Commentary - Psalm 99:6-9

Bird's-eye view

In this final strophe of Psalm 99, the psalmist grounds the worship of a holy God in the historical reality of His dealings with Israel. The refrain running through this psalm is the holiness of God, first His holy name (v. 3), then His holy judgments (v. 5), and culminating here in His holy mercy (v. 9). The passage presents us with a startling paradox: God is a forgiving God who also takes vengeance on the sinful deeds of His people. How can these two things be reconciled? The answer is found not in a sentimental view of God, but in the robust reality of His covenant faithfulness, mediated through flawed men like Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, which all points forward to the ultimate mediation of Christ.

This section provides concrete examples of what it looks like for a holy God to interact with a sinful people. He answers them, speaks to them, forgives them, and disciplines them. This is not a distant, abstract holiness, but a holiness that engages with the messiness of our history. The psalm concludes with a final, resounding call to exalt Yahweh and worship Him at His holy mountain, because the foundation of our worship is this very character of God. He is holy, and His holiness encompasses both His forgiveness and His justice.

Outline

Commentary

6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They would call upon Yahweh and He would answer them.

The psalmist now brings his theology down to earth with historical pegs. He is not talking about abstract principles; he is talking about how the holy God dealt with actual men. He names three of the greats: Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. These were the mediators of the old covenant. Moses was the great lawgiver, Aaron the first high priest, and Samuel the prophet who anointed kings. They were men who stood in the gap between God and the people.

The central activity mentioned here is prayer, or "calling on His name." This is the essence of the priestly, mediatorial role. They would call, and God would answer. This is a foundational truth of our relationship with God. He is not a silent idol or a distant force. He is a God who hears and speaks. The entire history of redemption is a history of God answering His people. This is not just a bland historical observation; it is setting the stage for the difficult verse that follows. God's engagement with us is real, personal, and consequential.

7 He would speak to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statute that He gave them.

God's answer was not a vague impression; it was clear revelation. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud. This points us back to the Exodus, to Mount Sinai, to the Tabernacle. The pillar of cloud and fire was the visible manifestation of God's holy presence among His people. It was both glorious and terrifying, a symbol of His nearness and His otherness. This is where God met with Moses, where He gave His law. God is not silent, and when He speaks, He speaks with authority.

And what was the response of these mediators? "They kept His testimonies." They were not perfect men by any stretch of the imagination. Moses struck the rock, Aaron fashioned the golden calf, and Samuel's sons were corrupt. The psalmist knows this, and we will get to it in a moment. But the general tenor of their lives was one of faithfulness. They received God's Word and they guarded it. They obeyed the statute He gave them. There is a necessary connection between hearing God's voice and keeping His commands. True faith is never a disembodied assent; it is always obedient faith.

8 O Yahweh our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.

Here we come to the heart of the matter, the central tension. The psalmist addresses God directly now: "You answered them." This is a settled fact. But how did He answer them? He was, on the one hand, "a forgiving God to them." The Hebrew word here is rich, speaking of pardon and lifting a burden. God forgave Aaron for the golden calf. He forgave Moses for his flashes of anger. He forgave the nation time and again at the intercession of these men.

But then comes the whiplash: "And yet an avenger of their evil deeds." The King James says He "tookest vengeance of their inventions." God forgave Aaron, but that generation still died in the wilderness. God forgave Moses, but he was still barred from entering the Promised Land. God is not a sentimental grandfather who simply winks at sin. Forgiveness from a holy God is not a "boys will be boys" kind of forgiveness. It is not a gloss-over-it forgiveness. This is a forgiveness that maintains the highest and holiest of standards. God's holiness demands that sin be dealt with. He doesn't grade on a curve. So how can He be both a forgiving God and an avenger of sin? The Old Testament saints lived in the tension of this question. The final answer is found at the cross. God poured out His vengeance for our inventions on His Son, so that He could be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:26). He forgives us because He took vengeance on our sin in Christ. This is a holy forgiveness, a forgiveness that cost the blood of God's own Son. It is a weighty, terrible, glorious forgiveness.

9 Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at His holy mountain, For holy is Yahweh our God.

The psalm concludes with its third great refrain, a final summons to worship. "Exalt Yahweh our God." Lift Him high. Recognize His supreme worth. And where are we to do this? "Worship at His holy mountain." For the original audience, this was Mount Zion, the place of the temple. It was the place where God had chosen to place His name, the place where heaven and earth met. For us, this holy mountain is the heavenly Jerusalem, the assembly of the firstborn (Heb. 12:22-24). We ascend to this mountain in our corporate worship every Lord's Day.

And why do we do this? What is the ultimate reason? "For holy is Yahweh our God." The foundation for all true worship is the holiness of God. Not His niceness, not His agreeableness, but His holiness. His holiness is the sum of all His perfections. It is what makes His mercy so staggering and His justice so terrifying. The seraphim in Isaiah's vision do not cry "Loving, loving, loving," or "Just, just, just." They cry "Holy, holy, holy." This is the ultimate reality of the universe. And because our God is holy, He has made a way for us to be forgiven without compromising that holiness. He has dealt with our sin in the death of His Son. Therefore, we come, not with trembling fear of condemnation, but with joyful, reverent awe, to worship at His holy mountain.

Key Issues

The Paradox of Forgiveness and Judgment

The central theological challenge of this passage is the declaration in verse 8 that God is both a forgiving God and an avenger of evil deeds. This is not a contradiction but a profound statement about the nature of God's holiness. His forgiveness is not cheap grace. It does not mean sweeping sin under the rug. The sins of God's people have real, historical consequences. Moses was forgiven, but the consequence of his sin at Meribah was that he could not enter the land. David was forgiven for his sin with Bathsheba, but the sword never departed from his house.

How does God maintain His perfect justice while extending pardon? The New Testament reveals the answer fully in the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross, God's forgiveness and His vengeance met. God poured out the full measure of His wrath against sin upon His own Son. He took vengeance on our "inventions" by punishing them in Christ. Because the penalty has been paid, He is now free to forgive us completely, without any compromise of His perfect holiness. This is what Paul means when he says God is both "just and the justifier" (Romans 3:26). Our forgiveness is a holy forgiveness, purchased at an infinite price. It is this profound reality that should fuel our worship.

Application

This psalm calls us to a robust and reverent worship. Our worship must be grounded in the character of God as He has revealed Himself, not as we would like Him to be. He is holy, which means He is both merciful and just.

First, we must take our sin seriously. God is an avenger of our evil deeds. We cannot presume upon His grace or treat His forgiveness as a light thing. Our sin has consequences, both for ourselves and for others. We must confess our sins with genuine repentance, knowing that they are an offense against a holy God.

Second, we must take God's forgiveness seriously. Because of Christ, God is truly a forgiving God to us. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). We do not have to live under a cloud of guilt or fear. We can come to Him with confidence, knowing that our sins have been paid for. The same holiness that demands justice has provided the sacrifice that satisfies it.

Finally, our response to this holy God must be worship. We are to exalt Him and worship at His holy mountain. This is not a dreary obligation but a joyful privilege. We get to ascend into the heavenly places every week and join with the saints and angels in praising the God who is holy, holy, holy. Our worship should be characterized by a deep sense of awe and gratitude for the God who forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, all without compromising His own perfect holiness.