps the best thing we can do is just as SFC Jones declared, let’s turn this thing 360 degrees from where Christ had it and get it going in the right direction. Wherever we may be in charge, let us offer ourselves as forgiving
[1] Though Psalm 98 does not repeat these words it does declare, “…shout for joy before the LORD, the king
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