Psalm 85

Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation!

Hello everyone,

As we have read, today we are going to listen to the Word of God in Psalm 85.

I invite us to keep our Bibles wide open to follow together.

I like to giving titles to messages. The title I came up with for this message is: “Show us your goodness, and grant us your salvation.” This is verse 8 of the psalm.

Psalm 85 is a prayer, and verse 8 is right in the middle of the prayer that we will meditate on together.

The prayers of the Bible and the psalms in particular are inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are models of prayer in a way.

By reading these prayers, we learn things about who God is, and how to address Him. I think this is the way to approach the prayers of the Bible.

My prayer and wish is that by watching this prayer, each of us will learn something about God, who He Is, and how we should and/or can approach Him. My prayer is that it helps everyone's prayer life (or at least some, everyone is ambitious)

This prayer is therefore a solicitation of God's blessing on all the people of Israel, and the formulation of the psalmist is: “Show us your goodness, and grant us your salvation.”

We will look at the meaning of this request and at the prayer as a whole.

For this, I suggest we divide the text into four parts:

In the first part, in verses 2 to 4 , the psalmist recognizes the blessings that God has given them in the past.

In the second part, in verses 5 to 8, the psalmist prays for God's blessing and restoration to Israel.

In the third part, consisting only of verse 9, the psalmist makes a resolution or makes a vow.

And finally in the fourth part, the psalmist expresses his assurance of blessing from God.

But before that, what are the truths about God that shine through in this psalm?

This prayer, like all prayers, is anchored in the psalmist's knowledge of God.

It's like with human beings, we speak with a person based on the knowledge we have of the person, based on their humor, based on their mood, based on whether they are an adult or a child etc. And the more we know the person in depth, or over time, the more conversations and deep conversations we can have.

It's the same with God. When we speak to Him, we speak to Him based on who He is, at least what we know about Him.

If you talk to God without knowing that He is an Almighty God, you may miss having the fear you should have;

If you talk to God without having in mind that He is a Holy God, you risk not realizing the extent of your sin and therefore not knowing to what extent you are separated from God by your own nature;

If you talk to God without knowing that he is a good and merciful God you risk being filled with guilt. You will feel unworthy...and you are unworthy, we are all unworthy, but because of His goodness and His mercy, He found a way for us to get closer to Him.

This is why we study the Word of God. This is because we want to have as real and complete a view of who God is as possible. This vision allows us to pray to Him appropriately and truthfully.

God of kindness

One of the attributes of God on which this prayer seems to me to be based, that is to say something which characterizes God and which allows the psalmist to address this prayer to Him it is His goodness.

The goodness of God is His propensity to generously give His goods and to do good to His creatures.

It is because He knows that God is good and generous that the psalmist can come to ask Him for His blessing.

God who makes alliance

A second characteristic of God that makes this prayer possible is that God is a covenant God.

We see this from the first sentence of the prayer: “You were favorable to your country”. How is this His country? God has no nationality, God does not belong to a country. But the psalmist can say this, because he knows that God has united himself by covenant with Israel, so that in a special way He is their God, they are his people, and their land is His. country.

Throughout the Bible, God interacts with men in general through covenants. The main alliances are with Adam, Noah, Abraham, then the people of Israel through Abraham, David etc.

An alliance, as we saw not long ago in Exodus, is in a way a contract between 2 parties, which means that the 2 parties are linked.

Even apart from the alliance with God, in the times of the Old Testament men made alliances with each other. For example, we see David making an alliance with Jonathan. In most alliances we clearly see 3 elements stand out:

-          Promises that one party makes to the other

-          The obligations of the 2th part so that the promise of the first keeps

-          Threats in the event of non-compliance with commitments

For example in the case of the alliance between God and Adam the first man:

-          God's promise or gift to Adam was to enjoy all the fruits of the Garden of Eden and to exercise his government over the earth.

-          Adam's obligation is to obey God (by not eating the forbidden fruit)

-          The threat that weighs on Adam in the event of non-compliance with the covenant is death.

Why do I think it is important to remember this aspect of God? This is because God never breaks His covenant. It is impossible that He would not be faithful to His covenant. And we see that the psalmist appeals to the faithfulness of God in his prayer.

God who gets angry

A third characteristic of God found in this prayer is that God becomes angry.

We see this particularly in verse 4: “You have withdrawn all your fury, you have renounced your fierce anger. »

God is not an angry God who loses his temper, if that were the case no one here would be alive. On the contrary, God is slow to anger.

But God is righteous, God abhors evil, and because of this righteousness He is angry with sin and to judge sinners.

In Psalm 7 from verses 13 to 18 we read...

Psaume 7 v 13-18 : «13If the wicked do not come to his senses, he sharpens his sword, draws his bow, and takes aim; 14he directs murderous darts at him, he makes his arrows burn. […] 18I will praise the LORD for his righteousness; I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. » 

In this and other passages the psalmist describes in graphic terms how God's judgments are exercised upon those who walk in evil ways and do not return to Him.

This brings us to our text. The prayer is written in a context where the psalmist and all the people have suffered or are suffering the righteous wrath of God.

We cannot clearly locate the precise moment of writing of the Psalm,

But there are 2 possibilities:

1.  ​The first is that they are experiencing the wrath of God, and the psalmist is pleading for God's restoration because of His covenant and past deliverances. He says “restore us, put an end to your indignation”

2.  ​The second possibility – and I am more convinced of this view – is that they are returning from a difficult time where they suffered the wrath of God because they had turned away from Him. It is for example a context of reconstruction as during the return from exile in Babylon.

In this case, all aspects of the prayer would be consistent. Both verse 2: “ God was favorable and restored them to their land”; and at the same time the prayers of verse 5 and following would make sense: “Restore us, God of our salvation…”

The psalmist recognizes that God has restored them in the sense that they are returning to their country from which they had been deported and which had been destroyed, but they need to be restored in the sense that their country is a field of ruin, and they need God to help them rebuild everything.

I suggest we look at prayer itself. Then we will see what applications we can draw for ourselves, for our own prayer and our relationship with God.

I - Recognition of deliverances wrought by God in the past (2-4)

As a preamble to his request in his prayer, the psalmist recognizes the graces that God has granted to Him and your people.

V1 : « 1You have been good to your land, O LORD, you have restored Jacob. »

He recognizes that He and His people have found favor in the eyes of God.

God said to Moses in the book of Exodus: “I am gracious to whom I am gracious.”

The favor of God is the most precious thing, but men cannot earn it. God grants it if He wants to whomever He wants.

God’s favor is like a beautiful summer day. Today there is a beautiful day, but maybe tomorrow there won't be one. We have no control.

The psalmist recognizes that he and his people have received undeserved favor, and he then details how this favor manifested itself:

V2-3: « 2You have forgiven the guilt of your people, you have covered all their sins. - Break. 3You have withdrawn all your fury, you have renounced your burning anger. »

How this favor manifested itself: God is no longer angry with them.

He expresses it in several ways:

-              Their fault is forgiven : therefore they are at peace with God

-              Sins are covered : According to this symbolism God no longer sees their sins, and therefore does not treat them as if they were sinners, but treats them as righteous people.

-              God has withdrawn all his fury : as Eduardo told us last week. There is a cup of the wrath of God which is fermenting and which will be poured out on the wicked. But they are not concerned, God has withdrawn all his fury.

We have no reason for God's appeasement in the text. But the psalmist specifies “you have forgiven ton people” (he could have said my people for example), but perhaps he wants to mark here the alliance between them and God.

This is the first part of the prayer: the psalmist recognizes all the good that God has done to them, and the evil that he has not done to them and that they would have deserved.

He acknowledges His mercy and grace.

But he also recognizes that he and the people are very weak, and without God's continued help and blessing, they will not be able to go further in their reconstruction and restoration.

So he prays for God's blessing and their complete restoration.

II- Prayer for God’s blessing and restoration (5-8)

V5: « 5Restore us, God of our salvation, put an end to your indignation against us! »

In verse 1, in our version, it is written at the end of the verse: “you have restored Jacob” (in other words Israel).

And here again in verse 5: “Restore us”

I looked in the Hebrew to see if there was a difference and to see in what other contexts the words are used.

The form of the word that is translated “you have restored Jacob” in verse 1 is still used in other contexts that refer to the release of prisoners.

It is for example this word which is used in the psalm 126 v 1: “When the Lord brought back the exiles of Zion, we were like those who make a rein”

More “Restore us” in verse 5 is close to the word that is used in Genesis when Reuben swears to his father Jacob to bring Joseph back to him.

Which makes me think that here the psalmist is not only praying to be delivered from captivity but to a restoration of relationship with God.

“Restore us God of our salvation » because he knows that the salvation of him and his people is with God.

V6-7 : « 6Are you angry with us forever? Will your anger last from generation to generation? 7Will you not restore us to life, so that your people may rejoice in you? »

Here the psalmist prays in accordance with God's covenant, knowing that God is faithful and that he made a covenant with their ancestors to bless them.

« 8Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation! »

The psalmist prays in accordance with God's goodness, through which God can show generosity toward them.

He prays to “see” the goodness of God, that is, probably to feel the effects of God’s generous gifts to him and His people.

He prays for God's salvation, in this context probably His protection. We see in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that when the people of Israel were rebuilding their country, they were attacked from all sides.

III - Resolution (9)

To plead his cause and seek fulfillment from God, the psalmist supports his prayer with a wish. This happened often in the Old Testament: Anne, the mother of Samuel, for example, who prayed for a son, and who made a vow to consecrate him to God if she was granted.

In the new testament also, we see Paul making a vow in acts 18 (but we do not know which one)

« 9I will listen to what God the Lord says, for he speaks peace to his people and to his faithful, provided that they do not return to folly. »

I don't know how to apply it today. I know that when I was taking my driving test, I had a lot of trouble passing it. I had the impression that only God could grant it. So I have a wish: always watch my blind spots, and respect the speed limits.

Generally, men who have been moved to make a vow have done so in such a way that God's blessing has led them to use that blessing for His glory... One can get lost in God's blessing (work, money which can become an idol, a license which can become an opportunity to explode in anger while driving and to say things that one would not say to one's face, etc.)

The wish that the psalmist makes: “I will listen to what God says”, may seem like a banal wish… it is normal to listen to God.

But we don’t necessarily listen to God properly. I can think of 2 situations where all of us, including me, will have difficulty listening to what God says:

-          When it is contrary to a desire that we have already formed.

-          When it is unpopular / to please men or not to annoy (Pierre who deprives himself of eating with non-Jews for fear of the Jews)

“…He speaks peace to his people and to his faithful, provided that they do not fall back into madness”

Here, the psalmist, in recalling his vows, just recalls the terms of the covenant. The peace and protection that God had promised to His people were conditioned on the obligation to obey Him.

I was asking myself the question in general: is the peace of God conditioned on obedience.

We see in the Bible that this is the case. Rebellion against God causes His curse: In Colossians 3 after listing the vices that are on the earth; the apostle Paul says: “It is because of these things that the wrath of God comes on the sons of rebellion.”

Disobedience to God brings His curse and wrath. But on the contrary obedience to God attracts his blessing and peace.

In Philippians 4, the apostle Paul exhorted Christians to be constantly infused with what honors God and what He loves, and the implication he gives in this passage: “And the God of peace will be with you.”

Obedience attracts God’s blessing and peace. Of course, obedience within the framework of the covenant with God through Jesus Christ.

After imploring God's blessing, the psalmist affirms in his prayer, his assurance that God will bless them

IV - Assurance of God's blessing (10 - 14)

V10 – 14 : « 10Yes, his salvation is near to those who fear him, and so glory will dwell in our land. »

Once again, based on God's covenant with His people, he knows that God will show them His salvation (His protection and His goodness).

Glory will inhabit our land, probably the Glory of God.

In Ezekiel 10, the prophet Ezekiel describes how during a time of apostasy among the people of Israel, the glory of God had left the temple, which became a place where the children of Israel engaged in idolatry.

Here the psalmist expresses confidence that the glory of God will return to Israel, and probably the glory of their land at the same time.

« 11Goodness and fidelity meet, justice and peace embrace; 12Faithfulness grows from the earth, and righteousness bends down from heaven.13The Lord himself will grant happiness, and our land will yield its produce.14Righteousness will go before him and mark the way before his steps. »

I think that beyond the physical restoration of the nation of Israel, the psalmist foresees – led by the Holy Spirit – a time when God Himself will be present with His people. They will be able to measure and feel all of His goodness and faithfulness; they will lack nothing; they will also be faithful to the alliance and God will fill them with happiness.

APPLICATIONS

I suggest 3 applications that we can draw from this text concerning: the favor of God; being established in God; the hope of eternal life.

-         God's favor

O   For those who received it

A first application that we can draw from this prayer is to contemplate the favor of God for us who have received it.

We have received an immeasurable, priceless favor.

Really imagine in your minds: what would be the best thing anyone could say to you right now? If there were a prophet among us who were to announce certain news to us: the end of a difficult situation we are experiencing, or the beginning of something we are waiting for and which will come true... What would it be? that it would be ?

Since we live in bodies, I think that the things we would like to hear are perhaps physical/material, even very good things. Some would perhaps be: “you will recover from your illness”, or “you will find a job”, or “you will have a child”, or “you will have your family”, “you will have your license” etc. All these things that God has created and which are good to make life pleasant for us... According to the greatness of His generosity...

But I suggest to you that the best thing God can say to someone is, “Your sins are forgiven.”

God has all the riches of the Universe, He can give you everything if He wants, but the best thing He can say to you is “your sins are forgiven”.

I think of the episode of the paralytic in the gospels. There are men who break the roof and come with a paralytic, and Jesus says “your sins are forgiven you”.

If it were necessary to quantify it in money, it is as if this man had trusted God to submit to him a need of 100€, and Jesus said to him: “I am not just going to give you according to your felt need of 100€, I will give you in accordance with my wealth, hold 1 million euros. " (it's an image). He gives him infinitely beyond what he came for and “incidentally” He heals him.

We must contemplate this great salvation and this great Savior.

Our prayer as a church and as individuals is not limited to requests, but even in the secret of our hearts, it is good to say with the psalmist: « You have been kind to me, O LORD, you have restored me; you have forgiven [all my] faults, you have covered all [my] sins. You have withdrawn all your fury, you have renounced your burning anger [towards me]”

O   For those who haven't received it yet.

But perhaps not all of those listening here have yet received this favor.

If the best thing God can say to a man is: “your sins are forgiven you”, the worst thing God can say to a man is: “you will die in your sins”.

In the gospels, Jesus sometimes said this to people.

There were religious leaders who opposed Jesus all the time. And one day He told them: “you will die in your sins”.

There is no capacity in our human nature to obey God.

No man could keep a covenant in which he would obtain God's favor on the condition of perfectly obeying Him.

So God in His goodness gave us a “new covenant” in Jesus Christ. A covenant by faith.

And the terms of this alliance are simple: he who trusts in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins obtains the favor of God.

Jesus is the Son of God, of the same nature and essence as God the Father. He came from Heaven, He lived in a human condition. He obeyed perfectly. And he who puts his faith in Him, and who recognizes Him as his Lord and Master, he becomes united with Jesus by His Spirit, and the perfect obedience of Jesus is considered his obedience.

And Jesus obeyed perfectly during His life, then He died on the cross for all who would believe in Him, so that God can no longer condemn anyone who puts their faith in Jesus, because He has already punished Jesus at Its place.

If you are here, and you have not yet put your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. I implore you to seek God's favor. And this favor is found only in Jesus.

He who has the Son of God (Jesus Christ) has life, but he who does not have the Son does not have life, and the wrath of God rests on Him.

-         To be established in God

Another application I find to this prayer of the psalmist is his prayer for God to perfect His relationship with His people. V5: “Restore us, God of our salvation…”. And as we have seen, similar language is used in other passages of the Old Testament to speak of 2 previously separated people who find each other again.

It is not enough for the psalmist that all his sins are covered.

God has buried his sins and forgotten them, now he also wants God to act to perfect their relationship.

Even though in verse 9 he acknowledges his part in perfecting this relationship “I will listen to what God says,” He recognizes above all through His prayer, that God has the power to restore His relationship with them.

It sort of goes back to what Paul said to the Christians in Philippians 2 verses 12 and 13: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling […] for it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure”

Much like the psalmist we should pray individually and as a church: “[turn our hearts to you], God of our salvation. Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation! »

Not only is it a prayer that with all our hearts we may be brought back to God, it is also a prayer that “ see » all the goodness of God.

It reminds me of Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1 verse 18: I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your heart.

Now that our sins are forgiven, we need: 1. that our hearts are continually brought back to God and 2. that our spiritual eyes are continually illuminated.

I wasn't planning to say this at first, but eventually I'm going to say it.

Even if it is God who perfects our relationship with Him, it is also really us who do it, “work out your salvation, for it is God who works in you to will…”, is that God who works or is it us?

It’s both. It’s really Him and it’s really us.

One of the things that hinders the perfection of this relationship is our love for what the Bible calls the world (the societal and cultural environment that was built by men excluding God)

In 1 John 2 v 15 it is written: “Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. »

John is speaking to Christians. That doesn't mean when Christians love the world God loves them any less, but I think that the perfecting of our love for Him is stunted and stifled as we become attached to loving a world that has rejected God.

I don't know if you watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. A grandiose spectacle (Céline Dion etc.), but there was a moment when the scene of the institution of the Lord's Supper was mocked.

It made me think of a sketch I saw recently: A man who wanted to poison someone else by pouring a substance into their glass of water, but he wasn't very skillful and he poured without intentionally using too much of the substance, to the point where it changed the color of the water. And so the person who was supposed to drink the glass of water looked and said “hmm that’s weird!” » and he didn't drink.

There I said to myself: "if you want to poison someone [I don't condone poisoning, it's hypothetical...], if you want to poison someone you have to add a small dose of poison so as not to alert" .

The devil is clever!! or cunning tells us the Bible, if he wanted to poison the spiritual life of Christians, he would go in small doses.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul was speaking against people who wanted to distort the gospel by adding a few small conditions for salvation in addition to the work of Jesus Christ. And he told them: “a little yeast makes the whole dough rise.” It only takes a little heresy to pollute our entire faith.

We live in a world where we are on the lookout for spectacle, for contemplation, even we Christians.

And it seems to me that the devil will make sure to infuse the different activities of this world with little subtleties so that as many people as possible make fun of the name of God and to attract as many people as possible to join Him in his rebellion against God (and therefore in his condemnation).

In Psalm 1 it says: “Happy is he who does not sit in the company of scoffers” .

The devil tries to associate us with those who mock God, and to hinder the perfection of our love for Him.

Sometimes we Christians – and I include myself – listen to songs, for example, that singers would not sing if they were Christians! How can we associate ourselves with their perdition?

We are called to watch over each of our steps.

We must pray for the perfecting of our love for God, and for spiritual insight to remember the covenant of our God and to see His goodness.

It’s a parenthesis, it’s not directly linked to the passage of the day.

This parody of the Lord's Supper also made me think of the sermon we listened to on Romans 1 (by Joe).

When we see sin exacerbated and assumed in a society, it can not only mean that the judgment of God is coming on this society, but it also means that the judgment of God is already acting in this society.

When men turn away from God, God abandons them to themselves. And not having the law of God, they establish their own laws.

I think this is a signal that we must intercede for our country France, and for its leaders and we must be salt and light as a Church.

-         The Hope of Eternal Life

As a final application, this prayer from Psalm 85 calls us to meditate on our hope. The hope we have of eternal life.

Often in the epistles, the apostles speak to Christians of having the hope of eternal life.

I read some time ago in Ephesians 1 in verse 18 after presenting the mystery of the gospel, the apostle Paul said to the Ephesians: “I pray that He will enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you will know the hope that attaches to His call”

I was like, why is this so important?

I experienced a circumstance some time ago that allowed me to understand a little. Because of administrative procedures, I had to go a few months without pay, so I was living on my reserve and it was a little more difficult than usual. Normally, I'm not an anxious person, but I admit that it stressed me out a little (I had to add up the prices of my items when I was shopping so as not to be surprised at the checkout, etc.) . Then one day, I received an email: “Mr. Weulassagou, you will be paid on [date]”. Even though I wasn't paid yet, I felt like my stress was gone. I had no control over this state of stress. It's just knowing that even if it was still difficult financially, in a few days it would be better.

I think it's the same with the hope of eternal life.

It would change our journey as Christians if we completely realized that what separates us from the fullness of the presence of God and His Son Jesus Christ is only a few years, a few months, a few days...

Eternal life as Jesus defined it in John 17 is knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ His Son.

We already live eternal life, we who have believed in Jesus and who have received his Holy Spirit.

Firstly because eternal life is the definition of a life connected to God. This is the type of full life the Holy Spirit gives us

Then because we are not going to experience death.

We will certainly leave our bodies, but we will not experience death as it is defined by the Bible. The Bible shows 2 possible destinations for those who leave their bodies. Some go down to hell and others go up to be with Christ (there is no tunnel with light at the end).

We see this in the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. When Lazarus died, he was said to have been carried by the angels to be in Abraham's bosom.

We see it again with the apostle Paul in Philippians 1 who said that he desires to go away to be with Christ. He talked about it as if he were talking about moving to a neighboring town or another room in his house.

For us who have believed in Jesus, we have the hope of eternal life. What separates us from the full reality of eternal life is very small.

The psalmist was not only praying to be fully restored to God, but he was looking forward to the day when this weak love we have for God would be transformed into a perfect love.

This will be the end of our imperfect efforts to be righteous and upright, and we will have perfect righteousness and perfect integrity before God.

 This sometimes blurry vision that we have of God will be transformed into a perfect vision, we will see God as He is. We will see the face of Jesus.

In a few years, months, days, we will be in the presence of God, and as it is said in verse 13: “The Lord himself will grant happiness.”

Some of us will arrive before others...but in a few years, months, days we will all be reunited in the presence of the Lord.

The complete presence of God is synonymous with true complete happiness. There will be no more wars; more political leaders who are not trusted; there will be no more financial difficulties; There will be no more physical, emotional or relational pain... God will wipe away all our tears.

At the heart of the psalmist's prayer he said: “Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation! » , and he knows that it will be accomplished, imperfectly on this earth, but one day completely in the presence of God Himself.

13 – 14 : « 13The Lord himself will grant happiness, and our land will yield its produce. 14Righteousness will go before him and mark the way before his steps. »

AMEN