Oct 09, 2026 Worship at His Holy Hill – Words of Grace Blog – October 9, 2026
This weekend, let Psalm 99 prepare your heart for worship on Sunday.
The Words of Grace usually highlights some aspect of the upcoming message on Sunday. We will continue in Acts 18 and consider Paul’s ministry in Corinth, where Christ said he has his people. But this morning my heart is stirred with anticipation for our Sunday worship service as I read Psalm 99. I look forward to exalting the Lord our God at his holy hill with you.
Psalm 99 acknowledges and gives praise to God for his reign over all. It calls all people to tremble and quake before him. All are exhorted to praise the Lord for his justice and righteousness.
Then the psalm looks back to the time of Moses and Aaron when God’s people wandered in the wilderness and wobbled between worship and rebellion. It looks back to Samuel and the time when Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This was a time of great sin against God. But these men called out to God on behalf of his people, and he answered them.
The response of God to his people reveals him to be the God who forgives sins through atonement and disciplines his people for their holiness. Here we see Jesus. Christ Jesus is our forgiveness because he bore our sins on the cross. He is our holiness because he disciples us into the life of faithfulness to God.
Three times in this psalm the Lord is called holy. His reign, righteousness, and responsiveness to his people reveal his holiness. His forgiveness of sinners while justly dealing with their sin reveals his holiness. His exalted place above the whole earth and on his holy mountain reveals his holiness. God is holy!
Then comes the final exhortation to God’s people, you and me in Christ, to worship him together.
“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!”
Charles Spurgeon wrote of this verse. “Where he appoints his temple let us resort. No spot of ground is now fenced about as especially holy, or to be regarded as more sacred than another; yet his visible church is his chosen hill, and there would we be found, numbered with his people, and unite with them in worship.” (1)
The visible church, Spurgeon said, is the chosen hill. Where the church gathers is the appointed place of worship. The Father calls his children, the Son makes pure our hearts and our place, the Spirit makes his dwelling among us as his temple. What grace is bestowed on us! What glory awaits us each Lord’s Day! Yes, we worship each day as living sacrifices to God. No, the Lord is not contained in a church building. Yet, there is something unique, necessary, and good about the gathering of the saints in Christ to worship the Lord in his holiness at his chosen hill called the church. For this we long and prepare our hearts.
Two great reads for your weekend are Psalm 99 and Acts 18. Let’s pray for each other.
-Scott
(1) Psalms Volume II by Charles Spurgeon, Crossway Books, 1993.