Sunday, August 16, 2015

August 16, 2015: Psalm 99


Psalm 99
Passage:
The Lord rules—
the nations shake!
He sits enthroned on the winged
heavenly creatures—
the earth quakes!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them thank your great
and awesome name.
He is holy!
Strong king who loves justice,
you are the one
who established what is fair.
You worked justice and righteousness
in Jacob.
Magnify the Lord, our God!
Bow low at his footstool!
He is holy!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel too among those
who called on his name.
They cried out to the Lord,
and he himself answered them—
he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud.
They kept the laws and the rules
God gave to them.
Lord our God, you answered them.
To them you were a God who forgives
but also the one who avenged
their wrong deeds.
Magnify the Lord our God!
Bow low at his holy mountain
because the Lord our God is holy![1]

Reflection: If God loves justice, mercy, and righteousness, then we can please God when we live out those things.  In fact, God has called us to be holy people just as God is holy. Moreover, when we become Christians, we become part of a new people. We become a new nation of God’s people.  God’s people are priestly people.  We are God’s ministers to this broken and hurting world.  According to this psalmist, when we have such an opportunity, we really have an obligation to pursue justice, mercy, forgiveness, and righteousness. We do this all to lift up the name of God and show the world that God is holy.
Reflection Questions:
Morning: How has God forgiven and restored you?
Noon:  How has God offered you mercy and brought justice?
Evening:  How can you offer someone mercy, forgiveness, and be an agent of justice and restoration?
Prayer: Lord, help us to live into your mercy, forgiveness, justice, and holiness as we serve and love your children who are our neighbors.




[1] Common English Bible (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011), Ps 99:1–9.

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