The Bible says in Psalms 85:1-3, LORD, thou
hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought
back the captivity of Jacob.[2] Thou hast
forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.[3] Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast
turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. In verse one
the Psalmist looks at his own country and his own land and he knows that God
has blessed them. No matter what country you live in, surely you can see Gods
blessings all around you. Of course, Israel was blessed when God delivered them
from their enemies.
Verse two mentions the greatest of
blessings: forgiveness of sins. We are forgiven of our sins when we put our
faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have this blessing because Jesus
suffered and died on the cross. Why did Jesus die on the cross: because someone
had to pay the price to assuage the wrath of God. God hates sin. God is angry
against sin. God is Judge, and He must punish sin. God punished sin in the
person of Jesus. The fierceness of His anger fell on Jesus, so that it does
not have to fall on us as long we trust in Jesus as our personal Savior.
The Bible says in Psalms 85:4-6, Turn us, O
God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.[5] Wilt thou be angry with us for
ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all
generations?[6] Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may
rejoice in thee? The Psalmist looked at his country and he said basically,
We need a revival. Nothing has changed. We also need a revival big time.
There are too many people that are lost souls. There are too many people who
claim to be Christians but who do not have a zeal to serve Jesus above all
else. There are too many people who are too busy to serve the Lord with more
Bible study, prayer, and gathering with other believers at church services. In
these three verses the Psalmist is correct: only God can give us a revival.
Only Gods Spirit can touch hearts. God can bring a revival. If He cannot touch
people with the message of the love of God, no doubt God has other ways to wake
people up to their spiritual needs. It may not be pretty what God decides to do
to awaken a nation. It will take the Great Tribulation to awaken the world.
The Bible says in Psalms 85:7, Shew us thy
mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. Mercy is a wonderful
thing. Mercy is when God does not give us what we deserve. We all need mercy
because we are all sinners. How do you get salvation from God: just ask for it. God loves us to ask Him for help. It says in Romans
10:13, Whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved. The name of the
Lord is Jesus.
The Bible says in Psalms 85:8, I will hear
what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to
his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. In order to
hear from God, you must desire to hear from Him. When you hear Gods message
and Gods truth, you will hear the Gospel of Christ. Then you will have peace
because there is no greater peace than knowing that you will go to heaven with
all your sins forgiven. Of course, the Lord still wants us to do right. We are
supposed to be new creatures in Christ. God wants us to learn to live holy
lives because He is holy. Do not turn again to the old way that you lived before you were saved.
The Bible says in Psalms 85:9-13, Surely his
salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.[10]
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other.[11] Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall
look down from heaven.[12] Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good;
and our land shall yield her increase.[13] Righteousness shall go before
him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. The Bible has
many great words, and these verses in the Psalms have many of those words:
salvation, glory, mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace. We are told that
salvation is nigh them that fear him. God is holy, He has all power, and He is Judge of all.
You might to fear being judged and sent to hell. That fear would lead you to
Christ to find salvation. The last phrase of verse nine tells us one result of
salvation, at least if enough people turn to Christ: that glory may dwell in our land. Gods glory speaks of His manifestation in power and
holiness and love. That is just what we need in our land too. We can have it if
more people will come to know the Lord and His salvation.
The first phrase of verse ten says, Mercy and
truth are met together. Once you repent of your sins and come to know the mercy of God
through faith in Christ, you will have access to more truth. Jesus is Truth.
Once you know Jesus, you are given the Holy Spirit who will guide you into all
truth. Once you know Jesus, the Bible will become your spiritual food and will
be your source of invaluable truth. The world is in darkness because they do
not know truth. Jesus said, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall
set you free.
There is a close relationship between
righteousness and peace. You will gain peace with God once you have obtained
the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ. It says in Romans 5:1, Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
To be justified means to be declared righteous. Because of Jesus, when we put our
faith in Him, God evaluates us and ignores our sins and determines that we are
righteous. We are given the righteousness of Christ even though we do not
deserve it. If you are concerned about the destiny of your soul, and if you are
concerned about the guilt of your sins, then you need the peace that only
Christ can give when His righteousness is credited to your account at the
moment you call upon His name for salvation.
According to verse eleven,
righteousness is also related to truth. Of course, we know that righteousness
shall look down from heaven. As we said in the previous paragraphs, we are
not righteous of ourselves. All of our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Thankfully, God has created His plan whereby we are freely given the
righteousness of Christ. Why does verse eleven say that Truth shall
spring out of the earth. For one thing, truth is
everywhere. Everywhere you look, you will see that God is the Creator, and that
He is good and His creation is good. Everywhere you look you will see that man
is a sinner. Everywhere you look you will see that evil exists in the world. Everywhere
you look you will see that people reap what they sow. The heavens
declare the glory of God and the earth showeth forth
His handiwork. There is another way in which Truth shall spring out of the
earth. Once someone believes on Jesus and starts studying the Bible,
that person becomes a source of truth on the earth as he or she testifies about
Jesus and teaches others what has been learned from Gods Word. That is why
preachers preach, believers witness, and evangelists evangelize: to spread the
truth. We know the importance of Gods Word. We are going to continue teaching
it in every circumstance where the Lord gives us opportunity. The Spirit of God
has put that within us.
Psalms 85:12 reminds us of a great
truth: the LORD shall give that which is good. God is good
and He gives good gifts to every person on this earth. Christians know this and
therefore, Christians should be the most thankful of all people on the earth.
It says in James 1:7, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning. It says in Psalms
100:4-5, 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.
It says in Psalms 85:13, Righteousness
shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. How do you
walk with God? This verse gives us an important part of the answer: do what is
right. When a decision or an issue comes your way, how do you know what you
should do? Do what is right. This may not be what is gratifying or what is
profitable, but it must be your priority. God always wants us to do the right
thing. God is on the side of right, and He is against what is wrong. Do right
until the stars fall.
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Copyright; 2019 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved