Revive Us Again (Through the Psalms) Psalm 85

Welcome to through the songs we give ministry of the truthful teaching God's people. God's word over time will study all 150 Psalms with pastor Don Greene from truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio were so glad you're with us. Let's open to the Psalms right now as we join our teacher in the truthful, you know, as we were singing that song. Be still my soul.

It's kind of a reminder of the fact that the hymn writer recognized in that the that the struggle succumb to the people of God, and it's just so very important for us to realize forced to know forced to expect the fact that there will be challenges that come to us in the spiritual life even as those who know Christ and are walking with him that the promise of the gospel. The promise of full harmony, and full Reston full piece the fullness of that is something that we don't experience until we are with Christ in heaven.

Meanwhile on the earth. We are men of flesh and man is born for trouble as the sparks fly upward. Job 5 verse seven says so. It's just very critical for us to know what to expect, so that we are not unduly discourage that we are not somehow thinking that something has gone colossally wrong when trials come when adversity hits when sorrow seemed to overwhelm us.

Like the waves of the sea repeatedly following up on the seashore. Sometimes it's like that now. Praise be to God.

It's not always like that in verse the Lord spares them that experience and so it's not that it's always like that.

But this is an expected part for many in the spiritual life and that's one of the great benefits we have of teaching through the Psalms as we see this theme repeatedly will tonight we come to Psalm 85 and I invite you to turn to Psalm 85 because it will be our text for this evening and I'm going to read it in its entirety. As we get started here now. Psalm 85. The inscription reads for the choir director, a Psalm of the sons of Cora O Lord, you should favor to your land. You restored the captivity of Jacob, you forgave the iniquity of your people.

You covered all their sin, Salah. You withdrew all your fury you turned away from your burning anger restore us.

So God of our salvation and cause your indignation toward us to cease. We be angry with us forever. Will you prolong your anger to all generations will you not yourself, revive us again that your people may rejoice in you show us your loving kindness, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. I will hear what God, the Lord will say, for he will speak peace to his people to his godly ones but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land, lovingkindness and truth have met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other, truth, springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.

Indeed, the Lord will give what is good and our land will yield its produce righteousness will go before him, and will make his footsteps into a way, we see that this is another Psalm of the sons of Cora, as we said in the past, these were descendents of Levi, who served as the gatekeepers and musicians in the temple at Jerusalem. They were those who were had a unique responsibility for the conduct of worship at the temple in Jerusalem, and even that little bit of information is is informative to us is helpful to us to understand that those closely associated with worship have the experience of that which I was describing in my introduction now there's nothing in the text that indicates the historical setting of the Psalm, but the opening reference points to a past restoration from captivity and combined with a plea for mercy which follows, it would seem that the events that underlie this song would coincide with the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon. You'll recall that they went away into Babylon. They were carried off into exile for 70 years, carried away from the land as a discipline for their sins and their idolatry and God was punishing them, disciplining them they were feeling the consequences of their disobedience to God in the result of their their national apostasy. You might say, well in this period of time after the 70 years of captivity had expired Cyrus the king of Persia allowed them to return to their land after Babylon fell to Persian 538 they repaired the temple.

The Jews did when they got back, but the conditions were not as favorable as they had been in the days prior to the exile. They didn't have the glory days. The restoration seemed incomplete because it was it was not like the former glory that they had had prior to the exile.

By the time of Nehemiah.

A few decades later after their return, you read this if you go to Nehemiah chapter 1 verse three Nehemiah chapter 1 verse three before the book of Job and before the book of Esther Nehemiah chapter 1. Nehemiah is given a report about the condition of the city of Jerusalem. He was not in Jerusalem. Someone comes to him and gives a report says in verse two that some men from Judah came and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity and about Jerusalem and here's what they said to him, they said to me, the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire their their initial return from captivity, which seemed so promising had yielded in time to more discouragement, more destruction, more despair and their fortunes had improved only to slip back into defeat. Their hopes were elevated and yet it came back and they were discouraged.

Once again, in this cycle of of captivity and restoration and then the further decline would have had a great and depressing effect upon their spiritual condition and it seems as though Psalm 85 may have been written in connection with that sort of timeframe and so we asked this question that one that we can all relate to on a personal basis. What are the people of God to do in such times you know what it's like you know what this is like on a daily basis you know what this is like over the course of over the course of life.

You all. I would venture to say, without exception, those of you that are Christians. Anyway, would understand something of the fact that you wake up in the morning you have a quiet time.

It seems as though you've had an earnest time in in the world and honest time in prayer and then just a couple of hours later something goes wrong in your and you're in a spiritual spiral you've reacted badly and or your anxiety is hit you again, with full and greater force. I had interactions not too long ago was someone struggling with sin, and the person said to me said said you know it. I had such a great time with the Lord and I thought things were going so well. And then here I was back in the muck of things again just a short time later. It's hard for me to understand. Well, we understand something of the something of those waves of discouragement that come in and we lack the consistency that we would desire and or we think that things are getting better, only to find that there is another setback that has has caused us further discouragement. What are God's people to do in such times, perhaps on a on a greater basis. You think that relationships are going to work out and they don't you feel like you feel like maybe you're getting some progress with with a difficult family situation where you been longing for restoration for a long period of time, only to see the improvement. Give way to another argument and further distress in the relationship and alienation where you had hopes of restoration taking place. What are God's people to do in such times when the progress seems to slip back two steps forward or followed by three steps back in the cycle of that begins to wear on you spiritually. What are God's people to do in such times. What can you do in times like that to find your way forward once again will the psalmist here in Psalm 85 gives us a gives us a path forward what you find when you understand a little bit of the circumstances around what you find him doing is this, he starts here with his with our first point this evening. He starts with praise for past mercies praise for past mercies, beloved, no matter what your present discouragement may be, it is always appropriate for you to think back to the mercies that God has shown you in the past and thank him for those to remember those two.

To refresh your heart by thanking God for what he is done for you in the past no matter what the present discouragement may be beloved. It is always appropriate for you to thank God for what he is done for you in your life no matter if you stumbled badly. No matter if the discouragement is very deep is always appropriate for you to stir up your heart and remember, you know what ever else is happening today. I remember the kindnesses that God has shown me in the past and all thinking for those of least I remember those I haven't forgotten all give him thanks.

This is what the psalmist is doing in Psalm 85 beginning in verse one, he says, oh Lord, you showed favor to your land. You restored the captivity of Jacob see how is looking to the past, I will. I remember back when you restored us where you brought us back out of captivity and you showed favor to your land by restoring your people to it. What had you done in that time. Verse two. You forgave the iniquity of your people.

You covered all of their sin. Now in the midst of that present discouragement of the decline that followed after their seeming restoration from their captivity. The psalmist steps back from that discouragement steps back from that which was right in front of his face and says, Lord, I remember what you did in the past and I thank you for that because that was a real genuine mercy that we did not deserve. Thank you for bringing us back from that captivity thank you for forgiving the sin that prompted you to send us into captivity in the first place.

Thank you for the kindness that you shown to us as a nation.

Now those of you that are Christians and you're going through a time of discouragement. I understand that the tendency for us all is to is to focus our attention and to focus our prayers.

God get me out of this present problem. I do not like the discomfort of it. Deliver me from this present situation that I am in whatever the circumstances that may be, but do you start to CD start to understand as we walk with the Lord, we realize that that we are in the midst of a process that God is working out and that we need to focus on more than just the immediate thing that is in front of us step back and remember the fullness of what God is doing in your life. What he is done how he delivered you from sin, perhaps how he delivered you from from gross iniquity when he caused you to be born again in your life changed and you knew suddenly enjoy a piece and a confidence in Christ that you had not known before. You remember that right.

You remember those kinds of days right where the darkness and confusion in the lack of understanding as spiritual things gave way to new life in Christ when you were born again and there was a freshness of spiritual life. His word became alive to you. There was an urgency and a sincerity in prayer and you saw God answering things and doing things in your life in opening doors. You remember that right even though today's not like that. You remember how those things are part of your spiritual experience right. It hasn't always been dark. It hasn't always been difficult for you right then.

Isn't it fitting for you to step back and say Lord it's hard right now, but at the very least I can.

Thank you for those past mercies that you've given to us. Verse three of Psalm 85 you withdrew all your fury you turned away from your burning anger.

Oh God, you had such a righteous cause for your wrath to be abiding upon me, God, you had you had such good and and righteous reasons to have me in the crosshairs of your anger and yet Lord, what did you do, you brought the gospel of Christ to meet someone came to me and gave me the word of God and said God will forgive all of your sins. If you believe in Christ. Someone brought that message to me Lord, under the prompting of your spirit. Under the prompting of your eternal plan and you brought the gospel to me and told me that Christ died for all of my sins and my sins could be forgiven through faith in him. Remember that right. Somebody somewhere told you about Christ and the lights went on and you believed in God showed mercy to your soul right well is in today. No matter where you're sitting.

If you're here in Christ. No matter what kinds of frustrations you're feeling in life no matter what you've lost. No matter what has had seemingly is been taken away from you. Isn't it appropriate for you. Isn't it right for you is an inappropriate for a child of God, to look back, to say Lord I can set this moment aside and I can thank you for the grace that you shown me in the past we don't have to go right into a lament over our current circumstances do we isn't God himself isn't. Isn't Christ lovely enough. Isn't Christ good enough, isn't Christ worthy of us to honor him to thank him to praise him without immediately going into what our present trouble may be, is indeed worthy of that will part of spiritual growth part of spiritual maturity in your life is exercising and recognizing that and exercising your effort in prayer in a way that says Lord.

This is so hard but I'm going to forcibly turn my attention away from my present circumstance and just thank you, without qualification, without condition, without tying it to something I want God. I just thank you for the mercy that you have shown to my soul at a great place to start. The psalmist shows us to praise God for his past mercy. Now what happened here is that that the exile had been a severe stroke of discipline upon the people of God but God returned to them and he returned to his people with grace and kindness and their homecoming was a joyful time. Got it covered their sins. You can read about this and as are 1 to 6. He had set aside the wrath that led to the exile and the nation knew his blessing once again what the psalmist is doing is he's putting his present conflict is present difficulty in the broader context of God's dealings with his people. Now those of you that are like me, I need to pray for you. More to the extent that you're like me, those of you that have a naturally pessimistic that to your disposition and outlook on life as I do. Be honest with you. Those of you that are worried and and tend toward anxiety because of the possible future threats to the nature of your life, your finances, your health, you name it.

Take note of this and and and's and and let this sink deeply into your heart, what we've been talking about here this evening I ask you one more time.

Has God shown mercy to you in Christ has God caused you to be born again through faith in Jesus Christ as he really genuinely delivered you in such a way that you are no longer under the threat of condemnation from his hand because he is been so good and merciful to you are your sins forgiven. Has he delivered you from darkness within the appropriate thing for you to do right now in this day of difficulty in your life is to praise him for that kinda great mercy in your life that is the right thing to do. It is appropriate and fitting for the people of God to give praise to their God, and present difficulties do not erase the past grace that he is shown to they do not contradicted.

They do not change it. What God has done in your life in the past where you shown you grace and mercy is an enduring part of your spiritual history that is always been appropriate to go back and give thanks to him for, isn't it. Now the psalmist goes further. He starts there but he doesn't stop there. It's not like that is a comprehensive response of the soul to its present difficulties and as we talk as we kinda transition here into the second point, which will call our is prayer for future mercies is prayer for future mercies, let me be quick and swift to to remind you of something else that is necessary for the beleaguered soul that is especially necessary and and and and helpful and encouraging to remember in the midst of such times as that this Scripture when it gives us this call to praise God for his past mercies when it tells us to in everything to give thanks.

His first Thessalonians chapter 5 does in everything to give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus is important to remember that alongside that at the same time that that your God is a caring and sympathetic God for you in the midst of your discouragement in the midst of your hard times that God's tender mercy extends to you, not only in delivering you from your past sins, delivering you from condemnation into the grace of Christ. But there is an enduring attitude and enduring disposition of God of grace and kindness and patience and love toward you. That is unchanging because God himself is unchanging. The grace that motivated God to send Christ to the cross, the grace of motivated God to have the spirit of God work in your heart and bring you to faith has not changed since you became a Christian. His grace is simply unfolding in greater ways God's disposition toward you is still favorable even though the clouds of Providence may seem to have hit in the sun from your view and that's why even the apostle Peter in the New Testament could say. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time casting all your anxiety on him. Why, because what he cares for you. He cares for you. He cared for you when he saved you whenever that was back in the earlier years of your life and that care for you has not changed since then. He cared for you to save you to bring you into his family that you would be called a child of God and therefore enjoy his fatherly provision and protection.

In addition to giving thanks to him than it is fitting it is appropriate.

You are welcome to come to him in the caster troubles upon him to cast your anxiety upon him the caster isolation your discouragement your despair to cast it upon him with full confidence. The God who loved you enough to save you in Christ loves you still loves you enough to receive that burden and to receive it sympathetically to receive it in a way by which he intends to help you not to push you away. You see, one of the I think one of the hardest things for new Christians to get through their minds.

In the midst of difficulty is this is that the turn of Providence against you, so to speak. When life becomes difficult when the early days of of of glory. On the other side of the Jordan River and everything seems so bright and promising suddenly turns to difficulty and reversal in discouragement and tears where Joy had been before. It is easy to make a mistake of profound consequence and to interpret the change of circumstance as a change in the disposition of God toward you know I must've done something wrong.

Somehow, the circumstances indicate that God is no longer being merciful to me, and to interpret the circumstance as being in evidence of God's hostility toward you in a way that is not helpful. Yes, sometimes God disciplines his children when they stray. Yes, sometimes God disciplines us in order to prepare us for future ministry. Yes, sometimes we bear the consequences of our foolish choices.

But, beloved, you should not misinterpret that when the consequences come to interpret that as though God's fundamental disposition of love toward you, has turned toward one of hostility. That's not the case. The loving father who corrects his son in his disobedience is not suddenly started to hate his son. He simply has a nylon longer term needs the longer-term objectives that time of painful discipline will afterwards yield into a peaceful fruit of righteousness.

And so we always remember as Christians. The God's fundamental disposition toward us was defined by the grace that was shown to us the love that was shown to us at the cross of Calvary and that he is using whatever's come into our lives.

In furtherance of those loving, gracious objectives, he hasn't suddenly changed and become your enemy and so we keep that in mind as we go through these trials and we turn our prayer for future mercies. Now what the psalmist does here. Psalm 85.

If you go back there diverse for the psalmist is pleading with God to deal with his people.

Now, as he had done in the past.

In the verses that follow, he says, verse four restore us, O God of our salvation and cause your indignation toward us to cease. Will you be angry with us forever. When you prolong your anger to all generations will you not yourself, revive us again that your people may rejoice in you show us your loving kindness, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Now, what's he saying here. This is been a prolonged time of chastisement for them and the severity of the daily difficulty had brought them to the brink of despair. It was as though this is the key part here. It was as though God was angry with them. It was as though that he was going to be angry forever as it says in verse five, he lays forth these rhetorical questions God is.

This is going to go on forever against us, but you can see where his faith and his confidence reaches through the clouds of dark Providence and reaches to the sunlight of the unchanging character of God toward his people. He says in verse six, will you not yourself, revive us again that your people may rejoice in you. God, I know that you will do this in time, why let it go on any longer. God revive us now so that we can rejoice again so that this despair could give way to praise what he's asking for here notice in verse six, excellent business to step back a moment and review the context here and remember, here they were, they were in captivity and what had God done.

He showed kindness to them shall grace to them and he brought them out of the captivity. Now they have come back into another dark time. What's he praying here.

What's he saying here he says God verse six look at it, will you not yourself, revive us again that your people may rejoice in you, he saying is saying God what you did in the past and your unchanging character is the basis upon which I am now asking for further mercies here in this present situation, God, what I'm asking you to do is this.

I'm asking you to revive us. I'm asking you to help us again, just like you've done in the past you've done this before God.

I know that your merciful.

I know that your gracious God, simply do it again. God act upon us. Act upon our circumstances just like you did in the past revive us again restore us again restore our fortune so that we could return to that former joy. What's the basis upon which she could ask for such mercy from God is not it's not merit God. I deserve better than this. That's not the ground of the request is not even although there are the strains and what he says it's the ground of the prayer is not ultimately God this is too much to bear its deeper than that. It's vertical not horizontal is not based on something within him that deserves such action from God. On what basis does he ask for mercy from God.

Look at it there with us in verse seven, when he says show us your loving kindness, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. He addresses them again by the name of Yahweh as he did in verse one and will do again in verse eight Yahweh the covenant keeping God the promise keeping God to his people.

God you are a promise keeping God and God. You are a God of loving kindness, your God of the Hebrew word is tested here. You are God of loyal love God, your love toward your people does not change because you are a God whose love is loyal. It is faithful. It is unchanging. It is enduring it does not rise and fall with circumstance and so is appealing to the loyal love of God, as this basis for further mercies by nature. Hear me now by nature by absence by fundamental character attributes and perfections to God is by his very essence God is faithful to his people by his very essence, he is disposed to extend kindness to them to alleviate their suffering. Isn't that what he did to you and your suffering and sin.

Suffering in darkness suffering under the darkness of legalistic religion and you were brought into the grace of Christ suffering under the bonds of an external religion that had no spiritual meaning and you just you just knelt and stood up in and kiss the statutes when they told you to and stuck her tongue out so the priest could put a but a little cracker on your mouth until he was a body of Jesus and God delivered you from all of that wasn't the kind to you. Back then when he did that was any kind to use some of the others of you to open your eyes to the fact that you weren't really a Christian at all. He God graciously showed you that you were a false convert, and he led you gently to true repentance and received you in mercy, as you confess your sins and receive Christ for your salvation wasn't he like that to you.

Well, don't you see that when he showed you that kind of faithfulness to alleviate your spiritual and physical suffering. In the past that he hasn't changed.

He doesn't change that.

Love that initiated salvation to you at the first is a love that is that is born out of eternal loyalty to God's elect to God's chosen and when he saved you he saved you with the purpose to show you this love forever without change without alteration. Let me remind you of what it says in the book of Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 after Paul unfolds the full glories of salvation and shows how the redemptive work of Christ was the answer to the wrath of God that was on sinners in the God is now at work in his people to sanctify them in a work that he will complete in one day bring us into glory.

Look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 35 then you see we just really need to sync the roots of our mind deeply into the loyal love of God, the unchanging nature of our God when he saved us he saved us forever.

He saved us to bless us forever, and sure the circumstances may fluctuate along the way. In this brief window of life, but God's fundamental disposition toward you, has not changed and it never could change because God himself would have to change for that to happen.

God is an unchanging God. He is immutable he is not like us.

He does not fluctuate with the changing circumstances of time and Paul makes this clear in Romans chapter 8 verse 35. He says who will separate us from the love of Christ will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword verse 37 in all these things we overwhelmingly conqueror through him who, what, who loved us and he says I'm convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God's love toward you, fellow Christian is loyal. It is unchanging is a rock upon which you can stand in that unchanging love therefore gives you the basis upon which to appeal to him to deal with you in mercy in the midst of your affliction.

And when you appeal to him, not on the basis of anything good that you have done, but rather you appeal to him in the basis of your appeal is God, be merciful to me. Here God show me your love here manifest your loyalty to me in these barren circumstances you can know that he will receive that prayer.

Well, because you're appealing to the very thing that motivated him to save you in the first place, and you're appealing based on his word to the fact that God himself is said his love toward you will never change. Now I ask you is that not much much different.

First of all I ask you, isn't this just really evident on the pages of Scripture that this is who God is and this is a way that he acts and I ask you, isn't it. Isn't it better to route your thinking about God and what he has revealed in the way that you feel about your circumstances, isn't it better to interpret your circumstances through the lens of Scripture rather than letting your circumstances be the lens through which you interpret God.

Of course your circumstances are going to change. Of course your finances are going to come and go. Of course, your health is going to come and go in the older you get, the more it's going to go gravity and the K have a way of winning their batting about a thousand. Over the course of humanity and if you interpret that natural result of the fall as being an evidence of God's hostility toward you.

You have set yourself up for a fairly miserable spiritual existence it's doomed to fail sooner or later because sooner or later. Trouble is going to catch up with us sooner or later the pain of a heart attack is going to hit you, and then what then what happens then what do you turn to is a much better way to think about your Lord is a much better way to think about your gracious God is a much better way to think about it all is to realize that his love and his grace and his mercy are an unchanging disposition toward you. He is favorably disposed toward you. And yes, it's hard to keep our minds around that. Yes, it's hard to keep our feet planted on that fertile soil that is good for us. Beloved. That's why the apostle Paul had to pray for the Ephesians. Look at Ephesians chapter 3 Ephesians chapter 3 Ephesians chapter 3 verse four. After Paul had done a far more masterful job of expanding the grace of God in salvation than anything I would ever do in the course of 100 lifetimes of the Lord gave them to me after he is unpacked, the, the wonders of salvation, he says in verse 14. For this reason I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name is praying for his readers and he saying I pray that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, not the horizontal nature of the love of the vertical nature that God has showered upon his true people and so I pray in verse 18 that you would be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God says I'm praying for you to understand that the vast ocean, the infinite breadth and depth of this ocean of the love of God is written on the skies and that is written in the stars written in the wounds of your crucified and risen Savior and to realize that that manifestation of the love of God in Christ is evidence to you that his love will never change that his grace is greater than your sin. That is love is deeper than that all of your circumstances. Combine could ever contradict in the prayer of Paul is that you would somehow grasp that so that you would be strong in your inner man and that you would be confident in the favorable disposition of God toward you, no matter what might come in life that beloved is what is what is it is like to appeal to the loyal love of God.

God I remember Christ. I remember the cross of Calvary.

I remember your promises of heaven and the love which drew me into salvation's plan Lord that love is what I appeal to, as I ask you to alleviate and to help me in the midst of my present suffering and when you appeal to God on the basis of the merit in the love of his son. Your appeal is well grounded and well received in the courts of heaven and so coming back to Psalm 85 as he says show us your loving kindness, grant us your salvation. This is illustrating the critical spiritual attitudes of humility and trust.

Beloved, do you see do you see that when you pray in this manner, of which we've been speaking this evening. Do you see that this is a manifestation of trust in God at confidence in his revealed character that that that what God has done in Christ provokes in you, a spiritual sponsor response. It says, Lord, I will depend on this. I trust this. I have confidence in this I believe you. I trust you for what you are setting Christ what you have done and I trust you, even though everything about my life screams at me, that it is time to abandon that place of confidence God. I looked beyond that. I look to your character.

I look to your loyal love.

I see it, so to speak, in the face of my Savior and I will rest my confidence there is on the basis of who you are, that I approach you, so his plea is not. I don't deserve this in a spiteful, angry way. Rather, his plea is one of dependence.

God I ask you for this simply because your merciful simply because you are who you are, God, I ask you for mercy and that way it reminds us of the tax collector in Luke 18 who stood apart from the proud Pharisee. Remember how he prayed God be merciful to me, the center, our prayers never got I don't deserve this prayer is God your merciful, be merciful to me, the center and so you can see as you go through these first seven verses of Psalm 85 you can see the momentum building for his his renewed faith.

I remember your past mercies I remember who you are is as I plead for future mercy God. Here it is. This is the way that you are to think beloved.

This is the way a Christian's heart is to operate. This is the way the control center of everything that animates the way that you approach all of life is to be activated. God, you have been faithful to me in the past you have been good to me in the past.

You are unchanging, and therefore I know that your faithful still. I know that your loving still.

I know that your merciful still.

And on that basis. Father, I believe that my present sorrows cannot be the end of the story. This cannot end in sorrow and despair. Even though it's what I'm feeling right now and so God is ith slog through another difficult day of temptation and failure and adversity. God, I looked beyond it.

I remember in my heart I apply my faith and I express my hope and confidence in you. As I pray that leads us to the third point here in the Psalm we could say it this way mean there's all of these things tend to overlap, but there's this there's this trust for future peace not just for a change of circumstance, but a trust for future peace. The psalmist now turns to God's word. After his prayer in verse eight, and he says I will hear what God, the Lord will say, for he will speak peace to his people to his godly ones but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Now, rather than discouragement. He is marked by a hopeful expectancy. He speaks in the first person singular and says I will hear from God what he saying here is this is that the faithfulness of God that he is been cultivating through these first seven verses the faithfulness of God means this true for all of us in all of our adversity, even if it is delayed until we see Christ in heaven. The faithfulness of God. Beloved means this for certain to you in your adversity. The faithfulness of God means that there must be a turning point of some kind at some time for sure of some kind at some time. We don't know in advance and we should not be so foolish as to try to define it in advance is what God must do to show his kindness and mercy to us. It may take a completely different form than what we expect, but his faithfulness means that you are never going to be completely abandoned to your despair and discouragement. You could say as I would've said a number of a long time ago in the midst of a different kind of adversity. But this is been going on for so long. This has been going on for years and it hasn't changed. If that's you tonight, then I would just say to you that the length of time of your despair does nothing to diminish, qualify or contradict the faithfulness of God to you. This is something that is outside of time and God understands that it's been long God understands that the night has gotten very dark for you, but the passage of time has nothing to do with the unchanging essence of the loyal love of God toward his people, and if it's really, really dark than all that means is that somehow lights going to come in the morning and I can't tell you when the morning is going to come when the first rays of dawn will spark again on your discouraged dark soul dark just in the sense of discouragement. It true Christian soul is not dark when it's indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Of course, the beloved, the length of time says nothing about the ability or the intention of God to bring a turning point of some kind at some time, and when he does, it'll be worth waiting for. I truly believe that the darker and the longer the night is for God's children will be met by an even greater and asymmetrical measure of grace in response. This is because this is just the way the character of God is if you've experienced a flood of sorrow. I would expect in time. A flood of grace in response because that's just how good God is right and what you want what you want the aspiration of your heart and soul to be in the midst of such times is you want to cling to the character of God, and you want to persevere, so that you can see that blessing, on the other side and like Jacob who wrestled with God you grabbed hold so to speak. You grabbed hold of his unchanging loyal love and you grab hold of that and with a sanctified insistence you say God I will not let go of you.

I will not let go of my confidence in your loyal love until you bless me now, as he uses the word salvation here in verse nine. Surely his salvation is near. Toward those who fear him salvation here includes an idea of present deliverance as well as the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life.

In verse one, you can see this because there is a there's an earthly dimension to the nature of his prayer which would be appropriate for a Jew who associated the land that God had given to Abraham with the blessing of God. So, on Psalm 85 verse 10 Lord, you showed favor to your land. Verse nine.

Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Verse 12 indeed the Lord will give what is good and our land will yield its produce, he's emphasizing the land and so in this the context of Psalm 85 he's expecting a restoration to be brought to the land in which God had brought his people to live, but the greater point for this evening for us today.

Some 2500 years after the Psalm was written greater thing that I would encourage you to keep your focus on is this is to follow the spiritual pattern that is using the spiritual pattern in his trials. He remembered God's past mercy that motivated him to confidence to pray for further mercies, and until God acts, he will wait with an expectant faith, not simply oh beloved understand that this is not simply maintaining a stiff upper lip. A stiff cold resolve that I'm going to stand in all all play the part of a man, no matter how hard this gets no no no that's not what were talking about here were not talking about a cold stoicism what were talking about is a warmhearted well grounded faith and confidence that God will act toward you in accordance with the perfect unchanging loyal love that is shown you from the beginning of your spiritual life. Of course he will. It could be no other way. What does that lead to point number four. A piece of present faith a piece of present faith.

Look at verses 10 through 13 as we bring this plane in for a landing, lovingkindness and truth have met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other, truth, springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven look at his confidence. Look at his piece indeed the Lord will give what is good and our land will yield its produce righteousness will go before him, and will make his footsteps into a way he so grounded in the character of God is loyal love his truth. His righteousness is peace troop. Verse 11 truth, righteousness verse 12 good verse 13 righteousness is come to a crescendo of faith and confidence. Even though, as he writes this mark this as he writes this, his circumstances have not yet changed he speaking future tense here. He's talking about what will happen and he satisfied and what will happen even though the present circumstances have not been altered because the loyal love of God, the truth of God. The righteousness of God means that God will provide a comprehensive peace in time by piece, meaning this not simply a a subjective sense of things, but a complete well-being, a fullness of well-being will will mark my life in God's time this present conflict will give way to a righteous harmony because God's perfections. His attributes of righteousness and mercy are always in harmony. He will bring peace between heaven and earth. He will bring peace to my heart. He will bring a harmony to it all. What were talking about here informs the entire way that we view the world over talking about here. What's revealed here in Psalm 85 defines our understanding of what the outcome of everything will be God's righteousness will be displayed. One day with perfect integrity to his revealed character and an absolute justice.

We as his people will one day no perfect spiritual and physical well-being. God by his righteousness will surely advance his kingdom even if it seems that the progress has been stalled or is being reversed by what's happening in the world around us. God's program is never reversed. His progress is never stalled by the actions of men, the great wickedness of our present culture has done nothing to hinder the out workings of the purposes of God for Israel. They will know this piece in the still future millennial kingdom, but we don't have to wait until then to see God's glory. Beloved, because in Scripture in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's glory was brought down to earth in John chapter 1 verse 14 it says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the father full of grace and truth and in the perfect embodiment of righteousness and peace.

Our Lord Jesus achieved reconciliation for everyone who believes at the cross. Beloved, don't you see don't you see don't you see don't you believe don't you trust, don't you rest in the fact that if God sent Christ and Christ is who he is and Christ did what he did and offering himself as a substitute sacrifice for your sin, don't you see that he was gracious then. Don't you see the because he is unchanging. He's gracious now, don't you see that that means that he will be gracious again in the future.

Don't you see that that means that he is going to be gracious to us forever and ever more could be no other way. Nothing will separate us from that love God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So, my dear brothers and sisters, I ask you is God being kind to you in Christ as he truly redeemed you give him thanks. Has he helped you in the past in life, even though you have difficulties where you're waiting for that help to come right now, hasn't he helped you in the past in life. Give glory to him for that, no matter what today is like beloved. Don't you see is a been saying all along tonight does not his past kindness to you, give you an indication that in the days to come. He'll show you kindness again your present adversity isn't the final word on life. It couldn't be. So don't let it define your thinking that way. Ask him for it.

He gives in response to our prayers. Is your answer delayed at the moment. Trust him, trust him enough to expect that he'll give you the answer you need in time. Let's pray together. Father, we have gathered together this evening is nothing more than the lambs of Christ in need of the care of our shepherd. Sometimes it seems, perhaps outside the fold where danger lurks in nighttime set send. We delete as it were from our uncertain and unsettled hearts. Father surely there are many who come into the room this evening tuned in over the live stream in exactly that spiritual condition.

Oh gracious Christ, the Christ of Calvary, the Christ of coming glory, the Christ of our salvation. The great Shepherd of the sheep. May you take these lands and remind them of the care that is embodied in your hands that hold them that the hands that hold their future or hands of loyal love hands of perfect mercy hands that never fail strong hands whose grip upon our lives can never be loosened, not even by Satan himself. Yes dear lamb of God.

We are in your hands. We commit ourselves to you. We thank you for the past mercies that you have shown to us. We thank you for the present mercies, even if they are hidden for time from our view. We thank you for the grace that you have yet to unfold to us in the future, and so mindful of your loyal love, mindful of your immutable character, mindful of your perfect grace your perfect wisdom, dear father, I commend each one to you and pray that the unfolding of your mercy and grace in their lives would be a cause for great praise for each one that knows you and for those father who has still yet to bend the knee may the display of the love of God that has been shown from your word here this evening, may your kindness, lead them to a true repentance that they might at last finally come to the Christ that they have heard proclaimed so many times may you work with a special measure in depth of grace in this hour in the hearts of those who have yet to believe to open them to the wonders of the love and mercy of Christ that they might be drawn to him to confess their sins to receive him as Lord to give themselves over to Christ, completely forsaking the world forsaking sin, forsaking everything of this life in exchange for that great pearl that great wonder the great surpassing value Jesus Christ himself in those thoughts father close with gratitude, we thank you for the endless mercies that are ours.

Well, my friend. Thank you for joining us on through the Psalms you know if you're enjoying this podcast I think you would love to join our church on our live stream on Sunday mornings at 9 AM Eastern or 7 PM Tuesday evening. Also, Eastern time. You can find out live stream link@truthcommunitychurch.org again our lifestream link is found@truthcommunity.org. We hope to see you there. God bless you. Thanks, Don and Fran through the Psalms is a weekend ministry of the truth sure to join us next week for our study.

As Don continues teaching God's people. God's word and we also invite you to join us on Sunday at 9 AM Eastern for our lives free from truth community church in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can find the link@thetruepulpit.com this message is copyrighted by Don Green. All rights reserved