The Courtroom Where Everyone Stands

In 2015, when Queen Elizabeth II visited the Irish Republic for the first time in a century, something remarkable happened at Dublin Castle. Hundreds of dignitaries, politicians, and cultural leaders — people accustomed to commanding rooms — rose to their feet in unison. The room fell silent. No one had to be told. The gravity of the moment demanded it.

But what stunned observers was what happened next. The Queen spoke words of reconciliation. She acknowledged centuries of pain between Britain and Ireland. The sovereign who made everyone stand then bent toward her audience with grace. Power and tenderness occupied the same space.

Psalm 99 captures this same holy tension. "The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned between the cherubim; let the earth shake." The Almighty is so majestic that creation itself cannot remain still. Every knee recognizes His authority — not because He demands flattery, but because His holiness is simply that real.

Yet this same God "answered them" when Moses, Aaron, and Samuel called out. He kept covenant with imperfect people. He forgave them, even while holding them accountable for their wrongs.

We serve a God who makes the nations tremble and who listens to a single whispered prayer. His holiness doesn't create distance — it creates awe. And in that awe, we discover that the One enthroned above all things has drawn impossibly near. Holy, holy, holy is He.