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Daily Devotion: Psalm 99:5&9

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Psalm 99:5    "Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy."

Psalm 99:9    "Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy."

How far does God's mercy reach?  I feel His mercy extends to our humanity. What do I mean by that?  Not to get ahead of myself, but in a few more Psalms we shall see that God understands the frame of our very being. He knows our weaknesses and our strengths. AND yet, He still loves us. What does this have to do with the two verses that we printed above?  

The Lord inspired the Psalmist to describe two different places where worship is acceptable.  "Worship at His footstool." Where is His footstool?  "Thus saith the LORD, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." (Isaiah 66:1) What is the Lord telling us in our first verse this morning?   Have you ever seen a beautiful sunset and your heart was moved to whisper a declaration of love and thanksgiving unto the Lord?  Do the mountains take away your breath at times? How about the vastness of the ocean? The Lord is telling us that this is His creation and He absolutely accepts our worship and praise when we are enjoying His handiwork, called nature. Worship the Lord at His footstool. His footstool is all the earth.

I have addressed this on more than one occasion and maybe I have been a bit harsh about it. There is a reason. Though God has said He accepts our worship while we are out among His handiwork, we must be careful that we do not allow that to become the substitute for public worship.  Our second verse declares that we are to worship God in the public assembly of worshippers.  "Worship at His Holy Hill." What and where is His Holy Hill?  If I understand it correctly, this is speaking of the Old Testament word, "Zion", which is representative of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to engage in public worship with other saints of God who love and seek to worship the Lord.

There is a great blessing of encouragement and strength when we are in the presence of the Lord and His people. There is a warmth of heart that cannot be replaced by anything else. The times we find ourselves separated from other worshippers, we tend to grow cold in our love for the Lord and for His people. Yes, God's mercy extends to our humanity. He knows our tendencies and He makes provision for our weaknesses. Let us avail ourselves to every opportunity to be together engaging in worship and praise.

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