Author: timritanickel@gmail.com

Psalm 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.

All unbelievers will fear the name and the glory of the Lord. The response of “fear” here is used in the sense of really being afraid, not in the sense of belief. The almighty majesty and awesome power of God instills fright in the sinner when confronted with His glory. The sinner cannot stand before the holiness and righteous judgment of God.

He will be brought to his knees in the face of His revealed power and glory, forced to recognize His majesty and crumble before the just judgment of God upon his sin In fact, when Jesus appears in glory to all the earth at the end of the age, every knee shall bow, whether on the earth or under the earth or in heaven, at the name of Jesus, and confess that He is Lord [Philippians 2:10-11]. The believer will bow gladly and willingly; the unbeliever will bow grudgingly and unwillingly, with gnashing of teeth regretting that they did not fear (believe) God when they could have.

Jesus Christ will have His worship as Lord one way or another from all Creation. So it would certainly be a good idea to fear, love and worship the Lord now when we hear the Gospel of grace and forgiveness. Fearing God leads to loving God when we hear that He first loved us.

Psalm 102:1-2 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.

In the day when I am in trouble, which to some degree is every day in a world of sin, I respond with prayer and crying to the Lord. I believe He hears my prayer, sees my need, and answers me. Since I am very often in some kind of trouble I will “pray without ceasing.” No matter where I go or what I am doing He is there with loving care and open ears to hear my prayer and cry.

In the day, and at the moment, when I call upon the Lord He hears and answers for the sake of Jesus. The Spirit brings my trouble before the Lord, and He answers right away (speedily). Psalm 50:15: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” God answers immediately, though it may take time to work it out. He is never in a hurry, but He is never late. Call! He hears!

Psalm 101:2-3 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

We as sinners cannot and will not behave perfectly in public nor will we walk with a perfect heart in private with our thoughts. But we can want to and purpose to live perfectly in thought, word and deed. Therefore, we repent daily of our failures and receive forgiveness and new life. By faith the Holy Spirit freely grants us the righteousness and perfections of God. He energizes us to behave and walk according to His ways. In Christ we are perfect, declared righteous, and we desire to walk by the Spirit that lives within us.

We maintain that perfect life by remembering God’s grace and being reminded of the gospel daily. He moves me to will and to do, as I am led by the Spirit. Our response to God’s forgiveness, life and salvation is to recommit our life and renew our minds: I will behave; I will walk. Daily repentance and faith renews and sustains us to behave in a perfect way and walk with a perfect heart.

With His help we avoid seeing sinful things, and we hate the work of those who have turned aside from God. Instead we fix our eyes on things above, where Christ is. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness [2 Peter 1:3].”

Psalm 101:1 I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.

In response to God’s Word and revelation of mercy, love and kindness I will sing unto the Lord. I will sing praises to the Lord in the assembly of thr congregation of believers, and all through the day I will sing in my heart unto the Lord.

I will sing of mercy and judgment, Law and Gospel. I sing of God’s just judgment upon my sin, which convicts me of sin and guilt, leading to repentance. I sing of God’s tender mercy, love and kindness toward me. It is judgment on my sin, which was born by Christ; it is mercy on me the sinner, which forgives me and gives Life. When I sing of God’s Law and Gospel in my heart and on my lips, my spirit is lifted and I feel lighter. Jesus receives the judgment and grants me the mercy. Therefore, I sing.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

We can, we may, and we should enter into the Presence of God (His gates, His courts) with thanksgiving, praise, and blessing. Whenever and wherever we are, His Presence is with us, for God is with us always. We may consciously and purposely enter because of the blood of Jesus and His name (Immanuel, God with us). Wherever we go, He goes with us, and we with Him. Our body is a temple of God, where He resides constantly. Entering is recognizing that truth and remembering that promise. We enter every morning and throughout the day, and we go into the public assembly of the saints weekly.

When we are conscious of God with us we are naturally thankful for what He does and full of praise for who He is. And we bless His name, that is, we say good about God and to Him. The Lord initiates this response by loving us, sending His Son, forgiving, saving, and giving His Spirit to indwell. We enter in daily by giving thanks, praise and blessing.

Psalm 100:3 Know ye that the Lord. he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture..

Our response to God’s revelation of Himself and His character is to know the Lord (Yahweh), that He is God. He is our Creator: He made everything, and in particular he created us individually. We do not make ourselves nor exist by accident, but we are alive by God’s design and craftsmanship. Believing, confessing, and knowing this truth, that our Creator is God, affects how we think of ourselves.

As our Creator He has formed a loving relationship with us. And when we sinned, rebelled, and went astray, He chased after us, found us, redeemed and restored us. “Jesus loves me, this I know.”

He is our God, Creator, and King. We are His people. We belong to Him. We are His responsibility to be taken care of. He is also our Shepherd, and we are the sheep of His pasture. We are safe and secure, dependent on Him, and totally under His care, both now and forever. We know this, and we enjoy Him forever. We live out our lives according to that faith.

Psalm 100:1-2 Make a Joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Because the Lord is almighty, good, kind, loving, and merciful, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, everybody. Whatever noise we can make is acceptable, as long as it is filled with joy and gladness, coming from a heart cleansed by Blood and happy to be saved and given life. It is filled with joy when it is put to music. Sing “psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in your hearts to the Lord,” all the time; join in public worship and praise when the saints assemble together.

Praise and music is our way of serving the Lord. And although the Lord doesn’t need our service, other people do. Loving others begins with loving God and receiving His love for us. Sacrificing self and giving with gladness instead of grumbling is serving the Lord.

We “come before His Presence” with joy in the heart. God’s Presence is in the spirit which resides within our body, as a temple. We acknowledge that presence with joyful praise and inner singing. With more joyful noise, because God is with us, the soul is refreshed and encouraged. Jesus promises: “Lo. I am with you always.”

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

The Lord God answered and forgave Moses, Aaron, Samuel and the priests who pray for the people. As priests, He also answers and forgives us when we pray and intercede for people. Because the Lord our God is holy, we too, exalt the Lord and worship in His Presence, which is in the Temple. Our bodies are the temple where He dwells. Thus we are always and everywhere in His holy presence.

Because of Christ, God is good and gracious to share His Life and Holiness with us. We hear that Good News and we respond with awe-full worship. We exalt the Lord and lift Him up in our minds to approach the heavenly place where He reigns. “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name [Philippians 2:9].” And we are seated with Him! So we exalt and worship.

Psalm 99:6 Moses and Aaron among the priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.

Moses and Aaron and Samuel called upon the name of the Lord in time of need. And He answered them. As priests and prophets they prayed to the Lord in faith that God hears and answers. They held themselves up before the Lord, and as priests of God they prayed for others and brought the people before the Lord. “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee.”

As believers in Christ, we are a royal priesthood, interceding for others as needs arise. Each one of us functions as a priest bringing other people and their needs before the Lord, calling upon Him to hear our prayers for their good. We believe that Jesus saved us and called us to serve people by acting as priests, calling upon the Lord to answer our prayer and deliver from evil.

It may be difficult to imagine ourselves on the same level as Moses, Aaron and Samuel, but we are. Living our lives as priests, calling upon the Lord for the good of other people, is a high calling indeed, but it is accomplished in us by the moving of the Holy Spirit. What an amazing privilege and position the Lord has placed upon us! We may, we can, and we should, exercise our calling as priests of God and call upon Him in the day of trouble.

Psalm 99:3, 5 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy….Exalt ye the Lord, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.

Because God is Holy, our response is to praise His terrible and holy name, to exalt the Lord, and worship at his footstool. The Lord God doesn’t actually need our praise and worship, and we cannot exalt Him higher than He already is. We praise and worship so that we are reminded how high, mighty, and holy He is, We exalt Him in our minds and awareness, so that our faith and vision comes closer to reality. Invisible truth is seen with the eyes of faith worked in us by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. God is as great and good and powerful and loving as He says.

Our praise and worship recognizes the unseen truth. So we exalt Him to the highest position, which He already occupies. God is bigger and higher than we can imagine, and we need Him to grow bigger in our minds. Praise expands our faith.

We don’t really know what holiness looks like, but we can know that it judges sin and loves the sinner. For that we praise and worship. Exalting Jesus lifts us up to the heavenly places where we are seated with Him.