One would have to work hard to miss the point in this psalm. Even the structure by which the main theme is broken into parts is made clear.The central affirmation is made three times (3, 5, 9). Each of these three statements of his holiness marks a section where a different aspect of that holiness has been examined.
He is holy in sovereignty (1-3).
He is unlike other gods, who were conceived as being local or seasonal.He sits above the cherubim, those representations of limited heavenly beings (1).The peoples, all the peoples, must tremble before him and exalt him (1-2).Therefore, he is to be praised as holy (3).
We live too much of our lives as independent of God. His ordering of life is ignored nearly as much by Christians as by atheists.Not all of life is worship, but all of life IS to be lived God’s way and to his glory (Col 3:17, 23).
He is holy in justice (4-5).
Other rulers, both human and divine, were seen as powerful but not as interested in justice.The Lord “loves justice” (4). The idea that justice is of particular interest to God is repeated in passages likePsalm 89:14; 97:2; Micah 6:6-8; Amos 5:21-24; and Matthew 23:23
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
We live too much of our lives unconcerned with justice.Parents and teachers are often more concerned with noise control than justice. Children grow up believing that it is okay to compromise what is right for an unholy peace.We often see the fruit of this in churches racked with strife because people have not learned to do right but have learned that the “squeaking wheel gets the grease.” So, they squeak.We see the fruit of this on the national and international level. The key to winning an election is not justice but promises of prosperity.
Our God is holy in justice, and we must strive for holiness in justice as well. Our standard is not the world’s view of justice but the demands of our holy God.
He is holy in history (6-9).
Other gods are presented by the various world religions as “saving” those who deserve to be saved. But the Lord’s holiness is seen in his twin commitments to justice and mercy.
He makes history not the record of human wars and oppressions but the record of his salvation.Artur Weiser says it well when he comments, “The greatest statement he is able to make with regard to God’s nature is neither that God’s universal might has a power that can shake the whole world nor that God has established the rule of law that governs every life, but that he has shown himself to be the God of grace, which has transformed the history of Israel into a Heilsgeschichte [history of salvation]” (643).
The Lord’s holiness is seen in the fact that the history of Jacob became the history of salvation! Moses Aaron, and Samuel — each seriously flawed in one way or another — were redeemed and were used by this God to save others.
If the history of Jacob can be salvation history, if denying Peter and persecuting Saul were redeemed and used to save others, then our God is holy and there is hope for us.
He is not like other gods. He is holy. He is holy in sovereignty, in justice, and in working salvation in history.
Eswatini