psalm 99

I think the reason it’s hard to write good worship music is because it takes a lot of effort for me to bring the vastness of my emotional and thought world into some sort of artistic convergence.  It usually takes a measure of holistic engagement with the Bible that usually results in a little more introspection than I asked for.  Simply put, when I write, God is faithful to let me know that I’m a sinner, and that he loves me eternally and abundantly.

The Psalms are full of soul-exposing poetry and lyrics, much of which can go undiscovered or unnoticed if something like that holistic engagement is set aside for superficial knowledge or half-hearted reflection.  Take Psalm 99, for instance.  When you read it on its face, it’s pretty straightforward.  Nothing really to see.  But let’s take verse 1.  I know that most of us are already fixed inside our Western cosmologies, so if you were to read this carefully:

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthrones upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

it should make no sense to you.  You see, for us over here in Western Industrial Enlightenment-land, it makes absolutely no sense that there would be a close connection between our spiritual and physical existence.  However, it was very different for the Jews (especially the ones who followed Jesus around, but even the ones that came before them).  They were quite aware of the fact that God’s presence in the world (signified here by his reign as king) meant something real and tangible for all creation.  When I read this, it makes me think about whether or not I know Jesus as this kind of King.  Sometimes, I fall into thinking that the Jesus I gave my life to is a figment of my imagination, a guy who was real to people 2000 years ago.  I forget to pray and to hope and to live as though he is the risen, reigning King of this world, now and forever.  The question is not whether or not he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; rather, the question is whether or not I’m letting all of Jesus’ character shape my expectations of him.

I think this psalm gives us a great praise imperative (it has two variations):

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

Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy! (verse 9)

I’ll end on this.  People talk about God being holy, and usually have no idea what that means for their life.  These verses are pretty clear: one indication of the value of God’s holiness in your life is how much you give him credit and honor for his character and his work.  Think of it this way: you’ll talk someone’s ear off about the people you think are memorable or one-of-a-kind.

NOTE: you can find recordings of all of my discussed music by clicking on the My Music link at the right.