Psalms 99

Psalms 99THE theme of this psalm, as of those immediately preceding, is the kingship of Jehovah, Psalms 99:1. The remainder falls into two stanzas of four verses each. In the first, Jehovah’s goodness to his people is propounded as a subject of applause to all mankind, Psalms 99:2-5. In the second, the same duty is enforced by an appeal to historical examples, Psalms 99:6-9. The strophical arrangement is marked by the resemblance of Psa 99:5 and Psalms 99:9. The psalm is related in the closest manner to those before and after it, as forming one connected series. See below, on Psalms 100.

1. (Psalms 99:1) Jehovah reigns, the nations tremble; sitting on (or dwelling between) the cherubim (he reigns), the earth quakes. The second member of each clause describes the effect produced by the disclosure of the fact that God has begun to reign, is actually reigning. For the meaning of the phrase sitting on (or dwelling between) the cherubim, see above, on Psalms 80:1. As used in history, it always presupposes the presence of the ark as symbolising that of God himself. See 1 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 6:2, 2 Kings 19:15. Its use here, therefore, shews that the psalm before us, and by necessary consequence, the series to which it belongs (Psalms 91-100.), and by parity of reasoning, the later prophecies of Isaiah, were all composed before the Babylonian conquest, when the temple was destroyed and the ark lost sight of.

The futures have their strict sense, as this is a prediction. If they were optative (let the nations tremble, etc.) one of the verbs at least would have that form.

2. (Psalms 99:2) Jehovah in Zion (is) great, and high (is) he above all nations. Compare Psalms 48:1; Psalms 95:3; Psalms 96:4; Psalms 97:9. The addition of the qualifying phrase in Zion shews that the reference is not to God’s absolute essential greatness, but to some signal manifestation of his greatness to his people. The word translated high is originally a participle, and may be likened to our English towering.

3. (Psalms 99:3) They shall acknowledge thy name, great and terrible: Holy (is) He! The subject of the first verb is the nations mentioned in Psalms 99:2. See above, Psalms 96:9; Psalms 97:7; Psalms 98:1; Psalms 98:4. The verb itself means to acknowledge thankfully, to thank, to . .Psalms 107praise for benefits received. See above, on Psalms 6:4. Thy name, the evidence already furnished of thine infinite perfection.

Great and feared, or to be feared, epithets derived from Deuteronomy 10:17; Deuteronomy 28:58. In the last clause some would read, Holy (is) it, i.e. thy name. But the sense is determined by the analogy of Psa 99:5; Psalms 99:9, and the obvious allusion to Isaiah 6:3. This allusion is by some supposed to be the reason of the sudden change of person, He instead of Thou. But this may be still more readily accounted for, by making these the very words in which God is acknowledged by the nations: (saying) Holy is he! Holy, in the wide sense which it has in the Old Testament, and more particularly in the Psalms.

See above, on Psalms 22:3.

4. (Psalms 99:4) And the king’s strength loves judgment; thou hast established equity: judgment and justice in, Jacob thou hast done. Some continue the construction from the preceding sentence; they shall acknowledge thy name and the king’s strength loving judgment. But as sentences of this length are unusual in Hebrew, and is not elsewhere a participle or verbal adjective, the best construction is the old one, which makes this an independent proposition. The meaning of the first clause seems to be, that God’s power is controlled in its exercise by his love of justice. To establish equity is to give it permanence by a habitually pure administration of justice. The terms of the last clause are the same by which the history describes the judicial fidelity of David, 2 Samuel 8:15, as if to indicate that it was a mere type of God’s more perfect and infallible administration of impartial justice.

5. (Psalms 99:5) Exalt ye Jehovah our God, and prostrate yourselves to his footstool. Holy (is) He! With the first clause compare Psalms 30:1; Psalms 34:3; with the second, Psalms 96:9; Psalms 97:7. As in those cases, the address is to- the nations. Bow down (or prostrate) yourselves, as an act of worship. Not at his footstool, as the mere place of worship, but to it, as the object, this name being constantly given to the ark, 1 Chronicles 28:2, Lamentations 2:1, Psalms 132:7, Isaiah 60:13. Even in Isaiah 66:1, there is allusion to the ordinary usage of the terms. The ark is here represented as the object of worship, just as Zion is in Isaiah 45:14, both being put for the God who was present in them.

6. (Psalms 99:6) Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those calling on his name— calling to Jehovah, and he answers them. The structure of the sentence is elliptical, and may be completed either by supplying are or were before among, or by making the participle calling mean are calling, call. In explaining the sentence due regard must be had to its parallelstructure. As Moses and Aaron are evidently meant to be included among those who called upon the name of the Lord, so Samuel must be comprehended among his priests. Moses and Samuel are so described because they were theocratic mediators between God and the people, and as such performed occasionally what were strictly sacerdotal functions. See Leviticus 8:15-30, 1 Samuel 9:13.

The prayers here referred to are their intercessions for the people. See Exodus 18:19; Exodus 32:11-30, Numbers 11:2; Numbers 14:9; Numbers 21:7, Deuteronomy 5:5; Deuteronomy 9:18-19, 1 Samuel 7:9; 1 Samuel 12:23, Psalms 106:23. The connection of this verse with the foregoing context is obscure, but the idea seems to be, that as even the chiefs of the theocracy were under the necessity of seeking the divine favour, such prayer must, to say the least, be equally necessary in the case of others.

7. (Psalms 99:7) In a pillar of cloud he speaks to them. They kept his testimonies and the statute he gave unto them. The first clause may be figuratively understood as denoting any special divine communication, or what was literally true of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 33:9, Numbers 12:5, Deuteronomy 31:15) may be here applied to all three indiscriminately. The verse contains a second lesson drawn from the history of the theocracy, to wit, the necessity of obedience no less than of prayer. It was true, God spoke to these men in an extraordinary manner; but it was for the purpose of making known his will, and that will they obeyed. For the meaning of testimonies, see above, on Psalms 93:5.

The last clause may be construed as an independent proposition, and he gave a statute to them, i.e. he rewarded their obedience by revealing to them new laws. But the sense thus obtained is not so clear or natural as that afforded by the relative construction, and the statute (which) he gave them.

8. (Psalms 99:8) Jehovah our God, thou didst answer them; a forgiving God wast thou to them, and (a God) taking vengeance on their crimes. The apostrophe to God himself adds solemnity and tenderness to the discourse. The pronoun is emphatic, they called and thou didst hear or answer. The following description is borrowed from Exodus 34:7. The divine name, implies that he had infinite power to destroy, and yet forgave them. The last Hebrew word in the verse is used of God in a good sense, and of man always in a bad one.

See above, on Psalms 9:11; Psalms 14:1; Psalms 77:12. There is here a beautiful transition from the representatives of the people to the people themselves. The pronoun in the first clause (them) can refer only to Moses, Aaron, and Samuel; in the second, it is applicable both to them and to the people; in the third, it relates to the latter exclusively.

9. (Psalms 99:9) Exalt ye Jehovah our God, and bow down to his holy hill; for holy (is) Jehovah our God. See above, on Psalms 99:5, from which this differs only in the substitution of the holy hill for the equivalent expression footstool, and in the more distinct assertion of God’s holiness as a reason for the worship thus required.