Who Sits On Your Throne? Series

We conclude a series that explores the great character of God. Every sermon has been taken from the Psalms in this series. No other book in your Bible has as many authors as does Psalms. The superscriptions above verse 1 of many of the Psalms tell us that Moses, Solomon, Asaph, Hezekiah, and someone named Korah wrote individual psalms. While David composed the most of any of the Psalms, we don’t know who wrote Psalm 99.

The Psalms have guided us to celebrate the great character of God throughout this series. Quick review: The Psalms have taught us that not only does God exist, but everyone knows God exists deep inside them (Psalm 14).

We observed that God is eternally independent of everyone and everything from Psalm 102. We witnessed God’s greatness and goodness in Psalm 147. We marveled at God’s creative genius from Psalm 33. And we praised God because of His fatherly care for us in Psalm 104. All along the way, God’s great character is on display.

Today’s Scripture

“The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

2 The LORD is great in Zion;

he is exalted over all the peoples.

3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!

Holy is he!

4 The King in his might loves justice.

You have established equity;

you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

5 Exalt the LORD our God;

worship at his footstool!

Holy is he!

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.

They called to the LORD, and he answered them.

7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;

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,

but an avenger of their wrongdoings.

9 Exalt the LORD our God,

and worship at his holy mountain;

for the LORD our God is holy!” (Psalm 99:1-9).

An Elaborate Meal

The Psalms call on us not simply to examine the great character of God like a scientist would study something in a test tube. Instead, our hearts are to thrill to know and praise the beauty of God. If I invited you to my home and cooked you a great meal, where I prepared a mouth-watering meal for you, how would you react? If I started you off with caviar for an appetizer, only to serve you Lobster and Avocado Salad to follow. Then I segued to the main course, where you served pan-roasted halibut, asparagus spears, and wild rice pilaf. Only to finish the meal with your choice of either Crème Brûlée or tiramisu. Would you offer a “meh” with a shrug of your shoulders before leaving for your home for the night? Or, would you rave about such a meal and thank the cook? Wouldn’t you go on and on about what a wonderful meal it was? If you did such a thing for a simple meal, one of the possible 75,000 meals you might eat in your life, can you simply yawn when you see the greatest of God’s wonderful character?

The Psalms call on you to worship the majesty of God. Today, we look at God’s holiness.

Sermon Preview

1. Elevate God for He is Holy

2. Emulate God for He is Holy

1. Elevate God for He is Holy

“Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!” (Psalm 99:3). Psalm 99 gives us a beautiful picture of what life will look like when God reigns. Three simple words at the end of verse 3 say, “Holy is he!” Say the word “Holy” with me. Psalm 99 says God is holy in verse 3, verse 5, and in verse 9.

1.1 Holiness

You may have heard of the word holy, but do you know what the word holy means? People say, “Holy moly,” “Holy cow,” or even “Holy mackerel!” When you celebrate a holiday, you’re celebrating a “holy” day.

What does it mean to be holy? Think of holiness as two sides of a coin. On side #1: to be holy means to be separated from sin. Holiness has the root idea in the Old Testament of being separated from what is defective and evil. On side #2: it also means being separated for or to God.

1.1.1 Examples

Again, when you see the word “holy” in your Bible, you can think of someone or something that is withheld from ordinary use.1 When a day of the week is holy, it’s one day that’s separated from the pursuits of other days and dedicated to the Lord (Exodus 31:15). The Bible says the sabbath is holy.

1.1.2 The Tithe is Holy

When you give away ten percent of your income to God, in Leviticus 27, it says your tithes are holy. How could they become holy? The answer is anything that was put into the temple or the tabernacle. When anything was put completely at God’s disposal for the exclusive use of God, it was holy. Again, to be holy meant to be wholly devoted, to be totally devoted, to be separated unto God. So why was the tithe holy? Because it was completely used for God’s work, completely used for God’s use. That income was totally at God’s disposal.