Kindly produced by the good folks over at Roman Roads Media!
Kindly produced by the good folks over at Roman Roads Media!
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Introduction:
God puts sinners back together, and God in His mercy puts backsliders back together again. How He does this is truly remarkable, and as we enter into the spirit of this psalm we find ourselves right at the heart of the gospel.
The Text:
“Lord, thou hast been Favourable unto thy land: Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah . . .” (Ps. 85:1–13)
Summary of the Text:
The text divides this way. The first three verses recall the Lord’s mercies to Israel in time past (vv. 1-3). In the next section, the psalmist pleads with God concerning Israel’s current afflictions (vv. 4-7). He pauses in the next verse to resolve that he will hear what the Lord says (v. 8). And then, in the conclusion of the psalm, he rejoices in the salvation that is coming (vv. 9-13).
Lord, in the past You have released Jacob from her troubles (v. 1). At the center of this deliverance, You have forgiven them (v. 2). Because forgiveness was granted, then wrath was turned away (v. 3). The past faithfulness of God provides one of the very best present arguments with God. God, turn Your people away from their sin (v. 4). Why extend Your anger (v. 5)? We have had enough. If You revive Your people, then they will be able to rejoice in You (v. 6). Show us mercy, Lord. Grant us salvation (v. 7). The petition is submitted, and then the petitioner submits himself (v. 8). Fear God, and salvation is right at hand (v. 9). So is glory. Mercy and truth have met (v. 10), and righteousness and peace have kissed (v. 10). Truth grows out of the ground, and righteousness smiles down on us (v. 11). The Lord gives what is good, and the land will bear much increase (v. 12). Righteousness will then lead the way (v. 13).
The Deliverance Argument:
Considering how many times God inspired this argument to show up in Scripture, it must be an argument He really loves. The argument goes this way. God, why do You love delivering Your people in the way back history books? We believe those history books, but why do You seem so reluctant to deliver us in the same way?
The Marker of Joy:
When God revives His people, the indicator that this has happened is joy. Revive us again so that we may rejoice in you (v. 6). When David is forgiven, he looks forward to being restored to the joy of his salvation (Ps. 51:12). When we really love Jesus, not having seen Him, and when we have not seen Him but yet believe in Him, what happens? The result is that we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:8). When we pray for reformation and revival, we are not asking to be brought into a state of mild contentment. We are not seeking tepid complacency.
How Is This Possible?
An unrighteous man once came to the Prince of Peace, and identified Him to the soldiers by kissing Him. Unrighteousness kissed peace, and this led to the chain of events that culminated in righteousness and peace kissing each other.
We have four great attributes of God mentioned here, and the trick—in a sinful world—is how to get them all together. Mercy and peace appear to go well together. Righteousness and truth seem like natural companions. But how is it that mercy and truth have met together? How can righteousness and peace greet one another with a holy kiss? This is only possible in one place, and that place is the cross of wood upon which Jesus died.
Where do mercy and truth meet? They meet in the paths of the Lord, and the paths of the Lord are always related to the hill of Golgotha. “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies” (Ps. 25:10). We see the two as natural companions, but only because of the gospel. “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name” (Rom. 15:8–9).
This is a welding job that could not be accomplished by any other means than the vicarious, substitutionary death of Christ on the cross for sinners. When we look at that cross, we see the most incongruous elements fused together in a white hot deliverance. We see the love of God and the hatred of God, together as one. We see the mercy of God and the truth of God with joined hands. We see the righteousness of God and the peace of God embracing each other.
We see the unrighteousness of man and the righteousness of Christ. And then, in a glorious exchange, we see the unrighteousness of Christ on our behalf and the righteousness of wretches because of the purity of His life. It is all there. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Truth as a Thick Lawn:
When the Spirit of God has done His work, and the people of God are restored as they ought to be, what is the result? Truth grows out of the ground like it was grass (v. 11). Righteousness looks down from heaven on us and smiles. Think of the truth of God growing like the thickest of lawns, and all your little kids running barefoot on it. Think of God’s pleasure resting on you—but it is His righteousness pleasure resting on you.
The reason we tend to walk in trepidation and fear is that we want righteousness and peace to be friends somewhere other than in the vicarious death of Jesus. We want mercy and truth to get along somewhere other than in the blood of the covenant. But that is in no way possible.
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Introduction
This is a psalm of pilgrimage—worshipers of God afar off are longing to be where they can worship Him at the place where He has set His name. They yearn to be at the place of worship, at his tabernacle, and the spirit of worship drives them there.
The Text:
“How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God . . .” (Psalm 84:1–12).
Summary of the Text:
The tabernacles of the Lord are altogether lovely, and yet He is addressed as the Lord of hosts, the God of armies (v. 1). The worshiper, removed from the place of worship, is heartsick and faint, and yearns to be in the courts of God. He is truly homesick (v. 2). Even the lowly sparrows and swallows are privileged to dwell in the tabernacles of God (v. 3). Everyone who dwells there is blessed (v. 4). For verse five, consider the rendering of the ESV. “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion” (Ps. 84:5, ESV). Blessed is the pilgrim who is on his way to Zion. The valley of Baca was apparently a desolate place, but it was on the way to Zion, and generations of pilgrims had dug wells for themselves (v. 6). As they approach Zion, they are moving from strength to strength (v. 7). Their strength grows as they approach their goal. Lord God, hear. God of Jacob, listen (v. 8). God is invited to look upon the face of His anointed (lit. Messiah) (v. 9). One day in the courts of God is to be preferred to thousands outside (v. 10). And a lowly place with God is superior to the grandest heights the world could bestow on you (v. 10). The Lord God is both grace and glory, sun and shield (v. 11). No good thing is withheld from those who walk uprightly (v. 11). The man who trusts in God is truly blessed (v. 12).
Milton’s Satan:
After his expulsion from Heaven, Milton’s Satan famously says that he would rather “reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” This is the photo negative of the sentiment expressed here in this psalm. The psalmist would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness—no matter how grand those tents of wickedness might be. This is striking, because this psalm comes from the sons of Korah, who were lowly porters in the house of God, and whose fathers had rebelled against Moses in the wilderness (1 Chron. 9:17-19). They had been humbled, and here is a glorious redemption. They now yearned for the lowest place—and were given the highest place of contributing to the praises of God’s people for virtually the entire history of redemption.
And returning for a moment to Milton’s Satan, we need to remember that his destiny is actually not to rule anything, not even in Hell. The devil is not the king of Hell—the Lord Jesus is the king of Hell. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Hell is not the devil’s domain or realm; it is his punishment.
The Humility of the Small Birds:
Going lower than the sons of Korah, we find small birds in the tabernacle. The psalmist here notices sparrows and swallows nesting there. What can we gather from this? “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father” (Matt 10:29). The Lord assures us that we are worth more than many sparrows. And so what does that mean when we come to dwell in the presence of God? We are welcome there, just as the birds are welcome. The birds are not just privileged to be there—they are welcome to be there. And you are worth more than many of them. And also keep in mind that these lowly birds are welcome to bring up their young there. Are they to be allowed to nest in the tabernacles of God and you not be allowed to do so?
Sun and Shield:
God is our shield, which means that He is our protection (v. 9). But not only is He our protection, He is also our provision. He is our sun and shield (v. 11). What will He give you? He will give you grace and glory. It is not difficult to associate the grace with the shield of protection, the protection we did not deserve, and the glory with the sun of provision. All your strength derives from the sun. Every bit of energy you have has been poured out upon you from 93 million miles away. What a wonderful picture of the one in whom we live and move and have our being.
No Good Thing:
Now the promise near the end of this psalm is quite a striking one. “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Ps. 84:11). We have some trouble navigating this concept when it comes to answered prayer. This is because Scripture gives us two models for prayer, and they seem quite distinct. First, in the Garden, the Lord Jesus prayed that the cup of suffering would pass from Him, but He uttered this with a caveat. If it be your will . . . So obviously this is a lawful way to pray. But how many of us rush to this pattern because we want to use it as the all-purpose escape clause? Why do we use this to dispense with the other pattern for prayer? “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13–14).
As we meditate on this—and it calls for real meditation—we have to remember the central context of all this. That context is that God has determined that no good thing, as God defines “good thing,” will be withheld from the one who walks uprightly. And of course, the only way to walk uprightly is to walk in the Upright One. And that is done by faith alone.
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Introduction:
Here is the last of the psalms attributed to Asaph. You might recall that we discussed how this could be Asaph himself, or someone descended from him, in the “school” of Asaph. This psalm is likely written by Jehaziel, a Levite descended from Asaph (2 Chron. 20:14). From the internal evidence, the episode referred to in the psalm is very likely the situation that God delivered Jehoshaphat from in his dilemma.
The Text:
“Keep not thou silence, O God: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: And they that hate thee have lifted up the head . . .” (Psalm 83:1–18).
Summary of the Text:
God is silent, and this is distressing because His enemies are not silent. They are in a tumult and so it is time for God to act (vv. 1-2). They have plotted against Israel in a crafty way (v. 3). The intent was to wipe Israel out, the intention was genocide (v. 4). Many nations have conspired against Israel (v. 5). The Edomites, the Ishmaelites, and the Amalekites were from the south. The Moabites, Ammonites, and Hagarenes were to the east. The Assyrians were to the north. The Philistines, Gebalites, and Tyrians were to the west. Israel was surrounded and in a desperate way (vv. 6-8). The psalmist prays that God would intervene as he had in the past against Midian (vv. 9-11; cf. Judges 7:25; 8:5). The enemies of God’s people had grand plans (v. 12), but the psalmist prays that they be made like tumbleweed (v. 13). He prays that God would take them out like a forest fire takes out wood (v. 14). He prays that a divine tempest would arise (v. 15). Fill their faces with shame (v. 16). And why? So that they might seek the name of God. Overwhelm them with confounded shame, and bring them low (v. 17). Again, why? So that men might know that there is only one with the name Jehovah, the God who is no longer silent (v. 18).
The Situation:
Jehoshaphat, a good and godly king, received word that a great confederacy had arisen against him (2 Chron. 20:1-2). Jehoshaphat did what he ought to have done, which is that he turned to the Lord (v. 3). He prayed in the presence of the people, reminding God of His great deliverances before (vv. 4-13). Jahaziel arose with a word of promised deliverance (vv. 14-17). He does not just promise that Judah will win the battle, he promises that they will win it without having to fight in it (v. 17). Jehoshaphat hears this and he believes (vv. 18-19). All the assembled believe with him.
In the morning, the king reminds them to continue to believe (v. 20), and he appointed the choir to march out in front, praising the beauty of holiness (v. 21). By the time the choir and the army arrived at the place where the enemy was, they had already turned on each other and dead bodies covered the ground (vv. 22-24). They had to spend three days taking the spoil (v. 25). And they came back to Jerusalem in great joy (vv. 26-30).
Fighting Dogs:
Unbelievers hate each other, but are occasionally distracted by their greater hatred of the godly. The death of Jesus was the occasion for peace between Herod and Pilate. Thomas Watson used the figure of two greyhounds fighting over a bone, but if you released a hare next to them, they would be immediately united in their pursuit of the hare. And when we are in this position, it seems to us that their antipathy cannot be directed anywhere else.
But in this case, God made them forget the hare, and turn back on each other.
Fertilized with Bone:
When it says that the ground was fertilized with dead bodies (v. 10), it shows the extent of the judgment and it shows the nature of the judgment. In 1830 some enterprising individuals combed the fields of Austerlitz, Waterloo, etc. and gathered up human and animal bones, shipped them to Hull in England, where they were all ground up and used for fertilizer. They did this to more than a million bushels of bones.
More than once God has promised to feed the birds with bodies of His enemies. More than once He has determined to make the fields lush and green by fertilizing it with the pride of man. Nothing rots better than the pride of man. Nothing makes finer compost than the arrogance and insolence of men who breath through their noses.
Silent Jehovah:
The psalm begins with a pending calamity. Not only is there a pending calamity, but God appears to be disinterested in it. God, why are You silent? Why do You do this to us? We panic early. We jump to conclusions more quickly than we ought. We are disciples who view Jesus sleeping in the boat with great consternation. Do you not care that we perish (Mark 4:38)?
The unbelievers are beating on their shields with their spears, and the God we serve . . . is quiet. They are filled with great, swelling words. Their confederacy is unstoppable. Nothing can save us now. Their alliances are impressive, and we are entirely surrounded. They all have their grievances against us, and those grievances stacked on one another seem to be
Not Silent Forever:
The God who seems so silent is the God who—when the time is exactly right—rises up and delivers His people. How many centuries of silence before the Messiah came? How long did we long for Christ before we were given Christ?
When Jesus arrives, what does He say? “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand . . .” (Mark 1:15). When was Jesus born? When the fullness of time had come (Gal. 4:4). We serve the God whose sense of timing is exquisite. And this is why He seems so silent—His sense of timing is far, far better than ours.
And so when is the time of salvation, according to that exquisite timing? The Christ has been given, and so the day of salvation is now. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.