Sermon Tone Analysis

Psalm 99 (KJV 1900)

1 The 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 king’s 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.

We must heed the memorable words written by Robert Murray McCheyne to the Rev. Dan Edwards on 2 October 1840 after his ordination as a missionary to the Jews: ‘I trust you will have a pleasant and profitable time in Germany.

I know you will apply hard to German; but do not forget the culture of the inner man,—I mean of the heart.

How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care.

Remember you are God’s sword,—His instrument,—I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name.

In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success.

It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.

A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.’

1 Peter 2:9 “9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

What do we mean by holy?

Story: What words come to mind when you think of holiness?

It’s almost as though holiness is the private way of life for an special group of monks, missionaries and martyrs.

The word holy means “sacred, set apart from the profane (unholy) and for God.”

Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible says, “The primary Old Testament word for holiness means ‘to cut or to separate.’

Fundamentally, holiness is a cutting off or separation from what is unclean, and a consecration to what is pure.”

Holiness is referenced more than 400 times in the Old Testament and another 181 times in the New Testament.

Holiness means much more than being morally upright.

It includes this, but is so much more.

Fundamentally, holiness speaks of separation.

Rather than merely an ethical statement, it is an essential statement.

When we say that something is “holy” we are saying that it is marked off, that it is set apart from other things.

(ie Holy Bible, Holy Matrimony)

So, when we speak of God being “holy,” we mean by this that He is essentially different from any and all others.

“‘Holy’ is a word to emphasize the distance between God and man.”

His difference cuts across all comparisons.

Isaiah 45:22 “22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: For I am God, and there is none else.”

Since God is holy, His reign will be much different than that of any other ruler.

If we frame the psalm by the threefold reference to God’s holiness (vv.

3, 5, 9), we might outline it as follows:

(1) The announcement of God’s holy reign v. 1–3

(2) The activity of God’s holy reign v. 4–5

(3) The acknowledgement of God’s holy reign v. 6–9

The holiness of God is certainly a worthy study.

Analysis of how the modern culture has infected the church in God in the Wasteland by David Eerdmans “We have turned to a God that we can use rather than to a God we must obey; we have turned to a God who will fulfill all our needs rather than to a God before whom we must surrender our rights to ourselves.

He is a God for us, for our satisfaction—not because we have learned to think of him this way through Christ but because we have learned to think of him this way through the marketplace.

In the marketplace, everything is for us, for our pleasure, for our satisfaction, and we have come to assume that it must be so in the church as well.

And so we transform the God of mercy into a God who is at our mercy.

Introduction

The repeated refrain is that the LORD is holy.

Because he is holy, he alone should be worshiped and served.

To demonstrate his holiness, the psalmist explains how the LORD reigns over his people.

All of these “enthronement” psalms tell of the establishment of a righteous kingdom on the earth—on this earth.

It can only be a righteous kingdom because the king is holy—he is the LORD.

Do you long for the day the Lord will rule and reign in this world.

Harley taught on incremental stress.

Stressing that the LORD, the God of Israel, is holy, the psalmist calls for all people to praise and worship him for his righteous reign in the world and his merciful dealings in answering prayers.

Notice the only good and proper response to God’s holiness.

Psalm 99:1-2 “1 The 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.”

If the world has lost her blush it may be because the world has lost her tremble.

The proper response to God’s greatness is worship.

Remember that to think of worship merely as ascribing praise to God through music and song is short-sighted.

Worship is a theme woven through all of Scripture

Worship is the way people organize their lives in devotion to certain things they find “worthy” of their affection.

Worship is a disciple’s decision to surrender her life to King Jesus in humble and resolute devotion.

"Any sin is more or less heinous depending upon the honor and majesty of the one whom we had offended.

Since God is of infinite honor, infinite majesty, and infinite holiness, the slightest sin is of infinite consequence.

The slightest sin is nothing less than cosmic treason when we realize against whom we have sinned."

- Jonathan Edwards

God is distinct from man.

(a) He reigns.

He sits above this world, ruling.

He is not subject to this world.

He created the world and is transcendent above the world.

(b) He is holy.

He is perfect.

He is pure.

He is completely and eternally good and righteous.

(c) He is fair.

He deals with his creation and his people justly.

(d) He speaks supernaturally.

In the Old Testament, God revealed himself to prophets, speaking and guiding supernaturally through various means.

God continues to speak supernaturally through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and illumination of his written Word, the Bible.

(e) He forgives and he avenges.

God is love and God is just.

God in his holiness reveals himself to humans as merciful and yet just.

Recognize the King that sits upon His throne

Psalm 99:1-2 “1 The 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.”

The Lord reigns in holiness—worship Him in reverence

The Lord reigns should be simple to understand even if hard to apply at times.

Here is a simple proposition, which is a self-evident axiom, and requires no proof: Jehovah is infinite and eternal; is possessed of unlimited power and unerring wisdom; as he is the Maker, so he must be the Governor, of all things.

His authority is absolute, and his government therefore universal.

In all places, on all occasions, and in all times, Jehovah reigns.

- Adam Clark Commentary

There is a day coming when every creature will recognize this.

Revelation 11:15 “15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

He seats above all people.

Psalm 99:5 “5 Exalt ye the Lord our God, And worship at his footstool; For he is holy.”

He seats between the cherubims

Psalm 99:1 “1 The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: He sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.”