Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 99:7

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 99:7. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar — That is, he directed all their operations, marchings, and encampments by this cloudy pillar. See Exodus 33:9.

They kept his testimonies — Do ye the same, and God will be your portion as he was theirs.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 97-100 God the universal king

Psalms 97:0 follows on from the thought on which the previous psalm closed (namely, that God is king over the earth). It shows that holiness, righteousness and justice are the basis of God’s kingdom. His judgment will be as universal as a flash of lightning and as powerful as an all-consuming fire (97:1-5). Every thing will bow before his rule (6-7). His own people already recognize him as Lord and bring him fitting worship (8-9). They can experience the light and joy of his salvation in their everyday lives as they reject what is evil and choose what is good (10-12).

Continuing the theme of the previous psalm, Psalms 98:0 reminds the people to welcome the divine universal king. By his power, he has conquered evil and established his kingdom in righteousness and love (98:1-3). People worldwide are to praise God with music and singing because of his great victory (4-6). The physical creation is invited to join in the praise, rejoicing because of him who rules the earth with justice (7-9).

From his throne in Zion, the city of God, God rules over the earth in holiness and justice (99:1-4) and people respond with worship (5). The psalmist refers to the lives of Moses, Aaron and Samuel to show how God answered the prayers of those who submitted to his rule and obeyed his law (6-7). When people disobeyed they were punished, but when they repented God forgave them (8). The God who rules in Zion is holy, and those who worship him must also fear him (9).

Psalms 100:0 is the climax of this group of six psalms. People of all the world are to worship God gladly, acknowledging him as their God, their maker and their shepherd (100:1-3). They are invited to come into his temple, where they can unite in thankfully praising him for his loving faithfulness to them (4-5).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among them that call upon his name; They called upon Jehovah, and he answered them. He spake unto them in the pillar of cloud: They kept his testimonies, And the statute that he gave them. Thou answeredst them, O Jehovah our God: Thou wast a God that forgavest them, Though thou tookest vengeance of their doings. Exalt ye Jehovah our God, And worship at his holy hill; For Jehovah our God is holy."

The mention of three of the great heroes of national Israel, as well as the stress for worshipping God "at his holy hill" indicates the special application of this part of the psalm to the ancient Israel. Appropriately, the prayerful obedience of Israel's past leaders, the emphasis upon God's holiness, along with the reminder that even Moses, Aaron and Samuel, although forgiven, were also punished for their sins - all these declarations were extremely appropriate for the ancient Israel, whose repeated rebellions and sins constitute the principal burden of the Old Testament.

"Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name" Moses is here called a priest because of certain priestly functions which he performed in the consecration of Aaron, the setting up of the tabernacle, and also because of his intercessory prayers for Israel. Aaron was the first High Priest. Samuel, who was not a priest, is here mentioned as one, "who called upon God's name" (Psalms 99:6). An instance of Samuel's prayers for Israel is found in 1 Samuel 12:19-22.

"They kept his testimonies… and the statute" This was a strong reminder to Israel that the great blessings that came to Israel under such leadership was due to the "obedience" of those great leaders. Israel needed that reminder.

"Thou (God) forgavest them" Yes, even Moses, Aaron and Samuel committed sins. Moses and Aaron did so at the waters of Meribah; and Samuel's excessive leniency toward his reprobate sons was sinful. God forgave those sins; but the fact of their still suffering the penalties due from them was cited in the same breath.

"Thou (God) tookest vengeance of their doings" Moses and Aaron were forbidden to enter Canaan; and, "Samuel's judgeship seems to have been brought to an end through his undue leniency toward his sons Joel and Abijah (1 Samuel 7:1-5)."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 345.

"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" is a law which is not abrogated by forgiveness. All of God's forgiveness is accompanied by punishment in order to show the pardoned man how deadly his sin was. The worst penalty of sin, i.e., separation from God, is wholly turned aside by forgiveness; but for the most part the earthly penalties of sin, and which are the natural results of sin, whether in character, memory, habit, or circumstances, are not removed by pardon. The character of such penalties is changed so that they become loving chastisements for our profit.Alexander Maclaren, op. cit., p. 76.

"Worship at his holy hill" This restriction contrasts with worship at God's footstool (Psalms 99:5), which is the whole earth, and indicates that this portion of the psalm must be understood as directed to the Old Testament Israel.

"For Jehovah our God is holy" This statement is fully the equivalent of "He is holy," the concluding words in Psalms 99:3; Psalms 99:5, and serves also as the concluding exclamation here.

The combination here of words regarding the final judgment in Psalms 99:1-5, along with the final section (Psalms 99:6-9) which applies especially to Israel, seems to be characteristic of all of the psalms, many of which have a number of elements in the same psalm.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar - He spake to the men of other times; to those who called upon his name. It cannot be meant literally that he spake to “Samuel” from the “cloudy pillar” - the pillar which guided the Israelites in the wilderness, unless that term be understood in the general sense as denoting the “Shechinah” - the visible symbol of the divine presence - the cloud that rested on the ark. The idea is, that God his people in ancient times from the cloud - the symbol of his presence; that he communed with them; that he heard their prayers; that he gave them his commandments; that he interposed in their behalf, and that it was not a vain thing that they worshipped him. All this was as true of Samuel - it is as true now of those who call upon God - as it was of Moses and Aaron.

They kept his testimonies ... - They obeyed his laws, and he thus heard and answered them.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 99:1-9

The LORD reigneth ( Psalms 99:1 );

Starts out as did Psalms 97:1-12 . "The Lord reigneth."

let the people tremble: he sits between the cherubims; let the earth be moved ( Psalms 99:1 ).

Now the cherubims are an angelic class. They are described in Revelation, chapter 4 and in Ezekiel, chapter 1 and chapter 10. In the descriptions that are given in Ezekiel, the flying saucer, just say that that's exactly what flying saucers look like and their movement as are described in Ezekiel. And so they're saying that Ezekiel actually saw UFO's and was describing the UFO's that he saw. And they oftentimes point to Ezekiel as a proof that UFO's have been visiting the earth from the time that man has been upon the planet Earth. Which points out something very interesting to me.

It is true indeed that Ezekiel saw a UFO and he describes how it flew and the fires and the lights and so forth and he describes the movement, how it moved rather in straight lines rather than in a curved base and so forth. But Ezekiel tells us that these "wheels within the wheels" were the lights; and the movements were actually cherubim, spirit beings. Now Satan was a fallen cherubim. Satan was a cherub before his fall. He is called in Ezekiel "the anointed cherub that covereth" ( Ezekiel 28:14 ). Because the flying saucer gets so much into the occultist kind of things, I do believe that if there are genuine sightings, as some of these people relate, that actually it is possible that they are seeing spirit beings, fallen spirit beings, satanic spirit beings, because there's a whole cult around this whole thing. And thus, I do not always question that these people... You know, you say, "Ah, they're a bunch of weird ducks, you know, thinking that they see UFOs." No, it is very possible that there is something to this; that you're delving into a spirit realm and that they are actually observing fallen cherubim.

Now God dwells between the cherubim. They surround the throne of God. God placed cherubim at the Garden of Eden to protect it. They are the cherubim about the throne of God who "cease not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" ( Revelation 4:8 ).

When God had Moses build the model of heaven, for the tabernacle was nothing but a model of what the heavenly scene is like, the mercy seat, the throne of God, and within the holy of holies was the model of the throne of God, with the cherubim that were carved upon it. And so coming into the little cubicle, the golden cubicle of the holy of holies, the priest was coming into the model of coming into the presence of God in heaven with the cherubim that were there. So "the Lord reigneth, let the people tremble: He sits between the cherubims; let the earth be moved."

The LORD is great in Zion; he is high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and awesome name; for it is holy. The king's strength also loves judgment; and thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. Moses and Aaron among his priests, Samuel among those that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: and they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them. You answered them, O LORD our God: and you were a God that forgave them, though you took vengeance of their inventions ( Psalms 99:2-8 ).

The golden calf and so forth. God took vengeance against them, and yet God forgave them. Oh, the goodness of God.

Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy ( Psalms 99:9 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 99

This royal psalm calls on God’s people to praise Him for His holiness and because He answers prayer.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. The mercy of the King 99:6-9

One might suppose that such a holy God would not tolerate any sinner. However, God tempers holiness with mercy. Even though the Israelites sinned, God still answered the prayers of their intercessors, specifically Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. The picture of God speaking to His people from the pillar of cloud graphically combines the concepts of God’s holiness and mercy. However, God was not so merciful that He failed to discipline the sinners. This balanced view of God gives hope for the future when sinners will stand before Him. Therefore, God’s people should exalt Him and worship Him at His holy mountain-Zion. [Note: See Allen, Rediscovering Prophecy, pp. 69-84.]

"Worship is an act of submission to his kingship and is a proper response to his awe-inspiring presence." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 638.]

The prospect of a perfectly holy God ruling over sinful humans in undeviating justice is a terrifying one. This psalm helps the godly appreciate how God will reign. He will do so as He has dealt with His people throughout their history, namely: by extending mercy without compromising His holiness.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar,.... In the pillar of the clouds of glory, as the Targum; in which the Lord went before the children of Israel in the wilderness, to lead them, and protect them from heat in the day, Exodus 13:21, that is, he spake in this to Moses and Aaron; for it ceased when they came to the land of Canaan; instances of which see in Exodus 19:9, some have thought that the Lord might speak to Samuel also out of a cloud, when he called upon him, and it thundered, since clouds and thunder go together,

1 Samuel 12:18, the cloudy pillar was a type of Christ; and it is by him the Lord has spoken all his mind and will, when he was clothed with a cloud, or became obscure in the form of a servant; and it is through him, the Mediator, that men have access to God, and answers of prayer from him:

they kept his testimonies; the law, and the precepts of it, which were testifications of the mind and will of God; these Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, kept, though not perfectly, yet sincerely, from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God:

and the ordinance that he gave them; the ordinance of the passover, with the several rituals of the ceremonial law, which was an ordinance of God until the Messiah came; and we, under the Gospel dispensation, ought to keep the ordinances of Christ in faith and love, as they have been delivered to us; and such only can expect to be heard and answered by the Lord; and this is the reason of the mention of these things; see

Psalms 66:18.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.   7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.   8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.   9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

      The happiness of Israel in God's government is here further made out by some particular instances of his administration, especially with reference to those that were, in their day, the prime leaders and most active useful governors of that people--Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, in the two former of whom the theocracy or divine government began (for they were employed to form Israel into a people) and in the last of whom that form of government, in a great measure, ended; for when the people rejected Samuel, and urged him to resign, they are said to reject God himself, that he should not be so immediately their king as he had been (1 Samuel 8:7), for now they would have a king, like all the nations. Moses, as well as Aaron, is said to be among his priests, for he executed the priest's office till Aaron was settled in it and he consecrated Aaron and his sons; therefore the Jews call him the priest of the priests. Now concerning these three chief rulers observe,

      I. The intimate communion they had with God, and the wonderful favour to which he admitted them. None of all the nations of the earth could produce three such men as these, that had such an intercourse with Heaven, and whom God knew by name,Exodus 33:17. Here is, 1. Their gracious observance of God. No kingdom had men that honoured God as these three men of the kingdom of Israel did. They honoured him, (1.) By their prayers. Samuel, though not among his priests, yet was among those that called on his name; and for this they were all famous, They called upon the Lord; they relied not on their own wisdom or virtue, but in every emergency had recourse to God, towards him was their desire, and on him their dependence. (2.) By their obedience: They kept his testimonies, and the ordinances that he gave them; they made conscience of their duty, and in every thing made God's word and law their rule, as knowing that unless they did so they could not expect their prayers should be answered, Proverbs 28:9. Moses did all according to the pattern shown him; it is often repeated, According to all that God commanded Moses, so did he. Aaron and Samuel did likewise. Those were the greatest men and most honourable that were most eminent for keeping God's testimonies and conforming to the rule of his word. 2. God's gracious acceptance of them: He answered them, and granted them the things which they called upon him for. They all wonderfully prevailed with God in prayer; miracles were wrought at their special instance and request; nay, he not only condescended to do that for them which they desired, as a prince for a petitioner, but he communed with them as one friend familiarly converses with another (Psalms 99:7; Psalms 99:7): He spoke unto them in the cloudy pillar. He often spoke to Samuel; from his childhood the word of the Lord came to him, and, probably, sometimes he spoke to him by a bright cloud overshadowing him: however, to Moses and Aaron he often spoke out of the famous cloudy pillar,Exodus 16:10; Numbers 12:5. Israel are now reminded of this, for the confirming of their faith, that though they had not every day such sensible tokens of God's presence as the cloudy pillar was, yet to those that were their first founders, and to him that was their great reformer, God was pleased thus to manifest himself.

      II. The good offices they did to Israel. They interceded for the people, and for them also they obtained many an answer of peace. Moses stood in the gap, and Aaron between the living and the dead; and, when Israel was in distress, Samuel cried unto the Lord for them, 1 Samuel 7:9. This is here referred to (Psalms 99:8; Psalms 99:8): "Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God! and, at their prayer, thou wast a God that forgavest the people they prayed for; and, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions, yet thou didst not cut them off from being a people, as their sin deserved." "Thou wast a God that wast propitious for them (so Dr. Hammond), for their sakes, and sparedst the people at their request, even when thou wast about to take vengeance of their inventions, that is, when thy wrath was so highly provoked against them that it was just ready to break in upon them, to their utter overthrow." These were some of the many remarkable instances of God's dominion in Israel, more than in any other nation, for which the people are again called upon to praise God (Psalms 99:9; Psalms 99:9): "Exalt the Lord our God, on account of what he has done for us formerly, as well as of late, and worship at his holy hill of Zion, on which he has now set his temple and will shortly set his King (Psalms 2:6), the former a type of the latter; there, as the centre of unity, let all God's Israel meet, with their adorations, for the Lord our God is holy, and appears so, not only in his holy law, but in his holy gospel."