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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:
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.

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Introduction:
We come now to yet another psalm of Asaph. Unlike many psalms, this one is not directed to God. It speaks of Him, but the import of what is said is directed at rulers. This is an Old Testament instance of “teaching and admonishing one another.” This is a word to be sung horizontally.

The Text:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the gods . . . ” (Psalm 82:1-8).

Summary of the Text:
The psalm begins, for us at least, very cryptically. Elohim judges among the elohim (v. 1). His complaint against them is that they are unjust in their judgments (v. 2). Instead of what they are doing, they should deliver those who are oppressed (vv. 3-4). When rulers rule wickedly, they blunder on stupidly in the dark, and they put everything out of joint (v. 5). God says that He had declared them gods (v. 6), but that now they will die like men do (v. 7). God is then invited to rise up, judge the world, and inherit all the nations (v. 8).

God and Gods:
The word for the one, true Creator God has a plural ending—Elohim. If we were to reproduce the monotheistic confession of Israel in modern English, we would say something like “we believe in one true Gods.” At the same time, the word for the pagan gods is the same word, same ending—elohim. So the first verse here says that “Elohim stands in the congregation of El; He judges among the elohim.”

Throw into this the wild card of Scripture’s acknowledgement that such gods were not non-existent. They were supernatural beings, but they were created, just like we were created. “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Cor. 8:5–6).

Background Cosmology:
In this place, the imagery and language has God judging among divine beings (or angels) who have ruled unjustly and wickedly. This is a divine council, the congregation of El. Their rule has ramifications on earth. But in John 10, Jesus quotes v. 6 to the Jews, saying that the phrase “you are gods” applied to those to whom the Word of God came (a reference to Israel at Sinai). This makes it apply to men, as opposed to angels. The best way to harmonize this is to argue that Asaph was overlapping the imagery of the divine council in order to make the same point about Israel. This would be warranted if the heavenly councils and the earthly councils were somehow linked. This helps explain why Deut. 32:8 may be rendered differently in the Masoretic text and in the Septuagint. The former says that God divided up the nations according to the number of the sons of Israel. The LXX says the angels of God or sons of God.

Going the other way, this also helps explain why earthly rulers can be called gods. “Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people” (Ex. 22:28). See also Ex. 21:6 and Ex. 22:8-9.

Judges Shall Be Judged:
We know from Scripture that judging shall be judged (Matt. 7:1), but we also need to learn that judges shall be judged. If God told the heavenly gods that they would die like men, how much more shall men die like men? As Spurgeon put it, “How quickly death unrobes the great.” When God hunts birds, He can shoot them out of the tallest of trees. What? Do you think God’s guns cannot reach the Ninth Circuit? Or the Supreme Court?

Relieve the Afflicted:
You have perhaps heard it said that lotteries are a tax on people who are bad at math. But who runs the lotteries? A great deal of the world’s sorrow is generated by the clevers, by the creatives, by the smart people. We see their true character by what they do, and do not evaluate it on the basis of their intellectual horsepower. They abuse the poor and needy, but they don’t do it under banners that say, “Let’s stick it to the poor and needy.” No, they are all about saving the children . . . except for the ones whose body parts they have for sale.

Out of Course:
They are clever enough to completely fool the poor and needy. They can run roughshod over the afflicted and needy. They know how to abuse orphans, and they know how to distract you if you try to call them on it. They are clever enough for that.

But they are not clever enough to see the reality of what they are doing. They know not (v. 5). They do not understand. They walk on in darkness, and they put the foundations of everything out of kilter. The devil is likely a thousand times smarter than any of us, but he is this kind of fool.

Getting Your Case Heard:
When it comes to the judgments of God, there is a great difference between the imagination of the ancient Jews and the imaginations of Christians. In certain respects, their take is superior to ours, and will not be corrected until we recover psalm singing more fully. When we think of God as judge, we tend to think of criminal court, and ourselves as defendants. This is not automatically wrong because there is scriptural warrant for it (2 Cor. 5:10). My concern here is emphasis. The Jews thought of unjust judges as the ones you couldn’t get to hear your case. They thought of it as civil court, and of themselves as plaintiffs. The whole point was to get into court, not out of it.

So whatever you affirm about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, make sure you don’t leave this part of it out. Arise, O God, judge the earth. For thou shalt inherit all nations. This judgment is the culmination of gospel. The judgment of God coming to earth is to be categorized as good news.

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