Psalm 99 New American Standard Bible 1995
Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.
99 The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He [a]is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2 The Lord [b]is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is [c]He.
4 The [d]strength of the King loves [e]justice;
You have established [f]equity;
You have executed [g]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [h]Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
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,
And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For holy is the Lord our God.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
BOW BEFORE GOD
In times of disappointments, distress and heartaches sometimes the only thing to do is to simply place ourselves in humble submission before our great God.
When doubt floods into our minds, there is a comfort to be found.
Looking away from our situation to the vastness and holiness of our Lord, we find comfort in Him.
But what do the words mean, here, “to worship at his footstool?”
Here is what we find in the Barnes Notes on the Bible commentary:
“the reference here is to the footstool on which the feet of a king rested when he sat on his throne or chair of state.”
Even as those kings of old would make decisions for justice from their thrones, we can trust that our High King is listening to our stories and tears, and hearing our pleas, and making decisions for holiness and justice from His own throne.
When we bow our hearts before Him, we recognize His king-ship over our lives.
WORSHIP AT HIS FOOTSTOOL
It is not just our approaching our King, there is one more necessary action that this verse speaks of, and that is not to just bow, but to also bring worship there.
Many servants bowed before those kings of old and they brought their petitions.
Yet not many humbled themselves to worship that king.
We have been given the privilege to come into the courts of our most High King.
This is made possible because of the way that His son, Jesus, opened for us.
Will we come, and bow and worship before the holiness and might of our Lord?
Can we permit ourselves a time of sacred pause today and bring unto Him our highest measure of utter surrender, highest praise before our Holiest of Holies?
Are We Authentic About Worship at God’s Footstool?
Psalm 99 The Message
99 1-3 God rules. On your toes, everybody!
He rules from his angel throne—take notice!
God looms majestic in Zion,
He towers in splendor over all the big names.
Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you!
Holy. Yes, holy.
4-5 Strong King, lover of justice,
You laid things out fair and square;
You set down the foundations in Jacob,
Foundation stones of just and right ways.
Honor God, our God; worship his rule!
Holy. Yes, holy.
6-9 Moses and Aaron were his priests,
Samuel among those who prayed to him.
They prayed to God and he answered them;
He spoke from the pillar of cloud.
And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them.
And then God, our God, answered them
(But you were never soft on their sins).
Lift high God, our God; worship at his holy mountain.
Holy. Yes, holy is God our God.
When this psalm was written, each nation claimed top honors for its gods.
But Israel knew who the God above all gods truly is—the Lord God Almighty.
But do I, You, we the Church truly know who the God above all gods truly is?
2 Corinthians 4:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995
Paul’s Apostolic Ministry
4 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled [a]to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this [b]world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving [c]so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants [d]for Jesus’ sake.
Paul had a glorious ministry that flung wide-open the door of salvation to men.
He opened up the Word of God and taught the glorious gospel of grace to Jew and Gentile alike.
This apostle of God revealed so many of the biblical truths and treasures which we have received as a free gift of grace, by our trusting in Christ Jesus as Savior.
Paul had been a strict Jew – a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
Paul had followed the traditions of men.
But since his being commissioned by God as His apostle unto the Gentiles and renouncing his former ways, he insightfully recognized that the very deceitful handling of God’s Word by the legalistic Pharisees, that combined with Satan’s crafty deceit, caused the shining light of the gospel of God to be hidden to those that were lost, and veiled to those that are perishing.
Satan, the scheming god of this world, has cunningly placed a veil of deception and dark shadows of deceit over the hearts, souls and minds of those unsaved.
Although Paul faithfully taught the truth of God’s Word, the minds of sinners have been blinded to the truth and deceived by Satan, the cruel god of this age.
Paul discovered that God’s grace is sufficient, that His strength is freely supplied and His mercies are new every morning.
Despite his careful teaching, his systematic delivery of the gospel, and his earnest desire to clarify the truth of God’s Word through precept and practice, Paul recognized the gospel remained hidden to those that were perishing – for the god of this world has cast a veil over the Word of God, which has shrouded the truth from those that are lost, misguided, misdirected and dead in their sin.
Yet the magnificent God, who has no human limitations, chose to do something even more revealing and even more magnificent than we could all comprehend.
God took on our humanity to become one of us.
Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit is the God above all gods, chose to humble himself so that instead of kneeling at God’s footstool in awe and wonder, we could sit at his feet.
All Men, women, and children were invited to gather around Jesus as he told stories about the kingdom of God, taught people how to live as true worshipers of God, had compassion, healed diseases, bruised hearts, and withered spirits.
What’s more, Jesus’ final act of worship was died and rose again and ascended to heaven, where he again sits on the eternal throne.
Everything is under his feet, even the last and bitterest enemy of all: death (1 Corinthians 15:21-26).
21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in [a]Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
May we each be ready and willing and able to share the good news of salvation with those whose ears are deaf and eyes are blinded to the truth – so they may hear the good news of the gospel of grace – come to the footstool and be saved.
Hallelujah! Let our 24/7 worship declare that Our God reigns forever and ever!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You for the many witnesses to the Word of truth. Thank You that salvation is freely available to all who will open their eyes to the truth of Your Word and unblock their ears to the satanic lies and deceptions that come from the evil one. Look down in pity on those that are in the valley of indecisions and bring many into saving faith this day, through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 100 New American Standard Bible 1995
All Men Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm for [a]Thanksgiving.
100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord [b]Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and [c]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with [d]thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 