You Answered Them, O LORD - Psalms 99:8

In Psalms ninety-nine the Psalmist said, “Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them. He spoke unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them”, and in chapter ninety-nine and verse eight of Psalms the Psalmist said, “you answered them, O LORD our God” where we read,

You answered them, O LORD our God:

you were a God that forgave them, though you took vengeance of their inventions.

The verse begins, “You answered them, O LORD our God:” The Psalmist began with the words, “you answered them” or “you, Jehovah God, paid attention to, began to speak and responded to them, Moses, Aaron, Samuel and the people who called upon God”, “O LORD” which means “O Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “our God” or “our, the Psalmist and his people's, Divine judge, ruler and Supreme God”. The Psalmist recalled how the Divine judge Jehovah God responded to Moses, Aaron, Samuel and the people when they cried out to Him.

The verse goes on to say, “you were a God that forgave them, though you took vengeance of their inventions.” The Psalmist continued with the words, “you were a God” or “you, Jehovah God, existed as a Divine judge, ruler and Supreme God” “that forgave them” which means “who accepted, regarded and pardoned them, Moses, Aaron, Samuel and the people who called upon God”, “though you took vengeance” or “despite of you, Jehovah God, causing and fashioning revenge and punishment” “of their inventions” which means “upon their, the people who called out upon God's, performance, deeds, works and acts”. The Psalmist said Jehovah God was a Divine judge who pardoned the people who called upon Him despite punishing them for their wicked acts and deeds.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how the Psalmist remembered how the Divine judge and ruler Jehovah God responded to the people of Israel who wandered in the wilderness. (See Numbers 14:20 and Deuteronomy 9:19). However, He punished them for their wicked acts of unbelief, and pardoned them as well for their wrongs. Sin is “missing the mark” of perfection according to Jehovah God's standards, and “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. (See Romans 3:23) Those sins, errors, wrongs and mistakes separate us from having an intimate relationship with Jehovah God, and the penalty for sin is death. (See Romans 6:23) God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price of death on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that He died for our sins and rose from the grave three days later, we will be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life with God and live forever with Him in praise, honor and glory for His wonderful give to mankind. (See Romans 10:9-10)

Next time the Psalmist says, “Exalt the LORD our God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".