God Speaks
85 For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.
1 Lord, you poured out blessings on your land!
You restored the fortunes of Israel.
2 You forgave the guilt of your people—
yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude
3 You held back your fury.
You kept back your blazing anger.
4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
Put aside your anger against us once more.
5 Will you be angry with us always?
Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
6 Won’t you revive us again,
so your people can rejoice in you?
7 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
But let them not return to their foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
so our land will be filled with his glory.
10 Unfailing love and truth have met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed!
11 Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
12 Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.
Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
preparing the way for his steps.
86 A prayer of David.
1 Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
You are my God.
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I am calling on you constantly.
4 Give me happiness, O Lord,
for I give myself to you.
5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.
8 No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.
14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;
a violent gang is trying to kill me.
You mean nothing to them.
15 But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
16 Look down and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant;
save me, the son of your servant.
17 Send me a sign of your favor.
Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection
Psalm 85: Verses 1-3 tell of how the LORD God had blessed and forgiven His people in the past. Verses 4-7 ask Him to do it again. In verses 8-13 the psalmist relates the results that will occur when God takes action on behalf of His faithful ones. Fr. Reardon* says Psalm 85 was and will be fulfilled in the first and second coming of Jesus the Christ as recorded in the New Testament.
Psalm 86 is a personal interaction between David and his God. The basis of his requests was not David’s own worthiness. His qualifications are merely mentioned. Although he mentions his needs, his expectation of an answer is founded on the character and essence of God Himself. Fr. Reardon* posits that Christ prayed this psalm during His passion [perhaps in Gethsemane]. He points out that it is only by trusting in Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection that human beings can be declared holy and serve the LORD God faithfully as David prayed in this psalm. Jesus Christ was holy and a true servant of God because He was God the Son.
*Christ in the Psalms, by Patrick Henry Reardon, p. 167-170.
Prayer
Dear gracious and merciful Father God, thank You for all of Your blessings and forgiveness in my life and in people I don’t even know. You’ve had every right to wipe out the whole human race many times over the millennia, but You held back. I humbly ask You to revive us again. Bring us back to worshiping You as we should. Show us Your unfailing love, O LORD. Help us to pay attention to what You are saying in so many ways especially through the Scriptures. Help us to stop being foolish. Please fill our lands with Your glory. We need Your unfailing love and truth, righteousness and peace. Help us to know that truth and righteousness ultimately come from You. Righteousness will lead the way to You. O LORD, I need Your help, protection and rescue. May I continue to trust and serve You. I so want and need Your mercy, love and grace. Please pay attention to and answer my prayer, my cry for help when I’m facing all kinds of troubles. Teach me Your ways, O LORD my God, and purify my heart. Then, I will be able to praise and glorify Your name. Your great love, Jesus, has rescued me from eternal death. When I face insolent people and violent mobs, I know that I can turn to You for mercy and compassion, unfailing love and faithfulness, strength, favor and comfort. I am forever grateful, LORD. AMEN
Action
(Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
I will pray these psalms on behalf of myself of all those who cry out to the LORD God for rescue and salvation.
I will look up Bible passages that point to and explain the character of the LORD God and/or Jesus being holy and the servant of God.
I will turn to Psalm 86 and read it aloud from the heart whenever I feel under attack from this physical world, the evil supernatural realm or my own sinful nature.
I will recommend that a friend do the same.
Share
I plan to share what I’ve learned with ______.