Psalm 85:7-10 "Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. (8 ) I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. (9) Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. (10) Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
The question had just been asked, "Wilt thou not revive us again, O
Lord?" And now the mercy of the Lord must be seen and experienced as they
contemplate the meaning of revival. I admit to you that it is difficult to see
things from their perspective in that the Messiah had not come at that time.
They were solely depending upon their obedience to the law in order to know the
mercy of God. "Show us mercy. Grant us salvation. I will hear what
God says, for He will speak peace unto His people."
Have you ever been at the place in life where you sought peace more than
anything else in the world? Have you ever come to the point where you said, or
thought, "Lord, I can't continue on like this if I cannot have your
peace." Then you begin to search your heart, your mind, your life to see
what is wrong. What have I done that has brought this unrest upon me?
Sometimes, there is an actual reason for this and the Lord speaks to our hearts
that we are to turn back to Him. "I will hear what God the LORD will
speak." Lord, whatever it takes, I need peace of heart and mind.
Show me the way.
I say it is difficult to see from the perspective of the people in the Old
Testament because you and I have been blessed beyond compare. We have a
completely different viewpoint as we look back and see the things written and
as we experience times in our lives when we seek that reviving, that
deliverance, that experience of mercy and grace in our lives. For you see, His
salvation has come in a manifest (openly shown) manner. By faith, we have seen
the glory of the Lord. By faith, we have seen our Saviour born into this world.
We have seen His perfect life and complete obedience unto the Father. We have
seen His hands and feet nailed to the cross that was meant for us. We have seen
Him commending His spirit into the hands of the Father. We have seen His
lifeless body taken from the cross and laid in the stone cold tomb. And Praise
God, we have seen that stone rolled away and our Living Risen Lord standing
triumphant over death, grave, and hell. We have heard what the Lord has spoken
in that He has told us that Jesus did all that for us!
We have been made to know Jesus Christ is our peace. His righteousness has been
imputed, accounted to us, by the sovereign grace of God. "Righteousness
and peace have kissed each other." A kiss is a sign of a close
relationship one to another. Kisses that have meaning are not just randomly
thrown around to just anyone. The relationship that you and I have that is so
very close and personal is with our Heavenly Father through the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness. He is our peace. He is our life. True
revival comes as we are reminded in our hearts and minds of that beautiful love
relationship that we have with the Almighty Loving Heavenly Father. He
greets us each day with a Holy Kiss. May we stop to hear what He says to us
through His Holy Spirit.