PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Psalm 99
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble… let the earth shake.” (Psalm 99:1)
This psalm celebrates the greatness of God, as Israel knew God.
A mighty God, a just God, a God of equity (v.4).
A God that hears, a God that knows, a God that cares.
This in contrast to the gods of the other nations.
This great God is not just a local, tribal god, great among its own people.
The God of Israel is really the God of creation, the God of all people.
There is only one God, though there are many different ideas about God.
Some of those ideas (religions) propose many gods, but there is still only one God.
Though not everyone believes in a supreme being, most people do.
God does not belong to Christianity, or Islam, or Judaism.
God is not restricted to to a few people, or a few places.
This great God entered time through Jesus, because He loved the world.
This universal God expresses universal love through Jesus’ universal sacrifice.
So that “all the nations” can “praise Your great and awesome name”! (vv.2-3)
PRAYER
Lord, you have shown us God’s love for all people, all places. You now reign on our behalf, with all authority in heaven and on earth. Great and awesome is your Name!
“Lord our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.” I experience God as a forgiving God and I don’t feel that God punishes me – He hasn’t always made my life go the way I wanted it to go – He has redirected me – in that sense has discipled me. But I don’t feel God as a tough disciplinarian! I thank Him for his infinite grace – as the Psalmist says, I find God forgiving. That is the God in whom is my hope – he reached me through Jesus – son of God son of Man and I experience the breath of the Holy Spirit! Thanks be to God