Psalm 99 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 99 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
Verse 2The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
Verse 3Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
Verse 4Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Verse 5Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
Verse 6Moses 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.
Verse 7He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
Verse 8O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Verse 9Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.
Devotion
I have a love/hate relationship with caller ID on the telephone. I love it because it allows me to see who is calling before I answer it. I hate it because it allows others to see that I am calling before they answer it. I like to be able to screen calls (especially 1-800 numbers) and decide whether or not I want to speak to the person. I dislike it when others screen me—“Oh, it’s the pastor. I don’t want to talk to him right now.” Grrrr...
The psalmist states three times that the LORD God is holy and totally other than us. And yet, the LORD God is active with the human community, working through people like Moses, Aaron, and Samuel: “They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.”
Our holy God does not screen our prayers, but listens and answers.
Prayer
Holy God, thank you for always listening to my prayers. Here is what is on my heart today... Amen.