Psalms 99:1
in Psalms 99The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah reigneth; let the peoples tremble: He sitteth above the cherubim; let the earth be moved.
KJV
The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
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This verse in Psalms 99
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe Lord has reigned, let the peoples be angry. Three psalms have the same beginning: the ninety-second, the ninety-sixth, and the ninety-eighth. But although they have the same beginning in the opening verse, at the end they are different. For how does it read in the ninety-second? 'The Lord has reigned, he has clothed himself in beauty.' But in the ninety-sixth: 'The Lord has reigned, let the earth rejoice'; and in the ninety-eighth: 'The Lord has reigned, let the peoples be angry.' The sequence seems as it were to be contrary to itself.
This site's exposition
He is enthroned above the cherubim
on Psalms 99:1-3
Enthroned above the cherubim puts Him over the mercy seat of the ark, the seat Exodus 25:22 says He speaks from. The nations tremble and the earth quakes at that throne. He is holy closes the first section and sounds again at verses 5 and 9.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The Lord is King, be the people angry" [Psalm 99:1]. For our Lord Jesus Christ began to reign, began to be preached, after He arose from the dead and ascended into heaven, after He had filled His disciples with the confidence of the Holy Spirit, that they should not fear death, which He had already killed in Himself. Our Lord Christ began then to be preached, that they who wished for salvation might believe in Him; and the peoples who worshipped idols were angry. They who worshipped what they had made were angry, because He by whom they were made was declared. He announced, in fact, through His disciples, Himself, who wished them to be converted unto Him by whom they were made, and to be turned away from those things which they had made themselves. They were angry with their Lord in behalf of their idols, they who even if they were angry with their slave on their idol's account, were to be condemned. For their slave was better than their idol: for God made their slave, the carpenter made their idol. They were so angry in their idol's behalf, that they feared not to be angry with their Lord. But the words, "be they angry," are a prediction, not a command; for in a prophecy it is that this is said, "The Lord is King, be the people angry." Some good results even from the enraged people: let them be angry, and in their anger let the Martyrs be crowned....You heard when Jeremiah was being read before the reading of the Apostle, if you listened; ye saw therein the times in which we now live. He said, "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, let them perish from the earth, and from under the heaven." [Jeremiah 10:11] He said not, The gods that have not made the heavens and earth, let them perish from the heaven and from the earth; because they never were in heaven: but what did he say? […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), as on his throne, to give law by the oracles thence delivered--as on the mercy-seat, to receive petitions. This was the honour of Israel, that they had among them the Shechinah, or special presence of God, attended by the holy angels; the temple was the royal palace, and the Holy of holies was the presence-chamber.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Lord reigneth,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The Lord reigneth. One of the most joyous utterances which ever leaped from mortal lip. The overthrow of the reign of evil and the setting up of Jehovah's kingdom of goodness, justice, and truth, is worthy to be hymned again and again, as we have it here for the third time in the psalms. Let the people tremble. Let the chosen people feel a solemn yet joyful awe, which shall thrill their whole manhood. Saints quiver with devout emotion, and sinners quiver with terror when the rule of Jehovah is fully perceived and felt.
The Lord reigneth. One of the most joyous utterances which ever leaped from mortal lip. The overthrow of the reign of evil and the setting up of Jehovah's kingdom of goodness, justice, and truth, is worthy to be hymned again and again, as we have it here for the third time in the psalms. Let the people tremble. Let the chosen people feel a solemn yet joyful awe, which shall thrill their whole manhood. Saints quiver with devout emotion, and sinners quiver with terror when the rule of Jehovah is fully perceived and felt. It is not a light or trifling matter, it is a truth which, above all others, should stir the depths of our nature. He sitteth between the cherubims. In grandeur of sublime glory, yet in nearness of mediatorial condescension, Jehovah revealed himself above the mercyseat, whereon stood the likeness of those flaming ones who gaze upon his glory, and for ever cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts." The Lord reigning on that throne of grace which is sprinkled with atoning blood, and veiled with the covering wings of mediatorial love, is above all other revelations wonderful, and fitted to excite emotion among all mankind, hence it is added, Let the earth be moved. Not merely "the people, "but the whole earth should feel a movement of adoring awe when it is known that on the mercyseat God sits as universal monarch. The pomp of heaven surrounds him, and is symbolised by the outstretched wings of waiting cherubs; let not the earth be less moved to adoration, rather let all her tribes bow before his infinite majesty, yea, let the solid earth itself with reverent tremor acknowledge his presence.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3284: “The Sequel to Divine Sovereignty” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
No Doctrine in the whole Word of God has more excited the hatred of mankind than the truth of the absolute Sovereignty of God. [See Sermon #77, Volume 2—DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY.] The fact that "the Lord reigns" is indisputable—and it is this fact that arises the utmost opposition in the unrenewed human heart. "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3284: “The Sequel to Divine Sovereignty” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
No Doctrine in the whole Word of God has more excited the hatred of mankind than the truth of the absolute Sovereignty of God. [See Sermon #77, Volume 2—DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY.] The fact that "the Lord reigns" is indisputable—and it is this fact that arises the utmost opposition in the unrenewed human heart. "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." We know what the Lord thinks of their rebellion against Him—"He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure." Let us, Beloved, not be among those who refuse to believe this great Truth of God, but may we humbly bow before that dread Sovereign who does as He wills among the armies of Heaven and among the inhabitants of this lower world— "God is a King of power unknown; Firm are the orders of His Throne! If He resolves, who dare oppose, Or ask Him why, or what He does?' God has the right to act thus, first, because He is the source of all created existence. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and everything else that exists is the product of His creative power! As the writer of the 100th Psalm says, "It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves." So He has the absolute right to do with us whatever He pleases. It rested with Him to make us or not to make us. And when He determined to create, it was according to His own will that He made one creature a worm and another an eagle, one an ant crawling upon its little hill and another a leviathan making the deep to boil. It was by His decree that there were almost boundless variations among the great family of mankind.
The Lord reigneth - See the note on Psa 97:1. Let the people tremble - He will establish his kingdom in spite of his enemies; let those who oppose him tremble for the consequences. He sitteth between the cherubims - This is in reference to the ark, at each end of which was a cherub of glory; and the shechinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, appeared on the lid of the ark, called also the mercy-seat, between the cherubim. Sitting between the cherubim implies God’s graciousness and mercy. While then, in his reign, he was terrible to sinners, he is on the throne of grace to all who fear love, and obey him. Though this symbol were not in the second temple, yet the Divine Being might very well be thus denominated, because it had become one of his titles, he having thus appeared under the tabernacle and first temple.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord reigneth - The Lord, Yahweh, is king. See Psa 93:1. Let the people tremble - The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this, “Let the people rage” - or, be angry: as if the idea were that God reigned, although the people were enraged, and were opposed to him. The true meaning of the word used here, however, is “tremble,” properly signifying to be moved, disturbed, disquieted, thrown into commotion; and then it may mean to be moved with anger, Pro 29:9; Isa 28:21; or with grief, 2Sa 18:33: or with fear, Psa 4:4; or with joy, Jer 33:9. Hence, it means to be agitated or moved with fear or reverence; and it refers here to the reverence or awe which one has in the conscious presence of God. He sitteth between the cherubims - See the notes at Psa 80:1. Let the earth be moved - Margin, “stagger.” The word means to move or quake. It occurs nowhere else. Compare the notes at Psa 18:7. See also Hab 3:6, Hab 3:10.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
nations will quake [This] deals with the war of Gog and Magog. Then the nations will quake, as the matter that is said (Zech.:12): “And this shall be the plague, etc.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Lord is great in Zion – Then He will be great in Zion because there He will be magnified above all the nations when He executes judgement on the wicked.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מָ֭לָךְ | malokh | he reigns | H4427 → | 348 times |
| יִרְגְּז֣וּ | yirgezu | let them tremble | H7264 → | 41 times |
| עַמִּ֑ים | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֥ב | yoshev | [he is] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| כְּ֝רוּבִ֗ים | keruvim | cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
| תָּנ֥וּט | tanut | let it quake | H5120 → | |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מָ֭לָךְhe reigns
malokhH4427 →348 times
יִרְגְּז֣וּlet them tremble
yirgezuH7264 →41 times
עַמִּ֑יםpeoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
יֹשֵׁ֥ב[he is] sitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
כְּ֝רוּבִ֗יםcherubim
keruvimH3742 →91 times
תָּנ֥וּטlet it quake
tanutH5120 →
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 93:1The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
it leads to
- Psalms 96:10
Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.
- 1 Chronicles 29:12
Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all.
- Revelation 19:6
And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the…
- Psalms 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
- Psalms 65:6
You formed the mountains by Your power, having girded Yourself with might.
- Psalms 96:10
Through
Psalms 97:1The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the distant shores be glad.
it leads to
- Psalms 96:10–11
Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Psalms 96:10–11
Through
Exodus 25:22And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you…
it leads to
- Exodus 29:42–43
For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.
- Exodus 29:42–43
Through
Psalms 80:1Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
it leads to
- Revelation 21:23
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Revelation 21:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 99; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3284: “The Sequel to Divine Sovereignty” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 26, on Psalm 98; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.