Thursday, April 15, 2010

Psalm 85

4 comments:

Jude said...

v10-13 "Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed do what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps. "

These are beautifull images. My study bible has this to say about it:
These expressions of God's favor toward his people are here personified and the vivid portrayal of their meeting and embracing offers one of the most beautiful images in scripture of God's gracious dealings with his covenent people. Acting as herald or guide, righteousness leads the way and marks the course for God's engagement on his people's behalf--and righteousness is God's perfect faithfulness to all his covenent commitments.

Denise said...

Those verses stood out to me as well - such beautiful images, such hope!

84:5-7
The pilgrimage to the Temple passed through the barren Valley of Weeping. No specific valley has been identified. The "weeping" may have been a symbolic reference to the times of struggles and tears through which people must pass on their way to meet God. Growing strong in God's presence is often preceded by a journey through barren places in our lives. The person who loves to spend time with God will see his or her adversity as an opportunity to experience God's faithfulness even more deeply. If you are walking through your own Valley of Weeping today, be sure your pilgrimage leads toward God, not away from him.

84:11
God does not promise to give us everything WE think is good, but he will not withhold what is permanently good. He will give us the means to walk along his paths, but we must do the walking. When we obey him, he will not hold anything back that will help us serve him.

Unknown said...

"I will listen to God the Lord. He has ordered peace for those who worship Him." v8

Listening requires pause, silence. Solitude. Things that don't come without sacrificing action, noise, company. So often we are so surrounded by the latter that we forfeit the former. I am seeking in this stage of my life to learn the discipline of listening. Of not just slowing down but STOPPING in my tracks.
The words; He has ordered peace for those who worship HIm are especially captivating to me. Peace was my word for 2009 and what a word it was. Also, looking at worship in a different light since a recent message I listened to by Driscoll. We worship what we give our time to. If we don't give TIME and PRIORITY to spending time with the Lord and investing in Him and His Kingdom, we are NOT worshipping Him. Driscoll's comment on "look to your wallet and dayplanner to see what you worship" was really sobering and eye opening.

Mac an Rothaich said...

Have the verses 10-13 on my mind often. They are favorites. So beautiful and full of hope!