Psalm 99

The Lord God is Holy.

>>>When I read this psalm this morning, I was thinking about what it means to say that God is Holy.  I get the concept, but struggled to put it into words.   I went to the Reformation Study Bible theological note at Leviticus 11 for help:
          "....holy.....signifies everything about God that sets Him apart from us and makes Him an object of awe, adoration, and dread to us.  It covers all aspects of His transcendent greatness and moral perfection, and is characteristic of all His attributes, pointing to the "God-ness" of God at every point."    The point is made that God, in His holiness, cannot abide any form of sin.  When we understand God's holiness, it "calls (us) to constant self abasement in His presence."  <<<<<<<

Without reading study notes, this is what I picked up immediately in this psalm:
1.  There is a living God who rules the earth.
2.  There is absolute Truth....defined and established by Him.
3.  He interacts with His people in an intimate way.

When we understand and meditate on the holiness of God, it elicits in us the response of praise.....extolling His greatness and declaring His rule over all. Also there is the sense of fear (proper fear....awe and an understanding of our position before Him.   He is above all.  He reigns!
He is holy!

His holiness 'cannot tolerate any form of sin.'.  He has established equity (truth) and He executes justice.....according to His holiness.  This knowledge, also, should cause us to exalt Him.  He establishes absolute truth and will judge the earth in absolute righteousness and justice......
He is holy!

He interacts with His people.  Here is noted His interaction with Israel through the priests and prophets.  Now in these days He interacts with us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and through His Word. He hears his servants.  He listens.  The priests and prophet mentioned specifically demonstrated to Israel the keeping of His laws.  We are called to do the same today.    

God not only heard (hears), but He answered.  He heard and answered the cry of the priest/prophets for Israel.  And in His great mercy and kindness, He, the Lawgiver Who established Truth, and cannot tolerate sin, forgave them.  And yet, in His justice, the consequences for sin remain.  All aspects of His holiness.

Praise Him.......for He is holy!  ....... beyond anything that we can even really begin to comprehend.....