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God rules over the nations;
    God sits upon his holy throne.

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10     (A)declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
    He rules the peoples with fairness.

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Psalm 97[a]

The Divine Ruler of All

I

The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
    let the many islands be glad.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 97 The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Hb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12).

Psalm 99[a]

The Holy King

I

The Lord is king, the peoples tremble;
    he is enthroned on the cherubim,[b] the earth quakes.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 99 A hymn to God as the king whose grandeur is most clearly seen on Mount Zion (Ps 99:2) and in the laws given to Israel (Ps 99:4). Israel is special because of God’s word of justice, which was mediated by the revered speakers, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel (Ps 99:6–8). The poem is structured by the threefold statement that God is holy (Ps 99:3, 5, 9) and by the twice-repeated command to praise (Ps 99:5, 9).
  2. 99:1 Enthroned on the cherubim: cherubim were composite beings with animal and human features, common in ancient Near Eastern art. Two cherubim were placed on the ark (or box) of the covenant in the holy of holies. Upon them God was believed to dwell invisibly, cf. Ex 25:20–22; 1 Sm 4:4; 2 Sm 6:2; Ps 80:2.

One cried out to the other:

“Holy, holy, holy[a] is the Lord of hosts!
    All the earth is filled with his glory!”

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Footnotes

  1. 6:3 Holy, holy, holy: these words have been used in Christian liturgy from the earliest times.