Psalms 99:6-8
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Truth: God answers us (like He did to those great men in the past)!
In this psalm the writer is telling us the worthiness of God as a reason we ought to praise Him. The writer has already talked about God's sovereign rule and His supreme justice. Those, alone, are reasons to break forth in praise. In the above set of verse the writer reminds us that the great men of faith (Moses, Aaron and Samuel) all called upon God ... and God ANSWERED them!!! What a blessed truth to behold and to rejoice over and about and in!!! To know that simply me, can call upon God just like Moses, Aaron and Samuel is a truth in and of itself. To have that boldness to enter into the throne of the Almighty God, who reigns, is a truth beyond our imagination. Hebrews 10 tells us we can enter boldly into the throne of grace to find mercy in time of need. Moses, Aaron and Samuel each did that. But, note what the writer of this Psalm tells us in the above passage as to what these great men of faith needed: Forgiveness. Even though it says He gave them statutes to follow and they DID keep them, they still needed forgiveness. God saw their human condition and they still, despite their great faith, needed to come to God in repentance and ask forgiveness. And it says, "O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them." What a blessed assurance and truth to rest in and rely upon. Those who reject God's truth and even God's existence can't know His forgiveness. You must come to God to get forgiveness. But, note the last line of these verses. God does forgive but He is also, "... an avenger of their wrongdoings." There is some debate as to whether the writer is referring to the wrong done "against them" or the wrong done "by them." It seems more to indicate, that even though God does forgive, there are consequences to disobedience. Note how this passage is similar to the following:
Exodus 34:6-7
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
Granted, this is an Old Testament passage but remember, Moses was forgiven but not allowed to enter the promise land because of his failure to obey God in relationship to the water coming out of the rock, incident. Aaron's wife and two boys were stuck down for disobedience, despite Aaron's position in the nation. Samuel also was disciplined by God. So, we must rejoice in the God who hears and forgives, but also we are to rejoice in the God who loves us enough to discipline EVERY son He receives ... even Moses, Aaron, Samuel and me!
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