Today’s reading is Psalm 99.
The only characteristic of God declared in triplicate is found in Isaiah 6:3:
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory! (ESV)
Psalm 99 mirrors this declaration.
Holy is he! (vs. 3)
Holy is he! (vs. 5)
The LORD our God is holy! (vs. 9)
We tend to think of holiness as a matter of ethics. However, even more fundamentally, it is a state of existence or being. How many times have you heard preachers state that being a saint or being sanctified means to be set apart? Are you aware this concept of saintliness and sanctification connect to holiness? Saints are holy ones. In fact, the same word translated “holy” in Psalm 99 is translated “saints” in Psalm 16:3; 34:9.
In other words, holiness refers to a state of set apartness or transcendence. “Saint” refers to people set apart by God from the world for His purposes and His glory. Certainly, while God’s holiness includes ethical purity, fundamentally, God’s holiness refers to His transcendence above and beyond everything else. He is above me, above you, above your neighbor, above all the people you know. More than that, He is set apart, separate from, and above all creation. The pantheists and polytheists miss this. They see “god” in created things. They do not mean by this they see the creation of God, the fingerprint of God, or the reflection of God, as Jews and Christians might mean. They mean they see “god” in those things. To pantheists, all that exists makes up god. To polytheists, the sun is a god, the moon is a goddess, the constellations are gods, rivers become gods, etc. These are faulty pictures. The one, true God is holy. That is, He is completely set apart from creation and transcends all created things. He is not part of created things, nor are created things part of Him. He is Creator and all else is creation.
Do not be duped by lesser pictures of God. Do not worship creation or creatures; worship the Creator. Worship the true God, the Holy God.
Praise the Lord!
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 99.
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does Psalm 99 prompt or improve your praise of God?