THE BARNABAS LINK
PSALM 85
` You showed favour to Your Land . . . '
To those who regularly receive our `Links' and `Newswatches' we ask your forebearance
in repeating our opening remarks, for unles we do so any newcomers will have no
understanding of what follows. As we know, the Psalms are divided up into five distinct
Books which correspond to the five Books of Torah, or the Pentateuch of our familiar Bible,
and the principal message that is to be found in these first five Books of the Bible will be
found resonating in the five Books of Psalms. Again we need to be reminded that the
numbering of the Psalms is not found in the original Hebrew Scriptures, which were
separated by super or post scriptions, an example of this being `a prayer of David' to `the
Chief Musician'. These `scriptions' are intended to draw our attention to a break in the
narrative, which then opens up into a new theme but still with the principal message - as
we have mentioned above. Unfortunately, the modern numbering of the Psalms often cuts
through the `scriptions', which can only be seen by understanding the main text of the
appropriate Psalm. These `scriptions' are an important part of the text as they give a
deeper understanding of the narrative of the Psalms.
With that background in mind we can now look at Psalm 85 from which our opening title
comes. We note that it is to be found in the third Book of Psalms, which corresponds to the
principal message to be found in the Book of Leviticus, and as this Book is concerned with
ministering within the Sanctuary, that is, the Tabernacle, and later the Temple of the LORD,
it clearly speaks of the righteous requirements for those called to minister to the LORD.
Remembering our opening remarks, you will find that the superscription introducing this
Psalm says, `a Psalm for the Sons of Korah', with the words `For the Director of
Musicians (or, the Chief Musician)' - clearly being a postscription belonging to Psalm 84,
if we read through the previous verses and understand what is being said in that Psalm. The
word translated as `Psalm' comes from the Hebrew word `Mizmor'. This tells us that
what follows is a meditative Psalm which, when linked to the words `for the Sons of Korah'
takes our minds back to an earlier time when Korah the Levite `became insolent and rose
up against Moses'. We know from reading Numbers 16 how the LORD dealt with that
rebellion of Korah, who was a cousin of Moses and Aaron, God's appointed leaders of His
people, for `the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them (the conspirators), with their
households and all Korah's men and all their possessions'.
Nevertheless, the LORD in His mercy did not destroy the entire line of Korah, for we find
them ministering in the Sanctuary long after that rebellion had been dealt with, and by
drawing upon this incident, through the superscription linked to a Mizmor, we gain an
understanding of what is to follow in the words of Psalm 85. It is entrusted to us to
carefully meditate upon, for as surely as the Sons of Korah were spared their forefather's fate
through the grace of the LORD, so those of us who follow on also need to remember that it
still the grace of God which saved us through our acceptance of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
A reading of the Psalm will, however, reveal that we are being asked to meditate upon the
LORD of the Sanctuary rather than upon our ministering in the Sanctuary, and as such it
speaks in this Dispensation of Grace to the Lord of the Temple of the LORD, which is seen
in the gathering of the Church in lawful assembly.
To take this understanding further, it is only through being brought into the `Land' of the
Kingdom of God - which in God's mercy and grace is tied into forgiveness of our past
rebellion, our past life - that as `sons' we can receive the blessings of ministering in the
Sanctuary of the LORD. In that sense, seen in the foreshadowing of the Sons of Korah, we
too can sing a Psalm, a Mizmor, and meditate upon the grace of God, using that knowledge
and turning it into prayer for His continued mercy and grace as we look upon the Lord of
the Sanctuary in this Age of Grace. The opening verses set the scene:
"You showed favour to Your land, O LORD;
You restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of Your people
and covered all their sins. Selah. "
Here the Psalmist is not referring to that earlier rebellion of Korah; neither is he referring
to the later return of the Israelites from captivity in Babylon, for in neither event was there
a restoration of the `Sons of Korah' to the Tabernacle or to the Temple. The Psalmist is
referring to the rebellion of Absolom against his father David, and to David's fortune when
he was restored to his rightful position as King of Israel. These two opening verses give us
full understanding of all that then follows in the remainder of this Psalm - that in dealing
with rebellion against God's Governance, His appointed order, forgiveness flows leading to
being brought back into the Land, which is the only place appointed to meet with God and
to receive His blessings.
The Psalmist pauses here with a `Selah' - which means `stop . . think . . meditate upon
this spiritual truth'. Now bring it forward into this Dispensation of Grace for God's people
and consider truthfully the state of the Land of the Sanctuary of God's people today - a
dealing with rebellion leads to forgiveness and restoration and blessings. Verses 3 to 8 show
the depth of the Psalmist's heart as he speaks for the people and of their repentance for their
part in the rebellion towards David. In verse 9 in their understanding of the depth of the
mercy and grace of God they cry out, `Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that
His Glory may dwell in our land' - the Land of the Sanctuary, the Temple of the LORD.
Once again the Psalmist makes the words personal for it was, and continues to be, a personal
relationship that God requires . . a personal repentance . . a personal forgiveness . . a
personal restoration . . so that our Land, the collective Land of the Sanctuary may once
again reflect His Glory. For the Psalmist this was no abstract place in which God dwelt;
it was the Land of Promise for the people of Israel in that earlier Dispensation! Now in this
Age of Grace it is our Land of the Church which needs that restoration before we can once
again minister in the Sanctuary to be a witness to the surrounding nations of the Presence of
God!
The remaining verses of 10 through to 13 again reveal the personal depth of understanding
of the `prayer for the Land of the Sanctuary' - and it need not be spiritualized out of its
personal and emotional context. We shall use the King James Version for these concluding
verses as we feel they convey this personal depth more strongly: `Mercy and truth are met
together'. Truth can only be understood as eternal and unchanging, and what the world calls
`truth' is but opinions based upon changing circumstances. God's Truth, revealed in His
Son Jesus, is linked to God's Mercy; the Two are intertwined . . compounded . . hammered
into each other and are inseparable and revealed as `Righteousness and Peace have kissed
each other'. It is through such ordinary, everyday, emotional contact between people that
God conveys so much of the personal relationship He looks for in His people! A further
meaning of the words `have kissed each other' conveys a meaning of submission, one to
the other. In the simple act of a kiss there is a total submission for there can be no hostility,
no emnity within that act. It is a joining of two people's emotional and physical being, and
within this natural act, for those who are legally joined into a Marriage Covenant, comes
forth the fruit of those people - and here the Psalmist writes of the issue that comes from
the submission of `Righteousness and Peace': (v11-12)
" Truth shall spring out of the earth;
and Righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good;
and our land shall yield her increase. "
God's Righteousness, now in this Age, imputed to us through His Peace, has indeed `kissed
each other', and Truth, seen in His people through their acceptance of the Lord Jesus, God's
Peace Offering, has indeed sprung out of the earth. God's Righteousness requires
Judgement! His Peace demands Blessing! In the Dispensation of the Law during which the
Psalmist wrote, the words `Righteousness and Peace' would have been impersonal ideals,
but in this Dispensation of Grace they have become a personalized relationship. Our Land,
understood in this context, can only `yield her increase' when we see the profound depth
of that relationship in all who are in the Land of God's Sanctuary. It can be seen in the
everyday act of a kiss, a submision of our individuality one to the other, an acceptance of
the uniqueness of each member of the Body of Christ - who are so often in a rebellious
state, with our fleshy carnal lives and full of our opinions and `truths', not seeing, as the
Sons of Korah did, that `the LORD longs to show favour to the Land and to restore the
fortunes of Jacob' .
The final verse, however, turns our eyes and thoughts back to God and to His faithfulness,
under the guiding Hand of the Holy Spirit:
" Righteousness shall go before Him;
and shall set us in the way of His steps. "
That is our constant and certain hope, that `He shall set us in the way of His steps'. But
if we truly were to `Selah' and pause and meditate, we would see that in Jesus we have
kissed, submitted, and are one people; we have entered into such a personal relationship to
be `His Body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all' - and as Paul continues in his Epistle
to the Ephesians: (3:21)
" Unto Him be glory in the Church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen! "
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