Psalm 99 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 99 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
Verse 2The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
Verse 3Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
Verse 4Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Verse 5Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
Verse 6Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
Verse 7He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
Verse 8O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Verse 9Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.
Devotion
God radiated light from a cloud (v. 7), guiding the Israelites’ exodus journey. God decreed commands from mountains directing the followers’ lives. As God did then, God faithfully travels with us now.
Along with God, having human traveling companions can help us keep going when the going gets tough. Do you have traveling companions who struggle with you up life’s mountains or trudge beside you across valleys? Through our co-travelers, we can see God’s radiance and hear God’s directions guiding our paths. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel (v. 6) were the Israelite’s co-travelers and intercessors who petitioned God on their behalf. Who are your co-travelers and intercessors who pray to God on your behalf? Likewise, who needs you to travel alongside them and intercede on their behalf with prayers to God? By God’s radiant, ever-faithful guidance and together with our co-travelers, we can keep going, especially when the going gets tough.
Prayer
Lord of relationships, thank you for the co-travelers you have given us. Please show us who needs us to be their traveling companions. Amen.