A Gracious Throne (vv. 6-9). You could not approach the throne of the king of Persia unless the king held out his scepter and gave you permission (Est. 4:10-11), but access to God’s throne is available to His children through Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:19-25). Under the old covenant, God provided priests who ministered at the altar and were mediators between His needy people and their Lord, but today Jesus Christ is the Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) who constantly intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). To the lost sinner, God’s throne is a throne of judgment, but to the believer, it is a throne of grace (Heb. 4:14-16), and we can come to Him with our worship and praise as well as our burdens and needs.

Often Moses, Aaron, and Samuel had to intercede for the disobedient people of Israel, and the Lord heard them and answered (Ex. 17:1; 32–33; Num. 14:11-38; 16:48; 1 Sam. 7, 12). God named Moses and Samuel as great men of prayer (Jer. 15:1). God’s gracious ministry to His old covenant people is still available to His new covenant family: He speaks to us from His Word (Ex. 33:9; Num. 12:5-6; 1 Sam. 3:3-4), hears our prayers and answers, disciplines us when we sin, and forgives us when we confess (1 John 1:9). How many times the Lord forgave Israel and gave His people another opportunity to serve Him (103:13-18)! The throne and the altar were not far apart in the sanctuary (see Isa. 6:1-7).

How should we respond to this kind of a God who sits on this kind of a throne? We must worship Him (vv. 5, 9), praise and exalt Him (vv. 3, 5, 9), and remember that He is holy (vv. 3, 5, 9). We must pray to Him and seek to glorify His name by our obedience and service. The next psalm describes all of this and climaxes the “royal psalm” series.