Psalm 99 & 100

99
1  The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth [between] the cherubims; let the earth be moved. 2 The LORD [is] great in Zion; and he [is] high above all the people. 3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; [for] it [is] holy. 4 The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; [for] he [is] holy.”

“6  Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them. 7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance [that] he gave them. 8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. 9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God [is] holy.”

100
““1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name. 5 For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations.”

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.  Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 98

“1  O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. 2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

“4  Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 8 Let the floods clap [their] hands: let the hills be joyful together 9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.”

"his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory."
Righteousness is his strength

"with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity"

Psalm 97

“1  The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad [thereof]. 2 Clouds and darkness [are] round about him: righteousness and judgment [are] the habitation of his throne. 3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. 5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. 7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all [ye] gods.”

“8  Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. 9 For thou, LORD, [art] high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. 10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”

"The Lord reigneth"
In spite of how it might seem to us sometimes, God is in control of His creation.  He can, whenever He desires, bring an end to it all or turn things around.

"Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne"
We have read of the things God hates.

These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:  ¹⁷ A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,  ¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,  ¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

We learn from thispassage that not only does God have great love for certain things he also hates certain things. Now the word hate in this context also carries the meaning to detest or to abhor those things which are abominable. The word abominable means a disgusting thing or a scheme that that brings about evil. These things that God hates comes from persons heart. Notice Jesus says in,

Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  ²⁰ "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

 But here we learn what God loves:  righteousness and judgment

Hebrews 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

sceptre:
1. a ceremonial staff held by a monarch as symbol of authority
2. imperial authority; sovereignty

Righteousness is God's authority.  It's what makes Him sovereign.

Righteousness exalteth a nation.

Those who love righteousness also love the judgments of God because it is through adhering to His judgment and wisdom that righteousness comes.

As long as we hate evil and love righteousness (shown by our choices), then God will be there to preserve us and deliver us out of the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 96

“1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 4 For the LORD [is] great, and greatly to be praised: he [is] to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Honour and majesty [are] before him: strength and beauty [are] in his sanctuary. 7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 8 Give unto the LORD the glory [due unto] his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.”

“10  Say among the heathen [that] the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. 11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that [is] therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice 13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”

"O sing unto the LORD a new song"
I'm so thankful that I can sing that "new song", that I am not the old person that I used to be.  Through virtue of faith in what Jesus Christ came to do and through Him, I have been made a new creature.  Old things have passed away.  All things have become new.  I don't walk the way I used to walk.  I don't talk the way I used to talk.

"shew forth his salvation from day to day"   And I am also thankful that this is not something which is come-and-go, here-today-gone-tomorrow.  It's a strength, a power, and a wisdom that guides us through life from day to day.

"the LORD made the heavens"
My God is the Creator.  He is all powerful.  Omniscient.   Always there.  He is so "gifted" that he can "take in" every detail of His creation in every way all the time, even down to knowing exactly how many hairs are left on our heads.

"strength and beauty [are] in his sanctuary"
His sanctuary is holy and righteous.   His strength is righteousness.  That is His sceptre.  Righteousness is what He uses to defeat evil.

"Bring an offering and come into his courts"
Don't allow yourself to come to the place that you no longer offer the sacrifice of praise to God in the courts where His people are gathered.

His strength is righteousness.  And ultimately, righteousness will be that by which ALL people are judged.  They will rise and fall depending on whether they have allowed Him to produce righteousness in them.

Psalm 95

“1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3 For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand [are] the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills [is] his also. 5 The sea [is] his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry [land]. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”

“7 For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 10 Forty years long was I grieved with [this] generation, and said, It [is] a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.”

" the rock of our salvation"

The Lord is our foundation; it is He that we stand firm on, not upon our own selves.  It is in and through Him and what He does for us that we can be who we are as saved people.

"For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand"

He cares for us like a shepherd cares for his sheep.  

the chief shepherd, under whom all others are; yea, he is the one, and only one; and a very careful, compassionate, and faithful one he is; who performs his whole office as a shepherd, not only by providing food for his flock, by leading them into green and good pastures, his church and ordinances; by appointing under shepherds to feed them with the doctrines of the Gospel, the wholesome words of the Lord Jesus; and by feeding them himself, with himself, the bread of life, and hidden manna, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed; but also by protecting them from all their enemies, the roaring and devouring lion, Satan, and wolves in sheep's clothing, false teachers; and by taking such notice and account of them, as that none of them shall be lost; and by doing all that is expressed in Ezekiel 34:16, seeking that which was lost; bringing back that which was driven away; binding up that which was broken; and strengthening and healing the sick, as well as watching over them night and day, lest any hurt them:
he shall gather the lambs with his arm; the weaklings of the flock; the same with babes and sucklings, newly born souls, weak believers, mean and low in their own eyes, the smoking flax, and bruised reed, the day of small things, the poor of the flock; these he gathers with his arm of power, and by the ministry of the Gospel, both to himself, his person, righteousness, grace and fulness, and to his church, to partake of the word and ordinances of it, and to nearer communion with him in them; he gathers them up into his arms in a way of protection, when liable to fall into the hands of powerful enemies, and to be hurt by them, and in order to carry them, they not being able to go of themselves, as it follows:
and carry them in his bosom; which is expressive of very great affection to them, such being greatly loved as are put into the bosom, as Obed by Naomi, the poor man's ewe lamb, and a wife of youth; as also of great nearness to him, being in his bosom must lie near his heart, and are indeed upon it; likewise it denotes the most intimate communion with him, and a being privy to his secrets, as Christ in the bosom of his Father is to his; as well as it implies an enjoyment of rest in him, and safety by him; for what can disturb or hurt such as are in the bosom of Christ?
and shall gently lead those that are with young; who have the seed of grace in them, have spiritual principles wrought in their souls, Christ formed in their hearts, are full of desires for him and spiritual things, and carry a burden, that of their sins, under which they groan; these he leads out, and off of themselves to himself, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, into green pastures, into his Father's presence, and at last to glory; and he leads them on "gently", gradually, step by step, to see their own vileness and sinfulness, to look, go to, lay hold on him, and retain him; he leads them into the truths of the Gospel, and the deep waters of the sanctuary, and proportionally to their strength as they are able to bear, either the doctrines of the Gospel, or the duties of religion, or afflictions and sufferings [Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible]

Psalm 94

“1  O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. 2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4 [How long] shall they utter [and] speak hard things? [and] all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? 5 They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 7 Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard [it]. 8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and [ye] fools, when will ye be wise? 9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? 10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, [shall not he know]? 11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they [are] vanity.”

“12  Blessed [is] the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; 13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. 15 But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it. 16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? [or] who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? 17 Unless the LORD [had been] my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. 18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up. 19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. 20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? 21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. 22 But the LORD is my defence; and my God [is] the rock of my refuge. 23 And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; [yea], the LORD our God shall cut them off.”

Psalm 93

“1  The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, [wherewith] he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. 2 Thy throne [is] established of old: thou [art] from everlasting. 3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4 The LORD on high [is] mightier than the noise of many waters, [yea, than] the mighty waves of the sea. 5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.” (Psalms 93:1-5 AV)