Psalm 98-101
I love the 3 psalms in today’s reading. Psalm 99 begins with a reverant praise of God. Carson notes,
After the unrestrained joy of Psalm 98, there follows in Psalm 99 a profound reverence. We have moved from a festival of praise to a cathedral.
The psalm divides into two parts. The theme of the first is established by the repeated line, “he is holy” (99:3, 5). This does not mean something as narrow as saying that God is good or moral (though it does not exclude such notions). The emphasis is on the sheer “Godness” of God—what makes him different from human beings, what makes him uniquely God. 1
Psalm 100 will always be special to me. When I was in college, I participated in a contest for preaching. As one of three finalists, I used Psalm 100 as my text. Psalm 100:5 is one of my favorite verses and it so happens to mention the “steadfast love of God” which has been a theme for me this summer.
Psalm 101 speak of the integrity of the believer. It includes a promise of conviction in Ps. 101:3—a purposeful plan to keep greed, lust, and envy at bay. It also includes a reference to the “steadfast love of God” in Ps. 101:1.
D. A. Carson, For the Love of God: a Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word., vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998).