The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake! The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem, exalted above all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy! Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel. Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy! Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also called on his name. They cried to the Lord for help, and he answered them. He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud, and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, but you punished them when they went wrong. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for the Lord our God is holy!
Psalms 99:1-9 NLT
We exalt God. The word “exalt” means to put something in the highest place in your life. We all “exalt” something, but if we are honest, that is usually not God. We regularly give more energy, attention, and time to things other than Jesus. Those may be good things, but they do not belong in the place of priority, and putting them there leads to disastrous consequences. Exalting the Lord means more than believing Him or even honoring Him; it means He is first and the highest pursuit of our lives. Put Jesus first and hold nothing back. Twice this psalm commands us to exalt the Lord (vv.5, 9).
No matter who is president or what is happening in the world, God is the KING. This does not mean that bad things don’t happen. God is King, but He has an Enemy, and there is a war going on. He is also opposed by many people who do not want to do His will or live in His Kingdom. They want to set up their own little worlds to rule, personal empires where they are kings. “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” is the cry of those who defy the love of God. The world is broken, yet God is still King. The Lord is not the enemy but our loving Savior who calls every rebel heart to come home to the Father’s love. You can choose to live in His Kingdom, as imperfect and broken as you are. You don’t need to be perfect; just sit at the table as His dearly loved child. Live as a citizen of the Kingdom, working each day for His Kingdom to come more and more on earth.
What would it mean for you to exalt the Lord? How can God be King when there are so many bad things that happen on earth?
