Psalm 85

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 You showed favor to your land, O LORD;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

2 You forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.
Selah

3 You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger.

4 Restore us again, O God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.

5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.

8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
he promises peace to his people, his saints—
but let them not return to folly.

9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

12 The LORD will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

Psalm 85 is interesting. At the start of the psalm (v1-3), the psalmist recalled how the Lord had forgiven His people for what they've done. Then (v4-7), the psalmist made a prayer appealing to God to forgive them for some sin they have committed.

Because we live in a fallen world, there's always a tendency for us to go back to our old ways & sin against the Lord, even after we have received Christ.

Perhaps that is why the psalmist made this statement in v8 "I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints — but let them not return to folly. "

If we truly want to enjoy God's blessings in our lives - including love, faithfulness, righteousness and peace (v10), we must not return to our old and sinful ways, even though there is a tendcy for us to do it. We can resist against the devil and his temptations. 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."


Personally, having a closer relationship with God now does help me to become more sensitive to the things in my life that are not pleasing to Him (like being impatient, prideful, speaking out of turn, gossiping, lustful thoughts). As a result, with His help, I have changed in some of those areas. I'm definitely not there yet, but I'm working on it.


Things to ponder
1. What are some things that you repeatedly do that displeases the Lord? Why do you keep doing them?
2. Pray for yourself to resist the temptations of the devil, with God's help in the things you have mentioned. Pray with a broken and contrite heart to the Lord.