Commentary on Ps 99.8

<p>In verse 8, the Psalmist turns again to prayer (cf. 4), and here we see God pardoning and punishing. His holiness and His love do not work against one another; indeed, each is an aspect of the other. This is taught by Christ's address, "Holy Father," in John 17:11. The Psalmist's statement implies what so much Scripture and experience teach, that pardon does not stay the consequences of the sins pardoned. Consequences run on. When David repented Nathan said: "The Lord hath put away thy sin, howbeit ..."; and the whole after history of the king shows that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." <strong>Consequences run on in memory, in habit, in circumstances, and, alas, in the lives of those whom we have wronged; but the character of these circumstances is changed, and they become loving chastisement for our profit</strong>. For this also we are exhorted to worship the Lord (9).
(Guide to the Psalms, The - Volume 2: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Psalms)</p>