Holy, Holy, Holy

Q: What does the Bible say about God's holiness?

The Bible states that God is holy, as emphasized three times in Psalm 99, highlighting His purity and sovereignty. The concept of God's holiness is fundamental in Scripture, particularly noted in Psalm 99, where it is declared that 'the Lord our God is holy' three times. This repetition underscores the absolute purity and separateness of God from sin and unrighteousness. His holiness manifests in His character, His work in creation, providence, and particularly in salvation. As the Holy One, God's holiness demands reverence and worship, prompting believers to approach Him with awe and recognition of His greatness.

Q: How do we know God is sovereign?

Scripture, such as Psalm 99:1, clearly affirms that 'The Lord reigneth', indicating His continuous sovereignty over all. God's sovereignty is a recurring theme throughout Scripture, prominently seen in Psalm 99:1, which declares, 'The Lord reigneth'. This present tense reinforces the idea that God is perpetually in control over all aspects of creation, providence, and salvation. His sovereignty is not just a past or future event but a current reality that assures believers of His providential care and authority over their lives. Additionally, verses such as Ephesians 1:11 affirm that He works all things according to the counsel of His will, further establishing His sovereign rule.

Q: Why is the Trinity important for Christians?

The Trinity is crucial for understanding God as one in essence but distinct in persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity is integral to the Christian faith, as it reveals the nature of God as one divine essence existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This mystery underscores the cooperative work of each Person in the economy of salvation—God the Father electing a people, the Son redeeming them through His blood, and the Holy Spirit applying this redemption to believers. Scripture, as noted in 1 John 5:7, teaches that these three are one, and their unity in purpose and operation assures believers of the divine plan for salvation and sanctification.

Q: What does mercy mean in a biblical context?

In the Bible, mercy signifies God's compassion and willingness to forgive sin, as illustrated in Psalm 99:8. Mercy, as portrayed in Scripture, particularly in Psalm 99:8, represents God’s deep compassion and grace towards humanity, despite their sinful nature. Biblical mercy involves not just the withholding of deserved punishment but also the active offering of forgiveness and restoration. God delights to show mercy, granting pardon based on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. This concept is beautifully articulated in Ephesians 2:4-5, where the richness of God's mercy is demonstrated through salvation offered to those who were dead in their sins, making it a cornerstone of the Gospel message.

Make them willing in the day
of God's power. Okay, Psalm 99. Psalm 99. I'm entitling the message
from this psalm, Holy, Holy, Holy. The Holy, Holy, Holy psalm. Threefold. Holy, Holy, Holy.
For it's mentioned in this psalm three times. Holy. God is holy. Holy. It's mentioned
three times in this psalm, the Lord our God is holy. The Lord our God is one God,
one Lord, but he is manifested in the trinity of his sacred
person as the holy father who chose a covenant people in Christ
Jesus before the foundation of the world. that He is manifested
in the Trinity of His sacred person as God the Father who
is holy, God the Son who has redeemed us with His own blood,
and what can you say of God the Son? He is holy, is He not? And of course, it's a given,
the Holy Spirit. The Trinity of His Sacred Person,
Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Father choosing a people,
sovereignly, electing whom He will. The Son, the Lord Jesus,
God the Son, who was holy, redeeming His covenant people in a holy
way. And God the Holy Spirit calling
out and quickening His people, quickening His people, sealing
His people. with His power and with His grace. We worship God Almighty in the
Trinity of His sacred person. We read in 1 John 5, for there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
that is the Son, the Word, God, the Holy Spirit. These three
are one. We are, they are one. These three
are one. One in purpose, one in character,
one in nature, one in power. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Now, this Psalm, Psalm 99, tells
us at least three or four distinct things about God who is holy. about the God who is God our
Savior. Now let me give them to you and
then we'll work down through these verses. The God of Scripture
and the God of the Bible, the true and living God, is the absolute
Sovereign. The absolute Sovereign. We see
that in verse 1, the Lord reigneth. And then in verses 3, 5, and
9, we see that He is holy, most holy. And then we see in verse
5 and 9, He is to be worshipped. And then in verse 8, we see that
the Lord is merciful. God delights to show mercy. He
forgave them. He forgave them based upon the
blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. He forgave them. Now
let's look at verse one. The Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. Let the people
tremble. He sitteth between the cherubims.
Let the earth be moved. The Lord reigneth. It doesn't
say someday He will reign. It doesn't say that He reigned
in the past. It says that the Lord reigneth.
Present tense. Past, present, future. The Lord
reigneth. Always has. Always will. Reign completely. Sovereign over
all things. The Lord our God reigns. How long does He reign? For how
long? Turn back to Psalm 90. The Lord
reigneth. Lord God Almighty reigneth. Verse two, before the mountains
were brought forth, Psalm 90, wherever thou hast formed the
earth, the world, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. From everlasting to everlasting,
he is God. He reigns supreme over all things. Turn over here to Psalm 135.
The Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. Now, you know, to the believer,
we're stating a true doctrine. We're stating a scriptural truth.
But to the believer, it is not just a doctrinal truth, it is
a truth of God that we love. Aren't you thankful that the
Lord reigns over all things? The Lord reigneth. Look what
it says in Psalm 135 verse 5. For I know that the Lord God
is great, that our Lord is above all gods, whatsoever the Lord
pleased. That's what He did. His pleasure,
His purpose will be done. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, in earth, seas, and all deep places. He
does according to His will in the army of heaven and among
the heavens of this earth, and none can stay His hand, none
can say unto Him, Lord God Almighty, what doest thou? He reigns in
creation. What a marvel! God spake and
there was light. God spake the world into existence. God is absolutely sovereign in
creation. He's absolutely sovereign in
providence. Of Him and through Him and to
Him are not some things, not most things. Of Him, through
Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory both now and
forever. And He reigns supreme, absolutely,
not only in creation, not only in providence, but most especially
in salvation. He reigns supreme in salvation. For it's not of Him that willeth,
nor of Him that runneth, is it? But it's God who will show mercy. Our Lord prayed in John 17, Father,
you've given me power over all flesh. that I should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given to me. Power over all flesh
to give eternal life to those covenant people. All that the
Father giveth to me, they'll come to me, and I will in no
wise, no way, by no means, cast them out. Those for whom Christ
died, those for whom God loves, those for whom the Holy Spirit
called, quickened, and sealed, they cannot be lost. They're in Christ Jesus. They're
found in Him. Now, when we talk about the sovereignty
of God and the Lord Jesus Christ reigning supreme over all things,
what does that really mean to us? How does that really, does
it disturb the believer? Does it rile the believer? My
friend, it's comforting. It's comforting. Now this is
a poor example and a homely example. But a young child in the home
knows that daddy is taking care of things. She doesn't have to
worry about where supper is going to come from that night. She's
not worried about making the mortgage payment the next month.
She's looking to daddy to take care of everything. And what
does that do to her? Does that alarm her? Does that disturb
her? My daddy's got it covered. Comforts
you, doesn't it? How much more? The Lord Jesus
Christ has all the bases covered. All salvation accomplished. And that comforts us. He has
done this with himself, by himself. We read it in Hebrews 1. He had
by himself purged our sins. He sat down. He sat down in the
right hand of the throne of God. That's pretty high, isn't it? Why did he sit down? Work's done. Where's he? Sitting on the throne. Why? He reigneth. The Lord our
God reigneth. You see, to the believer, it's
comforting. It is comforting to know that
the Lord Jesus Christ has all things taken care of for us. But of him are you in Christ,
who of God has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that would
glory, let him glory only in the Lord. He worketh all things
after the counsel of His own will." And my friend, His people
delight in it. It says there in the text, let
the people tremble. Let the people tremble. Let's
look first of all who these people are. Look right across the page
in Psalm 100. Because the Lord reigneth, His
people are awestruck. I mean, they're in awe of how
the Lord reigns supremely and completely in all things. His
people do. Now look right across the page
at Psalm 100, look at verse 3. Know ye that the Lord, He is
God, it is He that made us. It is He that made us. Not we
ourselves. We are his people and the sheep
of his pasture. He made us. Remember what the
Apostle Paul said? By the grace of God, I am what
I am. Everything we are, he made us. Everything we have, he gave us. Everything we know, he taught
us. It is He that made us. We are
His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. I hate this statement
when people say, well, I'm a self-made man. You're a fool. He made us all that we are, all
that we have, all that we ever will be. He made us by His grace. And we are His people. He chose
us. He called us. He bought us with
His own blood. He redeemed us by His grace.
We are His people and we're the sheep of His pasture. The sheep
that no man can pluck out of His hand. The Father gave them
and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand. So the Lord
reigneth. Let us stand in awe struck, his
people, that the Lord Almighty reigns and yet he is high and
lifted up and yet he hath respect, it says in the Psalms over here,
he hath respect unto the lowly. He hath respect unto the lowly.
Look what it says there. He sitteth between the cherubims,
let the earth be moved. Now the reference I have here,
if you want to turn over to Exodus 25, 22. Exodus 25, 22. He sitteth between the cherubims.
What's really involved here in the Lord sitting between the
cherubims? Well, it's His presence. It's
His presence. His presence or what the old
timers called His Shekinah glory that was manifested over the
tabernacle and in the holy of holies over the mercy seat. Look what it says here in Exodus
25 verse 21, Thou shalt put the mercy seat above the ark and
in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
There I will meet with thee, and will commune with thee from
above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims." He said it's
between the cherubims. between the two cherubims, which
are upon the ark of the testimony of all things which I have given
thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Now what
is this called here? It's called the mercy seat, isn't
it? The mercy, that's where God said, I'll meet with you and
you will meet with me on that mercy seat. That's where, what's
put on the mercy seat on the day of atonement? Blood! Blood! When I see the blood,
God said, I'll pass over you. The Lord, all that is a picture
and type of what? Christ, our mercy seat. Christ, our propitiation. In
1 John 4.10, here in his love, not that we love God, but that
he loved us, and he sent his son to be our propitiation, our
mercy seat. The publican in the temple, when
he cried, Lord, be merciful to me, You know what he's saying
there? Be my propitiation, be my mercy
seat, be my sin offering, my atoning victim to put away my
sin. That's what we cry unto the Lord. So the Lord reigneth,
let the people tremble. He sits between the cherubims.
The high priest of old in that tabernacle area, there was never
a chair. The high priest of old, Aaron
and his sons, Eleazar and others, they never sat down. Read Hebrews
chapter 10. The great high priest, the Lord
Jesus Christ, after He offered one sacrifice for ever, what
did He do? Sit down. His work was done. He sitteth
between the cherubims. He reigns and rules over the
mercy seat. He'll have mercy on whom He will.
Now, let's move on. Look at verse 2. The Lord is great. The Lord is
great. Psalm 99 verse 2. The Lord is
great. He's great in Zion. And this
is the gospel Zion. This is the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's great among His people.
He's highly esteemed among His people. He is high above. We're
not equals. He's high above. He's high above
us. The Lord is great in Zion. Everything about Him is great. Everything about Him is great.
His name is great. His person is great. In Zion,
among His people, this is known. The Lord is great. He's loved in Zion. He's highly
esteemed in Zion. While the wicked might may despise
Him, and the atheist may oppose Him among His own chosen people,
He is great beyond comparison. What compares to the greatness
of our God? There's nothing. that you can
compare unto Him. He's great above all things,
great beyond all comparison. He is altogether lovely. He is great in grace, for His
great love wherewith He loved us. He's a God of all grace.
He's great in His acts of mercy. He's great in His own person.
He's great in power? He has no rival, does he? How
about wisdom? Is He great in wisdom? All the
wisdom of God dwells in Christ. How about justice? He's great
in justice. How about in glory? Is there
any that will eclipse His glory? No, he's great in glory, he's
great in wisdom, he's great in justice and power. No wonder
that the Apostle said, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation? You see, the Lord is great among
his people. He's highly esteemed in Zion,
the gospel Zion, the church. He is high above. He's the most
high God, and we worship Him. Now look at verse 3. What does that lead us to? Well, praise, let them, His people,
redeemed by His blood, called by His grace, sanctified in Christ
Jesus. Let them praise Thy great and
terrible name. His name is holy. Let us praise His name. Now,
this is not this silly religious stuff that goes on today. All
this outward show of praise. You know, worship and praising
the Lord is a matter of heart. The Lord doesn't look on the
outward countenance. God looks on the heart. This
thing of praise goes on in the heart before God. See, that which
is highly esteemed among men is just an abomination to God.
God looks on the heart. You know, when are we to praise
the Lord? When are we to praise the Lord?
Turn over here to Psalm 113. When is the believer to praise
the Lord? Look at Psalm 113, verse three. From the rising of the sun, first
thing in the morning. From the rising of the sun, you
see it, verse 3, unto the going down of the same. The Lord's
name is to be praised. It's to be esteemed. It's to
be loved. You know what? Praise is proper.
It's comely. Turn over here to Psalm 147.
It's proper. There are about at least a dozen
Psalms over in the later part of the book of Psalms after Psalm
111, 112, 113 that are called Hallelujah Psalms. There's about
12 of them and they all begin with praise the Lord. You know,
praising the Lord in your heart is worship and it's right. It's
proper. Look what it says here, Psalm
147 verse 1. Praise ye the Lord, for it's
good, it is good, it's right, to sing praises unto our God,
for it is pleasant. Isn't it pleasant? It's a pleasant
delight. Praise is comely, and that word
there means it's proper. It is proper to praise our God. Let them praise thy great and
terrible name, for it is holy, his name. His name. I did a study one time years
ago. Turn over here to Isaiah chapter 9. I did a study years
ago about the names in scripture. The names of the Lord Jesus Christ
found in scripture. And it's quite amazing all the
way from A all the way through the alphabet with the exception
of a few letters. you can find all the names concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. But here, it says, let's praise
His name. You know, His name declares who
He is. His name declares who He is.
Praise thy great and terrible name, for it is holy. His name
is holy. It's a holy God. Look what it
says over here in Isaiah 9, 6. You know where I'm going, don't
you? Look at verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given, the government shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called Wonderful. We ought not call
anything else wonderful. We ought not ever say, well,
it's a wonderful day. Or as the old movie said, it's
a wonderful life. His name is wonderful. That's
why we shouldn't ever call or address any minister of the gospel
reverend. Because it says in Psalm 111
that holy and reverend is his name. Just call me Tom Tom. or worm or something else. Don't
call me reverend. His name is reverend. His name
is holy. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David upon
his kingdom to order it to establish it with judgment and justice
from henceforth even forever the zeal of the Lord of hope
will perform this." His name, His name Jehovah Sid Canu the Lord our righteousness Jehovah
Jireh the Lord will provide all those names of our great God. Let's praise God according to
the greatness of His person, His name. His name is holy, holy,
holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Look at verse 4. The King's strength,
the King's strength loveth judgment. Father judgeth no man, but committeth
all judgment unto the Son. Thou dost establish equity. Thou executest judgment and righteousness
for Jacob and in him. He's done a work for us and He's
done a work and doing a work in us. God who has begun a good
work in you will complete it. Our God is the King. Our God,
it says in Psalm 47, you remember Psalm 47 verse 5, 6 and 7, where
it says, Our God is the King of all the earth. In Revelation
19 He's called King of kings and Lord of lords. In Matthew 28 it says, All power
is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and preach
the gospel knowing that I am the king. I have all power, all
authority. We do not represent a peanut
god. We represent the king. I'm a poor representative, but
it's my desire to hold forth and to raise the banner of the
one who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God had made that
same Jesus whom you crucified, Peter said, Lord and Christ. And he's not Lord by something
we do. God had made him Lord and Christ
as the mediator, as the God-man mediator. But how does it establish
equity? He loves judgment for He's a
mighty God, but He's also our loving Lord. He's our holy God,
yet our merciful Savior. He does establish equity or uprightness. The Lord Jesus Christ has prepared
for His people an everlasting righteousness by His obedient
life and by His obedience unto death. Establishing for us a
perfect righteousness and freely imputing that unto us. Blessed
is the man whom the Lord imputed righteousness with our works. And He does execute in Jacob
a righteousness as well. He does impart unto the believer
a divine nature, a new nature given in the new birth. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of
the Spirit is Spirit. That new nature that cannot sin.
I have that old nature that is nothing but sin, and I have that
new nature given in a new birth that cannot sin, because it's
given of God. Now in verse 5 and verse 9, we'll
consider these two verses together. Exalt the Lord our God and worship
at His footstool, He is holy. Exalt the Lord our God, verse
9, and worship at His holy heel, For the Lord our God is holy. He's holy. Exalt Him. Exalt Him. Give Him all honor and glory
in His person as God and Savior, in His office as prophet, priest,
and king. Exalt Him in your heart, in your
thoughts, in your affection, thinking highly of Him, thinking
affectionately of Him. Exalt Him, extol Him. Speak of
His love and His loveliness and of the great things that He had
done for us. You remember what the Lord told
that wild gathering? Go home and tell how great things
the Lord had done for thee. Sing unto the Lord a new song,
Psalm 99, Psalm 98 verse 1 rather. Sing unto the Lord a new song
for He had done marvelous things. In His right hand, in His holy
arm. gotten him the victory. Now worship at his footstool. Worship at his holy hill. Worship
him. Worship him privately. Worship him publicly. Worship
him in spirit and in truth. Worship him at his footstool
and worship him in Christ Jesus at his holy hill Zion. He said in Hebrews chapter 4,
come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy,
find grace to help in time of need. Now these three men that
are mentioned here, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. Pretty good trio. Pretty good
trio. Moses, the servant of God, Aaron, his brother two-fold in the flesh
and in Christ, priest of God, and Samuel, Samuel the prophet
of God. They called upon his name. They
called upon the Lord and he answered them. He answered them. He spake unto them in a cloudy
pillar. They kept his testimony and the
ordinances that he gave. Moses, God's prophet. Aaron, God's priest. Samuel,
the prophet of God. They were among those who were,
by God's grace, called, quickened, and made to call upon the name
of the Lord. And they did. They did call upon
Him. And the Lord did answer them. You know the promise, the promise
of God in the scripture, whosoever Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How do you call? How do you call? Well, in your heart. You call
out of a need. You call because you've been
quickened. You call because God has made
you alive in Christ Jesus. You call upon Him because He
called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. They called
upon the name of the Lord. He answered them. He answered
them in mercy and in grace. For it says in verse 7, He spake
unto them out of that cloudy pillar. Now this refers to Aaron
and Moses. I don't think so much Samuel.
that cloudy pillar that followed them in the wilderness for 40
years, gave them covering by day, the light and the warmth
of fire by night, led them through the wilderness, all that spake
unto them, God spake unto them out of that cloud, all that is
a picture, isn't it, of the Lord Jesus Christ. For He is that cloudy pillar. He is God's
protection for us. He is that light. He said, I
am the light of light. He that followeth me shall never
walk in darkness. That cloud protected them, hovered
over them, led them. All that speaks of Christ our
shepherd, Christ our protector, Christ our light. And then God
spake unto them the testimonies of His Word, the testimonies
of His truth. They heard it and they received
it as the testimony of God. And they kept the ordinance that
God gave unto them. The Passover? What's that a picture
of? Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed
for us. The day of atonement, that atonement
that was made for us. Well, Christ is our atonement,
isn't He? He's our atoning victim. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. They
heard God speak. The word of truth. They kept
it, they heard it, they received it, they believed it, bowed before
it. Look at verse 8. Thou answered
them, O Lord God, and was to God that forgave us them, though
God took vengeance on their sins." All believers like this trio
are totally and eternally forgiven all sin, not some, all sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all our sin. God answered them. And thou wast a God that forgavest
them. And God took vengeance upon their
sin. The only cause of their acceptance
than ours were accepted in the Beloved.
Moses' hope was not in keeping the law. What did the Lord say
of Moses? Moses wrote about me. What was Abraham's hope? The
Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. The only cause of their acceptance,
Samuel, Moses, Aaron, Abraham, Job and others, Isaiah, Jeremiah, their only
cause of acceptance and ground and foundation of acceptance
is the same as ours. the Lord Jesus Christ and him
crucified were accepted in the beloved. You see the best of
men, the best of men are only men at best. All are sinners,
all are in need of forgiveness. Aren't you thankful that he's
plenteous in redemption? That he delights to show mercy.
John wrote this, and I'll let you go. When you sin. He said, my little
children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. You
remember 1 John 2.1? My little children, these things
I write unto you that you sin not. But when you do, you're
lost, you're doomed, you're damned. Wouldn't that be a horrible message?
That's not what it says. My little children, these things
I write unto you that you sin not. But when you do, We have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He ever lives to intercede for
us. He ever lives to save us. He ever lives. as our righteousness
that justifies us before God. And he took vengeance on all
our inventions at the cross. At the cross. The Lord Jesus
Christ did not bring the typical animal sacrifice. Our great high
priest obtained eternal redemption for us, not with the blood of
bulls and goats, but with his own blood. He appeared once in
the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
God can only forgive sin by the Lord Jesus Christ making full
atonement payment for our sin. He forgave them based upon Christ
crucified. Same hope we have. Same hope
we have in Christ, in Christ alone.

Holy, Holy, Holy

What does the Bible say about God's holiness?

How do we know God is sovereign?

Why is the Trinity important for Christians?

What does mercy mean in a biblical context?

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Holy, Holy, Holy

What does the Bible say about God's holiness?

How do we know God is sovereign?

Why is the Trinity important for Christians?

What does mercy mean in a biblical context?

Sermon Transcript

About Tom Harding

Comments

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