MAY 19
Psalm 99:5, “Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!”
God’s holiness is not merely one attribute among many; it is the essence of His divine nature. As Sinclair Ferguson wrote, “Holiness in God means wholeness. It is His ‘God-ness.’” When we consider God’s holiness, we are not thinking merely of his purity, but of His “otherness,” in being set apart above all.
The prophet Isaiah came to understand something of this (Isaiah 6). Though a righteous man, by man’s standards, Isaiah was completely undone when he saw “the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” He saw the seraphim crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” The very foundations shook, and smoke filled the temple. Isaiah’s response was immediate and desperate: “Woe is me! I am lost…for my eyes have seen the King.”
In that moment, Isaiah saw himself clearly—in the light of God’s overwhelming holiness. His cry about “unclean lips” reflected the contrast between the pure worship of heaven and the vileness of sin. But God did not leave him lost. He worked to cleanse and prepare him for service. One of the seraphim touched his lips with a burning coal, declaring him clean. Then came the call: “Whom shall I send?” And Isaiah responded, “Here I am. Send me.”
Psalm 99 reminds us to exalt the Lord and worship at His footstool, for “Holy is He.” The same holiness that caused Isaiah to tremble also led to his cleansing and commissioning. God calls us to worship Him with reverence, to recognize His unmatched purity, and to pursue holiness—without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
It is good to have our eyes opened to the holiness of God, that we might be shaken from complacency and comfort in this unholy world. So that we might be drawn to the footstool of God’s throne, to receive both cleaning and renewal through the precious blood of Jesus, that we might be set apart and prepared to worship the God who is holy.
“It is only when we truly understand the holiness of God that we understand the depth of our sin, and only then do we begin to understand the greatness of the grace of God in Christ.”—Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Application Questions: How can a better understanding and appreciation of God’s holiness work to change the way you worship? What in your life needs to be brought into the light of God’s holiness so that you can worship Him more fully and serve Him more faithfully?
LookingtoJesus 