Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.
99 The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He [a]is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2 The Lord [b]is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is [c]He.
4 The [d]strength of the King loves [e]justice;
You have established [f]equity;
You have executed [g]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [h]Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They kept His testimonies
And the statute that He gave them.
8 O Lord our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For holy is the Lord our God.
This psalm begins with a description of God’s power, greatness, and holiness. He loves and executes justice, and we are called to exalt Him and worship at His footstool. Yet in v. 6 it tells us that, “They (Moses, Aaron, and Samuel) called upon the Lord and He answered them.” It’s not difficult to find other examples of people who called upon God and were answered. Or even folks like Joseph who kept on trusting, through the darkest of times, and God brought them through.
All of this shows us an unusual thing (for a deity): that God actually cares about us, loves us, and is interested in what we say and do. When the people of Israel had been led astray by Ahab and Jezebel, Elijah called upon God, and He answered in a big way. Though they had deserted God, he had not forgotten them.
Yes, God is amazing, majestic, all-powerful, and so much more. He deserves our adoration and praise, our respect and fear, and more. Never treat Him lightly, or shrug him off, lest you follow Ahab down a dark path. But remember always that God is personal, with you right now, where you are. He is not distant, needing to be woken up, or called back from vacation like Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal.
The God who is holy and exalted has called you by name, and called you His own. Slow down, stop even, and know Him better, each day, every day.