Enthronement Psalms

Background

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Psalm 99

Today is the final sermon in our six week sermon series in the book of Psalms

And the series name is On Repeat

You see, we want to repeat and know the Psalms in our minds and in our hearts

The Psalms are not a collection of outdated, meaningless, poems

Rather, they are a blueprint, a model for how we are to live, how our attitudes should be, and how our actions should reflect them

And depending on who you talk to and who you read - The Psalms are usually divided between 5-8 different kinds of Psalms

So for us, we will be looking at 6 different categories

First - Wisdom Psalms and reviewed Psalm 1

Second - Royal Psalms and reviewed Psalm 110

Third - Lament Psalms and reviewed Psalm 51

Fourth - Thanksgiving Psalms and reviewed Psalm 18

Fifth - Pilgrimage Psalms and reviewed Psalm 121

Today - We will be looking at Psalms of Enthronement

Authority

If you have been aware of social trends and generational change - you know that authority does not necissarily carry the same weight or come with the same amount of respect as before

Talk to most teachers, police officers, managers, or even the military

And while it may have gotten worse, the tension is nothing new

There is natural tension between someone who has authority and someone who is subject to that authority

And if I am honest, I am one who has always respected authority but I am also the one who would test authority

When a line is drawn, sometimes I want to know if that line is sharpie or expo - sharpie you cant erase but expo can be erased and moved

And some times this bit me in the butt, but also sometimes I got away with it

Often, what would deter me most from testing is if I knew the consequence ahead of time

If I knew what would happen if I tested line - I was able to weigh the pros and cons of testing

Is it worth the consequence if I get caught

And this thought process in and of itself is human

But there is only response that is respectful to authority and one response that isn’t

And this can be applied to almost any circumstance where there is an authority and a subordinate

The person in authority has responsibilities that the subordonate doesnt

The person in authority may have more knowledge

The person in authority may know what is best

And so the person who is subjected to the authority has to have a level of trust in the person of authority

Enthonement

Enthronement Psalms are Psalms that describe God’s sovereign rule over all his creation and his providential care of his creation

Other Enthronement Psalms you can look up are 49, 93, 96,97,98

Psalm 99 is the conclusion of a list of Psalms that celebrate God’s Kingship

Psalm 93-99 all highlight God as King and as 99 is the conclusion of this, it magnifies his Kingship over all, it proclaims that he deserves praises, and that God is active in his creation

And so it is broken up into 2 sections verses 1-5, and 6-9

And so we will look at these two sections today and declare the same intentions as the author

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

Psalm 99 The Lord reigns; 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 The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt 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 upon his name. They called to the Lord, and he answered them. 7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; 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, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. 9 Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!

This is the Word of the Lord, you may now be seated

Lord Over Everything

Lord Reigns

We said this a couple of weeks ago but we submit to God as the final authority

That God is the eternal king and so it is God who sits on high

And as this Psalm starts off, The author immediately addresses this tension between authority and the subjects

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!

There is a Lord who is currently reigning over all things - who is in authority of all things

And because he is in authority the people are to submit to his rule and to his commands

There are many today who would rather this read “The Lord reigns; let the peoples be happy

The truth of the matter is that the King does not reign or rule to please your emotions

The Lord of hosts does not make laws, rules, or commands, so that you can be happy

And because people do not like the tension of being subjected to an authority

They create little g gods, and crystals, and other religious sects - where they do not have to answer to a person of authority

They can live their life because their little g god wants them to be happy, their crystal is suppossed to bring them good energy, and there is no consequences in the religion they create - all are welcome to join

And what happens is that they try to attribute these things to our God - Yahweh

The only problem is that is not who Yahweh is

Yahweh sits enthroned upon the cherubim

Remember that the cherubim “are spiritual beings who dwell in heaven with God. They are guardians of God’s holiness, as witnessed by their role in protecting the post-fall garden (Gen. 3:24).”

R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 946.

God is holy - and his holiness is the standard for all people

His holiness will always be protected and will always rule

And because it is God who is holy, it is God who is perfect,

It is only God who is exalted over all the peoples.

Last week we talked about the temple of God being on Mt. Zion and the people would travel there to worship and give praise to Him

And wether people liked it or not, the temple was built above all - above the believers and the nonbelievers

This is symbolic as it is God who will always remain and rule above all

And so this introduction of God ruling and in authority and holy - is then declared explicitely in verses 3-5

3 Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! 4 The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

Lovers of Justice

Whenever I would push the line, test authority - and got caught, the negative consequence was usually an act of justice

I rightfully deserved the punishment because I had disobeyed the authority

And our God who is over all and sees all and rules over all - He is a King who loves and executes justice

And so this is why it is so important that the writer of the Psalm starts off declaring that the peoples should tremble

Because the Holy God who ensures and protects holiness loves justice

Justice is necessary to make things right

Justice is necessary to protect holiness

And whenever justice is necessary or needed - God will protect holiness and execute justice on whoever needs it

And at the end of verse 4 we see that justice is executed for Jacob but then the word righteouss is also brought in

And to keep from confusion lets try to grasp the concept of holiness and righteousness

God is both holy and righteous - they are both states of being moral

However Holiness is a state of being moral - God in his essence is Holy

Righteousness is a declaration of being moral - Because God is Holy - He is now declared as righteous

And so the writer now brings in justice and righteousness because man on his own is unclean

Man falls short of holiness - and since man is not holy - man cannot be called righteous

And so man cannot get holiness on his own and threfore man cannot get to righteousness on his own

It is only God, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords who can execute his justice on a man to then make them Holy and therefore declaring them righteous

And the author writes about how God did this for Jacob

Jacob failed miserably as he decieved his father Issac for the birthright that should have went to Esau

And so Jacob went on the run and had a lot of growing up to do as he himself got decieved and had to learn to trust in the Lord

And as Jacob got older, he did trust in the Lord and the Lord blessed him and restored him to righteousness

But here is what we have to remember, God loves justice and it is only God who can give justice perfectly

And so in our own minds we might ask, well how is it fair that Jacob got to be restored and blessed so well

That deceit and theft should be punished ten fold

But our justice is not the same as God’s justice and what we will talk about in a minute is that it is a good thing that his justice is not the same as ours

And so this first section ends with verse 5 which is a shout of praise, a declarartion of who God is, a declaration of our subjection to his Kingship, to his authority

5 Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

We are at his footstool, we are under He who is Holy

God Is Active

Faithful to Men, Faithful to Us

And this same God who was active in Jacob’s righteousness is the same God who is active other might men of the faith

The second section starting in verse 6 lists out Moses, Aaron, and Samuel

And there was a common theme among them - as they called upon the name The Lord, as they called upon the one who is Holy - God answered them

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the Lord, and he answered them. 7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; 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, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. 9 Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!

And we know that just like Jacob, these men were far from perfect, they failed many times

And these men realized they could not be righteous on their own

So they call out to God

You see, God had to be constantly active in their walk with him

God sits on his throne and he doesnt just leave these men to walk in their error of their ways

Rather - he is constantly avenging and making them right as they call upon his name

And so God would avenge as he deemed necessary

Hey, I dont personally think it is fair that Moses never got to enter the promise land

C’mon, for striking a rock out of anger?

But who am I to deem what is fair and just?

Who am I, but a constant transgressor just as Moses was

And even though there was a consequence for Moses’ action

It was still because of Moses’ belief and faith in God that after he passed, he is dwelling at the footstool of God

How can we be so confident? Matthew 17 the transfiguration of Jesus - Moses was there

Is that not a gracious and forgiving God?

The same Holy, Just, and Righteous God who was active in these mens lives, is also active in our life

God the Father knew before you and I were born that we would not be holy

We would be unclean

We would fail and go against God’s authority

We would break his holy and perfect law

And at the time of Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, there was promise of a savior

They believed God that a Savior would come

They trusted and had faith in God that the Messiah would save God’s people

And so it was their faith that saved them

You see, God the Father is always on his throne, he is always King, He is always in control

There is nothing that happens apart from him or without him knowing

And when he made the promise of Jesus,

He knew that he would be sending His one and only Son, Jesus to earth

God the Father still on his throne sends Jesus to earth

Impregnated by the God the Holy Spirit, Mary carried Jesus and gave birth to him

Jesus was walking on this earth and Jesus was fully God and fully man which means that Jesus was Holy - just as his Father in heaven is Holy

And what happens at the baptism of Jesus?

Matthew 3:15-17 “But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

The baptism of Jesus was fitting to fulfill righteousness

And so we find the trinity of God present and revealed

Jesus in the water, the spirit decending, and God the Father calling down from his throne, Matthew 3:17 “and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

And to conquer sin and death, Jesus although holy, unjustly was sentenced to be crucified

And Jesus, to make us righteous, willingly went to the cross

He went to the cross and on the cross he cries out, Matthew 27:46 my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

This was a spiritual wrath of God taken upon Jesus for God’s people

That as Jesus endured this spiritual wrath - he was apart from the Holiness of God

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

And this righteousness was made possible because God being just, God being holy, God being righteous -

Jesus in his Godness conquered sin and death and arose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God the Father

It was only Jesus who could become sin for us and conquer it because he is God

And so anyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus alone for salvation, will be counted as righteous

Their sins are forgiven, they were avenged on the cross through Jesus

And so everyone who repents and believes will be saved

And those that do will strive for righteousness on earth

And on earth they may fail at times, but is sure to forgive

And when the believer dies, even if they die without a confession of a recent sin,

That sin is paid for, atoned for, avenged for by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

And that believer will be in heaven worshipping at the footstool of God

Application

Live Righteously

And so for you and me today - we should be worshipping and declaring Gods enthronement, God’s righteousness, becaue he has made us righteous through Jesus

Are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness?

Matthew 5:6 ““Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

In our New Day Daily Bible reading, we read Romans 5 this past week, this is what Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

As we live, we should be pursuing righteousness - to be morally right with God - to be obedient to his authority

And when we fail there is grace and forgiveness but as we continue to pursue Jesus

He will continue to grow you through the Holy Spirit that when you suffer, you will endure, as you endure, your character will be changed, and your character produces hope, and because your hope is in Christ Jesus you will be satisfied

The Spirit of God in you is active

You are not alone to live out your faith alone

But just as God was with Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel

The same God is with you - dwelling in you

The Holy Spirit will guide you and convict you towards righteousness

For those of you who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus, dont delay - God is King, God is in authority, and God has made a way for you to be made right with Him

Believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and trust that he will keep you.

He wants to be in relationship with you - He can change your heart and he will change your life

Submit to him today during our prayer

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