Psalms 99:5

My Notes

What Does Psalms 99:5 Mean?

The psalmist calls for worship at God's footstool — a phrase for the ark of the covenant (1 Chronicles 28:2) or the temple more broadly. The footstool is where God's feet rest. Worshipping there means worshipping at the lowest point of God's presence — at His feet, looking up.

The command to exalt and worship is grounded in one reason: "for he is holy." The holiness is the cause of the worship. You exalt because He's holy. You worship at the footstool because the one whose feet rest there is sacred beyond comprehension.

The footstool imagery is deliberately humble: you're worshipping at His feet. Not His face (too intimate for this moment). Not His throne (too high). His footstool. The lowest accessible point of the Most High. The place where transcendence meets the floor. Where holiness is as close to earth as it gets.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Does worshipping at God's 'footstool' (His feet, not His face) feel limiting or appropriate?
• 2.Is 'for he is holy' a sufficient reason for your worship — or do you need additional motivations?
• 3.Where is the 'footstool' in your life — the closest accessible point of God's holiness?
• 4.Does the humility of footstool-worship match your actual posture before God?

Devotional

Exalt the LORD. Worship at His footstool. Because He is holy.

The footstool is the lowest part of the throne — where the king's feet rest. And the psalmist says: worship there. At the feet. At the lowest point of the highest being. The place where the Most High touches the ground.

The humility is the worship: you're not at the throne level. You're at the footstool. You're looking at the feet of God, not the face. The distance between the footstool and the throne is the distance between the worshipper and the worshipped. And the appropriate response to that distance isn't resentment. It's worship.

"For he is holy" — one reason. Sufficient for all the exalting and all the worshipping the psalmist commands. He is holy. That's why you worship. Not because of what He gives you. Not because of how He makes you feel. Because of what He IS. Holy. Set apart. Other. Different from everything you've ever encountered in every way.

The footstool is the closest you get to holiness at floor level. The ark of the covenant — where God's presence dwelt between the cherubim — is the footstool. The temple is the footstool. The church gathering is the footstool. Wherever God's feet rest on earth, that's where you worship.

You don't climb to the throne. You bow at the footstool. The holiness above you is the reason for the worship below you. And the meeting point — the footstool, the lowest accessible dimension of God's presence — is enough.

More than enough.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture