The Psalm today, like many others, is a hymn of praise to God. But while the first few verses focus on the Kingship of God over Israel, the psalm as a whole is more interested with the relationship between God and humanity, specifically the people of Israel.

This is something that we should remember when we are working out the kind of God we worship. Ours is one who loves deeply, who revels in our seeking a deeper relationship with one another and with God. I’ve heard it said that God is that bond we create between one another. It is a nice sentiment, but I think what is more true is that we discover the Holy in our relationships, because it is in seeking one another that we are granted a fuller view of the image of God.

Let us pray for a closer bond with one another and with God.

Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.

God of life and love, as we turn the pages of our holy scriptures, we hear stories of you reaching out to your people, reaching out to us. Help us to read these texts and recognize your closeness to is in our every day. Holy are you, O God, for guiding us in our lives. Holy are you, O God, for leading us to one another and revealing your face in the faces of neighbours, friends, and strangers. We praise you, even as we walk with you, even as we follow the light that you send into our lives to show us the way. We offer this and all of our prayers in the name of Jesus the light. AMEN