Jehovah is great in Zion, and he is high above all the peoples.
This verse puts God's greatness in one place: Zion, a single hill in a small nation. From there His rule reaches over every people on earth. Commentators ask where the LORD's throne on earth stands, why He chose that place, and what the nations owe Him.
Psalm 98 celebrates the LORD's victory. Psalm 99 then tells us where He reigns from. One writer points back to Solomon's throne in Jerusalem:
After the victory celebrated in Psalm 98, Psalm 99 tells us where Jehovah's throne on earth is, and where He will reign. "The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples." The Chronicler states: "Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father." Jehovah's throne was then at Jerusalem, and it has never been anywhere else on earth. To Zion, therefore, He will come back, for He has chosen her, He desired her for a dwelling.
He is great in Zion because that is where He settles down among His own:
But it is not the judgments leading up to it that raise the joy, as we saw before, but the actual reign in Zion. For the Lord is now seated between the cherubim, at home among His people. He is "great in Zion."
(Cherubim are the golden figures over the ark, where God's presence rested.)
Why this hill and not another? One writer puts the choice down to grace:
But He reigns in Zion, which His grace has chosen as the place of His rest, the accessible capital of the whole earth. Let the peoples praise His great and awesome name, for it is holy.
That choice is also linked with the ark and its mercy seat, which gives Zion its full meaning:
The ark, with its mercy seat, speaks of Christ. So we learn the full symbolic meaning of Mount Zion: the power of God's sovereign grace, working through Christ to bless man. Man's failure has lost everything for man. God's sovereign grace then secures every blessing, flowing to us righteously on the ground of all that Christ is and has done.
The second half of the verse widens the circle. One commentator presses the Hebrew word behind "peoples" and argues it is deliberately chosen:
He now sits between the cherubim as He did before in Israel. He is great in Zion and high above all peoples. I have no doubt about this word for people (ammim). It is not used like goim, in contrast with Israel and the knowledge of Jehovah. It stands for nations that are not Israel, yet are brought into relationship with Israel, and so with Jehovah Himself.
Set beside the psalm before it, this one marks an arrival:
In the previous psalm the King is coming. In this psalm He has come. He has taken His place between the cherubim, He is great in Zion, and His rule extends over all peoples.
His place above the nations makes a claim on them. And the reason given for their praise is one no other kingdom can give:
Being high above all the peoples, He is entitled to have them praising His great and awesome name. "For He is holy" — a character generally lacking in men's kingdoms, but this is an honour shared by no other.
- Place. Zion is where God's throne on earth stands. It has never stood anywhere else, and He will come back to it.
- Grace. God chose Zion; Zion never earned it. It is the place of His rest. Its mercy seat speaks of Christ, through whom blessing comes after human failure lost everything.
- Nearness. His greatness there is the greatness of a King at home among His people, seated between the cherubim.
- Reach. The word for "peoples" covers nations outside Israel — nations brought into relationship with Israel, and so with the LORD Himself. His rule reaches them all.
- Response. He is high over all, and He is holy — a quality human kingdoms lack. So every nation owes Him praise.
They shall praise thy great and terrible name, -- it is holy! --
Psalm 99 belongs to a run of psalms that announce the Lord taking up His reign on earth. Verse 3 is the answer every nation owes Him once He does. Two questions follow: why is holiness the reason given for praise, and what makes His name so fearsome?
The psalm before this one looks forward; this one describes an arrival. One writer traces the shift and the response it calls for:
In the previous psalm the King is presented as coming; in this psalm He has come and taken His place between the cherubim, and is great in Zion, His rule extending over all peoples. The only right response from all nations is to praise His great and terrible name, for it is holy.
The cherubim are the winged figures over the ark in Israel's ancient tent of worship. That spot pictured God on His throne. Some writers here quote an older translation, which says "terrible" where the ESV says "awesome".
The praise of verse 3 flows from the position described in verse 2. His throne stands in one city, but its reach covers the earth:
But He reigns in Zion, which His grace has chosen as the place of His rest, the accessible metropolis of the whole earth. Let the peoples praise His great and terrible Name: for it is holy.
The call of verse 3 goes out past Israel, to nations that have never known Him:
The nations are summoned to fear the majesty of Israel's God. For He whose greatness is in Zion (verse 2) is high above all the peoples — a name to be dreaded among the nations (verse 3).
Yet the reason given for the praise is not His power. It is the one quality that sets His rule apart from every other government that has ever existed:
Being high above all the peoples, He is entitled to have them praising His great and awesome name (v. 3). "For He is holy" — a character generally missing in human kingdoms, but an honour that no other shares.
Verse 3 and verse 5 both end on holiness, but the wording differs, and one writer draws out who is speaking in each case:
He is the King that loves justice; and the peoples praise His Name. "It is holy." But there are those who can say, "Jehovah our God"; and in a nearer and more intimate way can say, "He is holy" (v. 5). They worship at His footstool — at the hill of His holiness.
So the psalm moves from the outside in. The nations say His name is holy. Those who can call Him "our God" say that He Himself is holy.
Holiness is not what people usually want to celebrate about God. Yet without it, no worship would be possible at all:
Holiness has first place in this cluster of glories. It is, we may say, one of the essential attributes of Deity; and without it, who could adore or even reverence Him? Yet it is the very trait of His nature to which men are most averse, and which they are most likely to overlook. He has therefore reminded us over and over again in His Word that He is holy. In this attribute of His being He is beyond compare... Thirty times in the Old Testament He is called "the Holy One of Israel."
One writer pictures the scene this psalm sets, and the song that follows it — a song the earth cannot yet sing in full:
He is now in Jerusalem. He is in the temple, judging in peace, seated between the cherubim. Everything is done just as their hearts would wish. Then comes Psalm 100. Sometimes we are asked to sing it, but I tell my friends that we shall have to wait a little before we can sing it to its own tune. It is hardly the moment yet for it to be sung in the Spirit... It will be a wonderful moment for the earth in the days to come, when that psalm is sung rightly, in a full world-wide chorus.
- Throne — The King has come and taken His seat between the cherubim. Verse 3 is the response His arrival demands.
- Centre — He is great in Zion, a city chosen by grace, and from that one place His name reaches every people.
- Name — "Great and awesome" summons the nations to fear His majesty; the name itself is what they are told to praise.
- Holy — Holiness, not power, is the reason given for the praise. It is the one honour no other kingdom shares, and the trait people most often overlook.
- Nearer — The nations say His name is holy; those who can say "our God" say He is holy — and worship at His holy hill.
And the strength of the king that loveth justice. *Thou* hast established equity it is thou that executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
The psalm has been building to one moment: the King takes His throne. Verse 4 describes the power on that throne — strength that loves justice, and a rule that carries justice out, not just declares it.
The verse describes a rule already at work, not just promised. One writer reads it as the reign of the Messiah:
Psalm 99, though simple in its character, contains some important principles. Jehovah now reigns, not only by making heavenly power visible, but by establishing that power as king upon the earth. He now sits between the cherubim as He did before in Israel. He is great in Zion and high above all peoples… Further, the King — Messiah, but still Jehovah — loves judgment. He establishes equity, and executes judgment and righteousness in Jacob. So Jehovah, the God of Jacob, was to be exalted, and in Jerusalem.
Another writer names the place He rules from, and how His people feel about His rule:
He is now in Jerusalem. He is in the temple, sitting between the cherubim and judging in peace. Everything is done just as their hearts would desire.
Older translations read the line as "the king's strength loves judgment," where the ESV has "The King in his might loves justice." One writer treats that phrase as poetry with a point:
Might and right are wedded at last, in a rule with absolute authority. No one need shrink from it except the wicked. For "the king's strength loves judgment" — a beautiful poetic phrase that strangely seems to puzzle the commentators. "You have established equity; You have executed judgment and righteousness in Jacob."
Another writer says what a rule like that asks of those under it:
These verses present the character of His rule. His name is great and holy, and His reign matches His name: power used in righteous judgment… The glory of the One who rules calls not only for submission, but for worship at the footstool of His throne, and again we hear the reminder: He is holy.
The verse names two things: equity established, and judgment carried out. One writer points to the gap between the two in human hands:
"The King's strength also loves justice." He loves to discern what is right and good in contrast to the evil that is so common (v. 4). In reigning He has established equity, equal justice for all mankind. Not only has He established such principles, He has put them into execution. Men often have good laws, but cannot enforce them. The authority of the Lord Jesus will be completely different. He will allow no breaking of His decrees. This surely gives good reason for mankind to exalt and worship the Lord our God in His absolute holiness.
If the reign is one of peace, why must the King's strength love judgment at all? One writer answers:
The Lord will reign then, and there will be peace and prosperity, joy and gladness on every hand. The devil will be bound in the bottomless pit, so that he may not tempt man to evil. Yet despite all this, sin will not be entirely done away. And so we read in Psalm 99, "The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble… The King's strength also loves judgment."
Judgment falls first "in Jacob" — in Israel. One writer shows how far its light then reaches:
In the appearing of Messiah's glory, the full rays of the divine holiness will shine out upon the furthest families of the nations. Long ago that holiness dwelt hidden in Israel's tabernacle, veiled from every eye, even from the tribes of His own inheritance. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).
- Seated. The King is not campaigning for power. He has come, taken His throne, and rules from Jerusalem.
- Wedded. Strength and justice, so often divorced in human hands, meet in Him: a rule no one need fear except the wicked.
- Enforced. He does not merely establish equity; He executes it — unlike men, who make good laws they cannot uphold.
- Necessary. Judgment still has work to do in that day, because even under His reign sin is not entirely gone.
- Worshipped. A rule that loves right and enforces it calls for more than submission. It draws worship at His footstool — and again the reminder: He is holy.
Exalt Jehovah our God, and worship at his footstool. He is holy!
In Psalm 99 the Lord has taken His place in Jerusalem, seated between the cherubim. Verse 5 is the response that follows: lift Him high, and bow low at His feet. Three questions follow. What is this "footstool"? Who does the call reach? And why does it end on the word holy?
The psalms around this one move in order, and by Psalm 99 the King has arrived and sat down.
Psalm 96 summons the nations. In Psalm 97 He is coming. In Psalm 98 He is come. He has shown His righteousness, He has remembered His mercy. In Psalm 99 He has come and made His salvation known. He sits between the cherubim, taking His place in Jerusalem. Then Psalm 100 summons the nations to come up and worship in peace.
Scripture uses the word in two ways, and only one is about worship.
The usual accompaniment of a throne. 2 Chronicles 9:18. The earth is the footstool of God's throne in the heavens. Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:35. It stands for "the place of rest." David had it on his heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the "footstool" of God. There God could find rest among His people, and there He was to be worshipped. 1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalm 99:5. It also stands for "subjection to power." The Lord Jesus must reign until all His enemies are made His footstool.
The footstool has an address on earth, and a purpose for the nations.
Verse 5 states the holiness of Jerusalem. It is the footstool of Jehovah, and the appointed place where the nations gather to worship His name.
A ruler this powerful could demand obedience alone. The call here goes further.
These verses present the character of His rule. His name is great and holy; His reign matches His name: He will use His power in righteous judgment. Man so often splits might and right apart. Under the rule of Christ, the King, they come together at last. The glory of the One who rules calls not only for submission, but for worship at the footstool of His throne. Again we are reminded that He is holy.
The peoples praise His name in this psalm. Verse 5 goes nearer: our God. (Older translations read verse 3 as "it is holy," of the name, and verse 5 as "He is holy.")
The peoples praise His Name. "It is holy." But there are those who can say, "Jehovah our God"; and in a nearer, more intimate way can say, "He is holy" (v. 5). They worship at His footstool — at the hill of His holiness.
If He is holy, who may come near Him? The answer is not a lowered standard.
This Psalm celebrates the majesty of Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel. The Psalm before it gave us the praise of the glory of His grace. Israel is a nation of worshippers with sandals removed. Through the blood of the covenant they are made partakers of the holiness they praise. Here they are heard exalting the name of Him who dwells between the cherubim.
The same holiness tests how people worship now.
Is this not the sin of the professing Christian world in the way it worships our God? Do those who do not believe share in serving in the holy things? How humbling for the people of God to mix the holy with the unholy, and to let those who do not believe into the house of God! What a dishonour to Him of whom it is said: "Holiness befits your house, O LORD," for: "Holy is Jehovah our God."
- Throne — The King has come and made His salvation known. He is seated in Jerusalem. Worship follows His arrival; it does not wait for it.
- Footstool — It is the place of rest, where God settles among His people and is worshipped. It is also the picture of enemies put under His feet. The same place means welcome, or it means subjection.
- Place — Jerusalem is that footstool. There the nations are appointed to gather and worship His name.
- Worship — His glory asks more than submission. Man tears might and right apart; the rule of Christ joins them. So exalt Him, and bow.
- Holy — "Holy is he" does not shut the worshipper out. Through the blood of the covenant, worshippers are made partakers of the holiness they praise. That is why mixing holy with unholy in worship dishonours Him.
Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name they called unto Jehovah, and *he* answered them.
Psalm 99 praises Jehovah as the holy King on His throne in Zion. Then verse 6 turns to history and names three men. Why do Moses, Aaron and Samuel belong in a psalm about God's throne? And how can one of them stand "among His priests" when he was never made a priest?
The names are not chosen at random. They stand for a faithful few who kept praying while the nation around them went wrong.
These verses remind us that God's ways in bringing the nation into blessing are like His dealings with the nation in the past, and are pictured by them. Israel's history had been one long story of sin and failure. Still, there had always been a godly remnant among this failing people. Moses and Aaron among the priests, and Samuel among the prophets, are outstanding examples of this godly remnant. At the time of the worst failure, they prayed for the people (Ex. 17:11-12; Num. 12:13; 1 Sam. 7:5-9). These leaders called on God in the day of trial. God answered and spoke to them in the pillar of cloud, and they obeyed His word.
Aaron was the priest God appointed, so it is a surprise to find Moses named on the priestly side. One writer explains that Moses held that place first, then stepped back.
Moses, no doubt, preceded Aaron; and in Moses, prophet, priest, and king were in some sense united. But that was almost bound to be the character of the man God first used to set the people apart for Himself. Once he had consecrated Aaron as God commanded, Moses stepped back behind Aaron in this respect.
Samuel was not a priest by office. The verse marks him out with a different phrase: he called on God's name.
"In the pillar of the cloud He spoke to them" could not refer to Samuel. The three together — Moses, Aaron and Samuel — stand here as practical examples of the worship the people are now called to. These were the men who drew near to Him, His priests. Samuel was not a priest by office, but in practice he stood in that place, when the priests themselves had turned away from Him. He was known above all as one who called on His name. In His faithfulness He had answered them all, and He drew near to those who drew near to Him.
Verses 6-8 look back at history for a reason. A guilty people needs to know if this holy King has any favour left for them.
Psalm 99 shows us where Jehovah's earthly throne is, and where He will reign… Can the godly remnant hope for any favour from Him? The psalm recalls His ways with Moses, Aaron and Samuel to encourage them (6-8). God forgave them. He can and will act in similar grace towards the faithful remnant of His earthly people.
God answered these men, and He also punished the nation's wrongs. Both sides belong together in His dealings.
Israel had failed completely. They cast off Jehovah, rejected Messiah, and were judged and set aside. But Jehovah had never given up His faithfulness and grace… Moses and Aaron among His priests, Samuel among those who called on His name, the true prophets with no office, whatever their measure — these called on Jehovah, and He heard them. The relationship of faith was there. Jehovah answered them, but governed His people, taking vengeance on their inventions. So, at the end, whoever calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved; but how surely He punishes their own inventions! All God's ways turn on these two things: grace, with an ear of goodness open to the cry of the meek and needy; and government that is holy and true.
Samuel's title in this verse describes his whole ministry, not one crisis. He prayed when almost nobody else did.
He was one of the few who lived in the spirit of the words, "pray without ceasing." He lived among a people who had become strangers to prayer… He would be alone in carrying the whole burden, as Moses and Aaron were in their day. That is why the psalm names him along with them in Ps. 99:6… They were all three the great intercessors on behalf of a rebellious Israel… Samuel's own words show that his ministry had two parts: prayer and teaching — prayer first, teaching next; prayer the foundation, then the building up.
- Failure — Israel's story was one long record of sin, yet a godly remnant always stood in the middle of it.
- Nearness — these men drew near to God. Samuel stood in the priest's place in practice, not by office, at the very time the priests themselves had left Him.
- Calling — Samuel's mark was calling on God's name. Prayer came first, teaching after: prayer the foundation, teaching the building.
- Answer — God drew near to those who drew near to Him. He heard them, and He still governed His people and punished their wrongs.
- Hope — the psalm recalls that record to encourage a later remnant. God forgave then, and He will act in the same grace again.