Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

in joyful assembly.” (Heb. 12:22) It is unmistakable that our praise and worship is designed to have in- ternational impact and that the worship of ‘Yahweh’ is not meant to be the adoration of a regional deity, but to become the marvel of the entire earth. Sacred music’s destiny is huge; its sounds will someday cover the earth. God is called holy more than anything else in the Bible. Boice tells us that because Hebrew did not have italicized words or quotation marks, emphasis is accomplished by repetition. That is why this psalm tells us three different times that God is holy. He also mentions that the holiness of God is ‘impossible to understand’ because that is ‘the very nature of God that distinguishes him from all else 2 .’ While ho- liness generally means ‘set apart’ and ‘separate’ it goes deep into the mystery of who and what God truly is. This is revealed to us through Jesus, God’s ‘holy one’ who is completely identified with us in his hu- manness and totally different from us in his attributes of goodness, power, love and complete right- eousness. We worship him because he is different in the most wonderful way imaginable. “Mighty king, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and right- eousness throughout Israel. Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet (…and worship at his foot- stool, NIV), for he is holy!” (4, 5) The gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus initiated justice and fairness at his first coming and would completely fulfill it at his second appearing and final great victory. “This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him: ‘Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen... I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations…He will not crush those who are weak…until he brings full justice with his final victory.” (Mt. 12:17-20) When we humble ourselves, we exalt the Lord: “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.” (1 Pet. 5:6) The Scripture speaks of two footstools, the place of greatest humility for the worshiper: • The Earth- “…the earth is my footstool.” (Isa. 66:1) The earth is the scene of the humiliation of the Son of God when he went to the cross. It is also becoming the footstool of exaltation as the nations of the world awake in praise. • The Ark of the Covenant- “It was my (David’s) desire to build a temple where the Ark of the Lord’s covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently.” (2 Chron. 28:2) The worshiper in the Old Tes- tament could come and bow before the Lord’s presence between the wings of the cherubim. In the New Testament, the ‘footstool’ of the Lord was literally the ‘feet of Jesus.’ • The Feet of Jesus Many precious events of healing, instruction and mercy took place at the feet of Jesus but none was more touching than the woman who came to the house of Simon the Pharisee: “Then she knelt be- hind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” (Lk. 7:38) Jesus is the New Testament temple, he is the Ark of the Covenant, his feet are the ‘footstool’ of God. “Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also called on his name. They cried to the Lord for help, and he answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud, and they followed the de- crees and principles he gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God, but you punished them when the went wrong.” (6-8) Exaltation and worship at the feet of Jesus will lead naturally into intercession as that is the ongo- ing work of Christ: “…he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.” (Rom. 8:34) Moses (along with his brother Aaron) and Samuel were considered the greatest intercessors for the nation of Israel. God speaks to Jeremiah about Samuel and Moses and the hopeless condition of the corrupted nation: “…Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them.” (Jer. 15:1) This psalm re- minds the reader of the great mercy of God shown to the nation under the administration of the two gi- ants of faith and encourages the hearer to trust and obey even in the most difficult of times. II MIGHTY KING - 4,5 III MOSES AND AARON - 6-9

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