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Pastor's Blog March 28, 2019

"God's Holiness In Our Assurance"

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At first glance, Psalm 93:5 appears to present a very basic message: using Hebrew parallelism, this verse suggests that there's a connection between the beauty of God's temple and the perpetuity of his commands.  The implications of this passage, however, present us with a picture of God's holiness that is far reaching in his love and care for us. 

Psalm 93:5 says, "Your statutes, Lord, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days" (NIV).  Just as God's statutes have no end to them ("stand firm"), so the holiness of God's sanctuary is firm and unshakable ("for endless days"); this necessarily means that, according to Psalm 93, God's statues and God's holiness are intimately related.  But what is interesting is that this pattern repeats itself in Psalm 93:1-2. 

The fact that the Lord reigns and rules over the creation means that the world is established and there is no risk that it will suddenly cease to exist or disintegrate into nothingness; likewise, the fact that the Lord established his throne long before the existence of the creation means that God's eternality is secure, established, and reliable - that God has been eternal for, well, eternity.  God's house and God's throne are understood by Psalm 93 to be firmly established and rooted in reality precisely because God's commands and God's rulership are firmly established and rooted in reality.  God's holiness adorns and beautifies the house of God, and will continue to do so "for endless days" - precisely because God's holiness, like his reign and statutes, is firmly established and rooted in reality. 

What does all of this mean for us?  It means that God's holiness is not some unattainable standard of perfection that determines whether or not we're allowed to be in God's kingdom.  Instead, God's holiness is seen to be the exercise of God's power on behalf of his creation.  God reigns over the creation in order to ensure that it exists, continues, and is taken care of; God gives commands so that what he has created is preserved and built up and allowed to grow and thrive; God's holiness adorns his house and makes his temple beautiful so that God can always defend those who come to his house and temple for salvation. 

Let us thank God that his holiness continues to assure us that God cares for us, loves us, and wants the best for us as those who he has made.