Listen

Strong king who loves justice, you are the one who established what is fair. You worked justice and righteousness in Jacob. Magnify the Lord, our God! Bow low at his footstool! He is holy! Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel too among those who called on his name. They cried out to the Lord, and he himself answered them— he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud. They kept the laws and the rules God gave to them. Lord our God, you answered them. To them you were a God who forgives but also the one who avenged their wrong deeds. Magnify the Lord our God! Bow low at his holy mountain because the Lord our God is holy!

Psalm 99:4-9

Think

Praise in the Bible is always substantive — it always has a reason. As Psalm 99 continues to celebrate the fact that a holy God is king, the psalmist starts listing out exactly why that fact is good news.

It’s good news because God is a king who loves justice and is strong enough to bring it about. God cares about how we treat each other. So much of the Bible is about God teaching us how to love each other better. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we should love justice too — and work to bring it about.

It’s good news because God not only speaks to us — God listens to and answers us also. God cares about who we are and how we feel. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect and forgives us when we fail. God helps us be better.

Why is the fact that a holy God is king good news to you? Why do you join in the psalmist’s praise? What holds you back? Remember that God cares. God listens. And God answers.

Rebecca Poe Hays

Pray

Holy and glorious God, thank you for loving justice and loving me.

Help me to love justice and love others like you do, and help me to praise you every day.

Amen.

Go

Your genuine faith will result in praise, glory, and honor for you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you’ve never seen him, you love him. Even though you don’t see him now, you trust him and so rejoice with a glorious joy that is too much for words.

1 Peter 1:7b-8