June 5, 2015: Psalm 85

Psalm 85

Prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favor

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹ Lord, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you pardoned all their sin. Selah
³ You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.

⁴ Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us.
⁵ Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will you not revive us again,
    so that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

⁸ Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people,
    to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.^[a]
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
    that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
    righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
    and righteousness will look down from the sky.
¹² The Lord will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.
¹³ Righteousness will go before him,
    and will make a path for his steps.

Reflection: Remaining Faithful

There are times in our lives when it is difficult to remain faithful. We have bad days, at least I do. Things do not always go my way. The people of Israel went through some good times and some bad. They had generations that were defeated in battle and people that spent time in captivity. Through it all the call of the psalmist was to remember that God was faithful and would be faithful. It can be difficult, I think a large part of my problem is that I have a different time frame than God. God, who is eternal, does not always do things as quickly as I want or in ways that I want. The goal and challenge is to remember that God is there and God is working to bring peace and righteousness.