HOLINESS
1 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Holy is he!
4 Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Extol the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees
and the statutes that he gave them.8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Extol the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Recently, in a sermon, we paused and sang the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy. Of all the adjectives used to describe our God, holy seems to take precedence.
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
ho·ly
/ˈhōlē/
Adjective
dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred.
“the Holy Bible”
Similar:
sacred
consecrated
hallowed
sanctified
venerated
revered
reverenced
divine
religious
blessed
blest
dedicated
In Psalm 99, the term holy is the fallback position. In verse 3, verse 5, and verse 9 we are reminded that God is holy. As a Mighty King, the lover of justice; as the forgiving God, we join the psalmist in praising our God as holy.
Prayer
I lift up my heart and my soul to behold You, Holy God. As the hallowed, sacred, divine Maker, I give you thanks and praise. I extol and worship You this and every day. Amen.
