August 8 — Psalm 99

“The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he! Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them. O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy.”

The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!

This does not sound like a Psalm of comfort — if the people are to tremble because of G-d’s reign. We just studied Psalm 98 where it was determined to have inspired Isaac Watt in writing the wonderful hymn “Joy to the World” — a celebration of the Kingship of Jesus. Now, we are told to tremble at the sight of such a king.

We know that there are many reasons to tremble — just watching people try to navigate this pandemic has produced many scenes where people seem to be visibly trembling. However, does trembling always represent fear?

While the guilty person might tremble at the thought of judgment, the righteous tremble at the sight of G-d’s holiness. One is the fear of being punished — the other is reverence for the mercy and grace all people need — for we all are sinners and fall short of the glory, the majesty, and the magnificence of the King of Kings.

I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating, in Luther’s explanation of the Ten Commandments, he begins each one with these words: “We should fear and love G-d…” There is room for both in our lives — a reverence of G-d that defines our faith, and a love that is defined by that reverence.

Let us pray:

Holy God, you are exalted over all the nations and just in all your ways. Strengthen us to worship you with our deeds and to proclaim your greatness with our lips, for the glory of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.