paid in full, praisellujah

Psalm 99:9, "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy."

Called the "holy, holy, holy" psalm, this psalm calls the people to worship the Lord in view of His future reign...because He is holy and  He answers prayers.  Throughout the psalm God's holiness is mentioned three times.

God is holy.  Charles Spurgeon said, "Holiness is the harmony of all the virtues.  The Lord has not one glorious attribute alone, or in excess, but all glories are in Him as a whole; this is the crown of His honor and the honor of His crown."

Henry also said, "Then He ruled more by the power of holy fear; now He rules by the power of holy love."  The Israelites lived under the Mosaic Covenant of following the law....they feared God because He was just and would punish them for their sin because He is holy and cannot tolerate sinners.  However, God tempers holiness with mercy.  He listened to the prayers of those who interceded for the Israelites...Moses, Samuel and Aaron. 

In our time, we live under a new covenant...Jesus.  He paid the penalty for our sin.  He did not remove our sin, but covered the cost of it with His precious blood...the ultimate love.  Knowing God's holiness gives us hope because He will deal justly with evil.  He will deal mercifully with the godly who have acknowledged Jesus as their Savior.  One debt with will be paid at the judgement seat by those who denied His kingship/holiness.  The other will face Him with a bill marked "Paid in Full".  And our response will be to worship and exalt Him at His mountain.