The Meaning of Psalms 99:7 Explained

Psalms 99:7

KJV: He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.

YLT: In a pillar of cloud He speaketh unto them, They have kept His testimonies, And the statute He hath given to them.

Darby: He spoke unto them in the pillar of cloud: they kept his testimonies, and the statute that he gave them.

ASV: He spake unto them in the pillar of cloud: They kept his testimonies, And the statute that he gave them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He spake  unto them in the cloudy  pillar:  they kept  his testimonies,  and the ordinance  [that] he gave  them. 

What does Psalms 99:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 99:1-9 - Worship The Great And Holy One
This psalm has its counterpart in Psalms 97:1-12. There Jehovah's reign is associated with the gladness of faith; here with the trembling of mortal and sinful hearts. Thrice we are reminded that He is holy, Psalms 99:3; Psalms 99:5; Psalms 99:9. This threefold ascription of earth concerning the holiness of God answers the threefold ascription of heaven, where one seraph cries to the rest, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory," Isaiah 6:3.
God's holiness is terrible to sinners. It inspires even His own people with awe. However near we come to Him in Christ, we always must remember that we are sinful men who have no right to stand before Him, save through the mediation and in the righteousness of His Son.
How great God must be, who can reckon Moses, Aaron, and Samuel as His servants! And we, too, though beneath them in personal character and gift, are permitted to be among His priests; to call upon His name; to hear Him speaking from the pillar of cloud. Let us all walk worthy of our high calling! Let us fear this great and holy God, who cannot tolerate sin in His children, and will not scruple to inflict pain if sin is persisted in. He does forgive-glory to His name!-but He will not hesitate to chasten us for sins which we presumptuously and knowingly permit. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 99

1  The prophet, setting forth the kingdom of God in Zion
5  Exhorts all, by the example of their forefathers, to worship God at his holy hill

What do the individual words in Psalms 99:7 mean?

In the pillar cloudy He spoke to them they kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them
בְּעַמּ֣וּד עָ֭נָן יְדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם שָׁמְר֥וּ עֵ֝דֹתָ֗יו וְחֹ֣ק נָֽתַן־ לָֽמוֹ

בְּעַמּ֣וּד  In  the  pillar 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עַמּוּד  
Sense: pillar, column.
עָ֭נָן  cloudy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָנָן  
Sense: cloud, cloudy, cloud-mass.
יְדַבֵּ֣ר  He  spoke 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
שָׁמְר֥וּ  they  kept 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
עֵ֝דֹתָ֗יו  His  testimonies 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֵדָה  
Sense: testimony, witness.
וְחֹ֣ק  and  the  ordinance 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹק  
Sense: statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed, due.
נָֽתַן־  He  gave 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.