Psalms 116
KingCommentsPsalms 116:1
From Strength to Strength
In this new section, which is separated from the previous by a “selah” (Psalms 84:4), it appears that the blessing of dwelling in God’s house results from having fellowship with God. This is experienced by “the man whose strength is in” God, and “in whose heart are the highways” (Psalms 84:5). It begins with the restatement in this psalm of a ‘blessed’. In Psalms 84:12, a ‘blessed’ sounds for the third and last time in this psalm. There it indicates by what the blessing of ‘blessed’ is obtained, namely ‘the trust in the LORD of hosts’!
Psalms 84:1b-4 are about dwelling in God’s house. Psalms 84:5-8 are about the pilgrim’s way to come there. Those who dwell in God’s house are “blessed” (Psalms 84:4), but the pilgrim is also “blessed” (Psalms 84:5), even though he is not yet in God’s house. He is “blessed” because his heart is in God’s house and he is on his way there. Those who are in God’s house are blessed. Those who are on their way there are also blessed, as the following verses show.
In principle, every believer is “blessed” because his transgressions are forgiven (Psalms 32:1). Here, however, it goes a step further. The sons of Korah say that this applies to the man “whose strength is in You”. Such people do not look to their own abilities. They see themselves as powerless to go the way to the sanctuary, but they know that God is powerful to bring them there. Therefore, they seek their strength in Him (cf. 2 Timothy 2:1; Ephesians 6:10).
The consequence of this is that in their “heart are the highways”. In Jeremiah 31 we also find this expression: “Direct your mind to the highway” (Jeremiah 31:21; cf. Isaiah 33:8). This means that they are walking on the pilgrim way to Jerusalem with the confidence that the LORD will bring them there safely.
There is an undivided, a united, heart in them (Psalms 86:11). They do not hesitate between two opinions (1 Kings 18:21). Their heart is completely set on God (2 Chronicles 16:9). The highway is the way that leads to God’s house, to God, to heaven. The highway is free from all obstacles (cf. Isaiah 40:3-4; Luke 3:2-9). He who has the highways in his heart is upright and departs from evil (Proverbs 16:17). He has judged sin and thus cleared the way for the power of God’s Spirit to work in him.
When the heart is undivided and completely focused on God, pilgrims can overcome the difficulties they encounter along the way (Psalms 84:6). Not only do they overcome them, but the difficulties become blessings. “The valley of Baca” can be translated as “the valley of the balsam trees” or “the valley of weeping”. Balsam trees grow in an arid landscape.
It is an arid valley, while in many cases the soil of a valley is more humid, so that trees can still grow in the depths. The myrtle, a symbol of the remnant, also grows in the depth, namely in the bottom of a valley (Zechariah 1:8). When a branch of balsam trees breaks off, a milky juice drips from it, as if tears were flowing.
The translation “valley of tears” comes from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It reminds the pilgrim that the way through life is not a painless one. It is arid and dry, and therefore hard for a pilgrim who needs water (cf. Genesis 21:14-19). Then the transition to a place of springs and early rain is special. Often life is difficult and tears appear. The tears of the pilgrim who has his strength in God become pearls in the light of God. He can sing psalms in the night (Acts 16:25; Job 35:10).
Difficulties and sorrows drive out to God. Thereby the way through the valley of tears becomes a source of blessing. God’s presence is experienced in a way that is not possible during times of prosperity. The tears give way to “the early rain” that will “cover it with blessings”. Countless believers have testified that the need has driven them out to God and that they have found a comfort in Him that they would not want to miss for the world.
The rain here is “the early rain”. The early rain falls in September/October. This is pointing to the fact that this is prophetically about the Feast of Booths, because that is also celebrated in September/October.
Thus the pilgrims “go from strength to strength” (Psalms 84:7). Each new trial, each new suffering, is an occasion to experience the strength of God (cf. Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 4:18). We strengthen ourselves in grace when we are aware that we need it. Grace is the strength by which “[every one of them] appears before God in Zion”. The pilgrims know this. The assurance of their safe arrival at God’s house gives strength to persevere. For us, Christians, the same applies, but with regard to the heavenly Zion to which we are on our way (Hebrews 12:22).
At the same time, there is once again the awareness that in our own strength we will not succeed in reaching the final goal. Certainty of arrival does not blind one to the circumstances or to one’s own weakness. Therefore the pilgrim prays to the “LORD God of hosts” (Psalms 84:8) and asks Him to listen to his prayer.
At the same time he also calls God the “God of Jacob”. The God who stands above all powers is the God of the weak Jacob. With an appeal to that Name the pilgrim asks Him to hear his prayer. They know the God of Jacob as the God Who has shown his grace to him countless times in his life. They recognize themselves in Jacob. Therefore, by appealing to God in this way they appeal to that grace.
Psalms 116:2
From Strength to Strength
In this new section, which is separated from the previous by a “selah” (Psalms 84:4), it appears that the blessing of dwelling in God’s house results from having fellowship with God. This is experienced by “the man whose strength is in” God, and “in whose heart are the highways” (Psalms 84:5). It begins with the restatement in this psalm of a ‘blessed’. In Psalms 84:12, a ‘blessed’ sounds for the third and last time in this psalm. There it indicates by what the blessing of ‘blessed’ is obtained, namely ‘the trust in the LORD of hosts’!
Psalms 84:1b-4 are about dwelling in God’s house. Psalms 84:5-8 are about the pilgrim’s way to come there. Those who dwell in God’s house are “blessed” (Psalms 84:4), but the pilgrim is also “blessed” (Psalms 84:5), even though he is not yet in God’s house. He is “blessed” because his heart is in God’s house and he is on his way there. Those who are in God’s house are blessed. Those who are on their way there are also blessed, as the following verses show.
In principle, every believer is “blessed” because his transgressions are forgiven (Psalms 32:1). Here, however, it goes a step further. The sons of Korah say that this applies to the man “whose strength is in You”. Such people do not look to their own abilities. They see themselves as powerless to go the way to the sanctuary, but they know that God is powerful to bring them there. Therefore, they seek their strength in Him (cf. 2 Timothy 2:1; Ephesians 6:10).
The consequence of this is that in their “heart are the highways”. In Jeremiah 31 we also find this expression: “Direct your mind to the highway” (Jeremiah 31:21; cf. Isaiah 33:8). This means that they are walking on the pilgrim way to Jerusalem with the confidence that the LORD will bring them there safely.
There is an undivided, a united, heart in them (Psalms 86:11). They do not hesitate between two opinions (1 Kings 18:21). Their heart is completely set on God (2 Chronicles 16:9). The highway is the way that leads to God’s house, to God, to heaven. The highway is free from all obstacles (cf. Isaiah 40:3-4; Luke 3:2-9). He who has the highways in his heart is upright and departs from evil (Proverbs 16:17). He has judged sin and thus cleared the way for the power of God’s Spirit to work in him.
When the heart is undivided and completely focused on God, pilgrims can overcome the difficulties they encounter along the way (Psalms 84:6). Not only do they overcome them, but the difficulties become blessings. “The valley of Baca” can be translated as “the valley of the balsam trees” or “the valley of weeping”. Balsam trees grow in an arid landscape.
It is an arid valley, while in many cases the soil of a valley is more humid, so that trees can still grow in the depths. The myrtle, a symbol of the remnant, also grows in the depth, namely in the bottom of a valley (Zechariah 1:8). When a branch of balsam trees breaks off, a milky juice drips from it, as if tears were flowing.
The translation “valley of tears” comes from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It reminds the pilgrim that the way through life is not a painless one. It is arid and dry, and therefore hard for a pilgrim who needs water (cf. Genesis 21:14-19). Then the transition to a place of springs and early rain is special. Often life is difficult and tears appear. The tears of the pilgrim who has his strength in God become pearls in the light of God. He can sing psalms in the night (Acts 16:25; Job 35:10).
Difficulties and sorrows drive out to God. Thereby the way through the valley of tears becomes a source of blessing. God’s presence is experienced in a way that is not possible during times of prosperity. The tears give way to “the early rain” that will “cover it with blessings”. Countless believers have testified that the need has driven them out to God and that they have found a comfort in Him that they would not want to miss for the world.
The rain here is “the early rain”. The early rain falls in September/October. This is pointing to the fact that this is prophetically about the Feast of Booths, because that is also celebrated in September/October.
Thus the pilgrims “go from strength to strength” (Psalms 84:7). Each new trial, each new suffering, is an occasion to experience the strength of God (cf. Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 4:18). We strengthen ourselves in grace when we are aware that we need it. Grace is the strength by which “[every one of them] appears before God in Zion”. The pilgrims know this. The assurance of their safe arrival at God’s house gives strength to persevere. For us, Christians, the same applies, but with regard to the heavenly Zion to which we are on our way (Hebrews 12:22).
At the same time, there is once again the awareness that in our own strength we will not succeed in reaching the final goal. Certainty of arrival does not blind one to the circumstances or to one’s own weakness. Therefore the pilgrim prays to the “LORD God of hosts” (Psalms 84:8) and asks Him to listen to his prayer.
At the same time he also calls God the “God of Jacob”. The God who stands above all powers is the God of the weak Jacob. With an appeal to that Name the pilgrim asks Him to hear his prayer. They know the God of Jacob as the God Who has shown his grace to him countless times in his life. They recognize themselves in Jacob. Therefore, by appealing to God in this way they appeal to that grace.
Psalms 116:3
A Sun and Shield
Those who know God as the God of Jacob because they know themselves, see in God their shield, their protection (Psalms 84:9). God being their shield (Psalms 84:9a) is parallel to God beholding the face of His anointed (Psalms 84:9b). It means that His protection (shield) is based on seeing His anointed. It is similar to the Passover, where God says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).
Their protection, which consists in being able to call the LORD their King and their God, is not based on their faithfulness or their merit. It is based on God looking upon the face of His Anointed, His Messiah. Therefore, the LORD God has become a sun and shield for them (Psalms 84:11). The blessings and salvation in the psalms hereafter are based on the same fact.
What has just been said is evident from the question, “look upon the face of Your anointed”. This means that they are asking God to look not at them, but at His Messiah. “Anointed” is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ and the Greek word ‘Christ’. The remnant knows that they are not in themselves pleasing to God and that God does not listen to them because of who they are. They are pleasing to God only because of their connection to the Messiah.
A beautiful illustration is found in Paul’s letter to Philemon, where he tells Philemon to accept Onesimus as if Onesimus were Paul (Philemon 1:17). Thus the remnant, and thus we too, are accepted by God because God sees them, and us, in Christ.
To the New Testament believer this applies to a higher, heavenly level. He is “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). God can only answer any prayer on the basis of Who His Son is to Him and on the basis of the work He accomplished on Calvary’s cross.
The believer, in whatever age he lives, knows to discern what “is better” (Psalms 84:10). It is better, he confesses, to experience one day of fellowship with God than countless days of enjoying all the goods the world has to offer. “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [outside].”
The comparison of one day to a thousand days makes it clear that one day in the courts of God dwarfs everything else. There is nothing that outweighs being in the courts of God. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). One day of fellowship with the Lord is far preferable to a thousand years in the dwelling (tent) or palace of the wicked (the antichrist and followers).
The sons of Korah add another comparison. They prefer a place “at the threshold of the house of my God” above dwelling “in the tents of wickedness”. They made the right choice from the two choices presented in Psalms 1. They have been obedient to Moses’ call to depart from the tents of the wicked men when their father rebelled. As a result, they did not perish with their father (Numbers 16:23-27; 31-32; Numbers 26:9-11). Their choice for the LORD is a choice against wickedness.
To “stand at the threshold of the house of my God” means to perform a service in the temple in the presence of God. This is in contrast to their ancestor Korah who was not satisfied with what he considered a minor service (Numbers 16:1-3). In 1 Chronicles 26 we read that some of the sons of Korah worked as gatekeepers of the temple, guardians of the entrance (1 Chronicles 26:1-19; 1 Chronicles 9:19).
The sons of Korah explain why they choose the presence of the LORD. The consideration is not difficult, “for the LORD God is a sun and shield” (Psalms 84:11). The remnant here is in darkness and cold. God is “a sun” to them in those circumstances, giving light and warmth. The “sun” is the description of what God is to the believers in the realm of peace (Isaiah 60:19-20; Revelation 21:23; Malachi 4:2). He is also their “shield”, that is, their protection.
Having said what God is, the sons of Korah say what He will give. He “gives grace and glory”. Grace is needed to make the journey to God’s house (John 1:16). Glory will be given to the pilgrims when they get there. God will honor them for their perseverance. Grace has its origin in Him. The same is true of glory. What He honors the pilgrim for is the result of His work in the pilgrim. Honor or glory is the consequence when we behold the Lord Jesus in faith. We are then changed in His “image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Yet He imputes to the pilgrim the perseverance for which He has given the strength. The homage He pays is therefore an expression of His grace. No one will congratulate and praise himself for what he has done. Nor will anyone want to do that, for God has given all that has been necessary for the way that has been traveled.
God withholds no good thing “from those who walk uprightly” (cf. Psalms 15:1-2). That God does not withhold good thing means that God gives what is needed (cf. Philippians 4:19). It is a stronger expression than saying that God gives. With giving, the act, the giving, is more prominent. With not withholding, the emphasis is on the person using the opportunity to give.
By this mode of expression, the Spirit meets our tendency to accuse God of withholding something from us when He does not give us something we ask for or think we need. The devil was successful with Eve because he was able to convince her that God had withheld something from her.
“Those who walk uprightly” are those who go their way with God. They are not sinless or faultless, but they are pure in heart, though they “stumble in many [ways]” (James 3:2). The upright person is honest and transparent in his motives. He is focused on God and desires to live before His face, that is, in His presence, in the awareness of His presence.
This God is the “LORD of hosts” (Psalms 84:12). The sons of Korah use this title for the fourth time in this psalm (Psalms 84:1b; 3; 8; 12). That shows how impressed they are by His exaltation above all heavenly and earthly hosts. The confidence that everything is in His hand, gives rest to continue the way to God’s house.
This almighty God, Who surpasses everything and everyone, is completely worthy of man’s trust. He who does so is truly “blessed”. This is the third time that this word, this ‘beatitude’, occurs. The first time it is in connection with dwelling in the house of God (Psalms 84:4). The second time it is in connection with the heart of those who seek their strength in God (Psalms 84:5). The third time, here, it is connected with trusting God.
Psalms 116:4
A Sun and Shield
Those who know God as the God of Jacob because they know themselves, see in God their shield, their protection (Psalms 84:9). God being their shield (Psalms 84:9a) is parallel to God beholding the face of His anointed (Psalms 84:9b). It means that His protection (shield) is based on seeing His anointed. It is similar to the Passover, where God says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).
Their protection, which consists in being able to call the LORD their King and their God, is not based on their faithfulness or their merit. It is based on God looking upon the face of His Anointed, His Messiah. Therefore, the LORD God has become a sun and shield for them (Psalms 84:11). The blessings and salvation in the psalms hereafter are based on the same fact.
What has just been said is evident from the question, “look upon the face of Your anointed”. This means that they are asking God to look not at them, but at His Messiah. “Anointed” is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ and the Greek word ‘Christ’. The remnant knows that they are not in themselves pleasing to God and that God does not listen to them because of who they are. They are pleasing to God only because of their connection to the Messiah.
A beautiful illustration is found in Paul’s letter to Philemon, where he tells Philemon to accept Onesimus as if Onesimus were Paul (Philemon 1:17). Thus the remnant, and thus we too, are accepted by God because God sees them, and us, in Christ.
To the New Testament believer this applies to a higher, heavenly level. He is “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). God can only answer any prayer on the basis of Who His Son is to Him and on the basis of the work He accomplished on Calvary’s cross.
The believer, in whatever age he lives, knows to discern what “is better” (Psalms 84:10). It is better, he confesses, to experience one day of fellowship with God than countless days of enjoying all the goods the world has to offer. “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [outside].”
The comparison of one day to a thousand days makes it clear that one day in the courts of God dwarfs everything else. There is nothing that outweighs being in the courts of God. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). One day of fellowship with the Lord is far preferable to a thousand years in the dwelling (tent) or palace of the wicked (the antichrist and followers).
The sons of Korah add another comparison. They prefer a place “at the threshold of the house of my God” above dwelling “in the tents of wickedness”. They made the right choice from the two choices presented in Psalms 1. They have been obedient to Moses’ call to depart from the tents of the wicked men when their father rebelled. As a result, they did not perish with their father (Numbers 16:23-27; 31-32; Numbers 26:9-11). Their choice for the LORD is a choice against wickedness.
To “stand at the threshold of the house of my God” means to perform a service in the temple in the presence of God. This is in contrast to their ancestor Korah who was not satisfied with what he considered a minor service (Numbers 16:1-3). In 1 Chronicles 26 we read that some of the sons of Korah worked as gatekeepers of the temple, guardians of the entrance (1 Chronicles 26:1-19; 1 Chronicles 9:19).
The sons of Korah explain why they choose the presence of the LORD. The consideration is not difficult, “for the LORD God is a sun and shield” (Psalms 84:11). The remnant here is in darkness and cold. God is “a sun” to them in those circumstances, giving light and warmth. The “sun” is the description of what God is to the believers in the realm of peace (Isaiah 60:19-20; Revelation 21:23; Malachi 4:2). He is also their “shield”, that is, their protection.
Having said what God is, the sons of Korah say what He will give. He “gives grace and glory”. Grace is needed to make the journey to God’s house (John 1:16). Glory will be given to the pilgrims when they get there. God will honor them for their perseverance. Grace has its origin in Him. The same is true of glory. What He honors the pilgrim for is the result of His work in the pilgrim. Honor or glory is the consequence when we behold the Lord Jesus in faith. We are then changed in His “image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Yet He imputes to the pilgrim the perseverance for which He has given the strength. The homage He pays is therefore an expression of His grace. No one will congratulate and praise himself for what he has done. Nor will anyone want to do that, for God has given all that has been necessary for the way that has been traveled.
God withholds no good thing “from those who walk uprightly” (cf. Psalms 15:1-2). That God does not withhold good thing means that God gives what is needed (cf. Philippians 4:19). It is a stronger expression than saying that God gives. With giving, the act, the giving, is more prominent. With not withholding, the emphasis is on the person using the opportunity to give.
By this mode of expression, the Spirit meets our tendency to accuse God of withholding something from us when He does not give us something we ask for or think we need. The devil was successful with Eve because he was able to convince her that God had withheld something from her.
“Those who walk uprightly” are those who go their way with God. They are not sinless or faultless, but they are pure in heart, though they “stumble in many [ways]” (James 3:2). The upright person is honest and transparent in his motives. He is focused on God and desires to live before His face, that is, in His presence, in the awareness of His presence.
This God is the “LORD of hosts” (Psalms 84:12). The sons of Korah use this title for the fourth time in this psalm (Psalms 84:1b; 3; 8; 12). That shows how impressed they are by His exaltation above all heavenly and earthly hosts. The confidence that everything is in His hand, gives rest to continue the way to God’s house.
This almighty God, Who surpasses everything and everyone, is completely worthy of man’s trust. He who does so is truly “blessed”. This is the third time that this word, this ‘beatitude’, occurs. The first time it is in connection with dwelling in the house of God (Psalms 84:4). The second time it is in connection with the heart of those who seek their strength in God (Psalms 84:5). The third time, here, it is connected with trusting God.
Psalms 116:5
A Sun and Shield
Those who know God as the God of Jacob because they know themselves, see in God their shield, their protection (Psalms 84:9). God being their shield (Psalms 84:9a) is parallel to God beholding the face of His anointed (Psalms 84:9b). It means that His protection (shield) is based on seeing His anointed. It is similar to the Passover, where God says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).
Their protection, which consists in being able to call the LORD their King and their God, is not based on their faithfulness or their merit. It is based on God looking upon the face of His Anointed, His Messiah. Therefore, the LORD God has become a sun and shield for them (Psalms 84:11). The blessings and salvation in the psalms hereafter are based on the same fact.
What has just been said is evident from the question, “look upon the face of Your anointed”. This means that they are asking God to look not at them, but at His Messiah. “Anointed” is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ and the Greek word ‘Christ’. The remnant knows that they are not in themselves pleasing to God and that God does not listen to them because of who they are. They are pleasing to God only because of their connection to the Messiah.
A beautiful illustration is found in Paul’s letter to Philemon, where he tells Philemon to accept Onesimus as if Onesimus were Paul (Philemon 1:17). Thus the remnant, and thus we too, are accepted by God because God sees them, and us, in Christ.
To the New Testament believer this applies to a higher, heavenly level. He is “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). God can only answer any prayer on the basis of Who His Son is to Him and on the basis of the work He accomplished on Calvary’s cross.
The believer, in whatever age he lives, knows to discern what “is better” (Psalms 84:10). It is better, he confesses, to experience one day of fellowship with God than countless days of enjoying all the goods the world has to offer. “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [outside].”
The comparison of one day to a thousand days makes it clear that one day in the courts of God dwarfs everything else. There is nothing that outweighs being in the courts of God. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). One day of fellowship with the Lord is far preferable to a thousand years in the dwelling (tent) or palace of the wicked (the antichrist and followers).
The sons of Korah add another comparison. They prefer a place “at the threshold of the house of my God” above dwelling “in the tents of wickedness”. They made the right choice from the two choices presented in Psalms 1. They have been obedient to Moses’ call to depart from the tents of the wicked men when their father rebelled. As a result, they did not perish with their father (Numbers 16:23-27; 31-32; Numbers 26:9-11). Their choice for the LORD is a choice against wickedness.
To “stand at the threshold of the house of my God” means to perform a service in the temple in the presence of God. This is in contrast to their ancestor Korah who was not satisfied with what he considered a minor service (Numbers 16:1-3). In 1 Chronicles 26 we read that some of the sons of Korah worked as gatekeepers of the temple, guardians of the entrance (1 Chronicles 26:1-19; 1 Chronicles 9:19).
The sons of Korah explain why they choose the presence of the LORD. The consideration is not difficult, “for the LORD God is a sun and shield” (Psalms 84:11). The remnant here is in darkness and cold. God is “a sun” to them in those circumstances, giving light and warmth. The “sun” is the description of what God is to the believers in the realm of peace (Isaiah 60:19-20; Revelation 21:23; Malachi 4:2). He is also their “shield”, that is, their protection.
Having said what God is, the sons of Korah say what He will give. He “gives grace and glory”. Grace is needed to make the journey to God’s house (John 1:16). Glory will be given to the pilgrims when they get there. God will honor them for their perseverance. Grace has its origin in Him. The same is true of glory. What He honors the pilgrim for is the result of His work in the pilgrim. Honor or glory is the consequence when we behold the Lord Jesus in faith. We are then changed in His “image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Yet He imputes to the pilgrim the perseverance for which He has given the strength. The homage He pays is therefore an expression of His grace. No one will congratulate and praise himself for what he has done. Nor will anyone want to do that, for God has given all that has been necessary for the way that has been traveled.
God withholds no good thing “from those who walk uprightly” (cf. Psalms 15:1-2). That God does not withhold good thing means that God gives what is needed (cf. Philippians 4:19). It is a stronger expression than saying that God gives. With giving, the act, the giving, is more prominent. With not withholding, the emphasis is on the person using the opportunity to give.
By this mode of expression, the Spirit meets our tendency to accuse God of withholding something from us when He does not give us something we ask for or think we need. The devil was successful with Eve because he was able to convince her that God had withheld something from her.
“Those who walk uprightly” are those who go their way with God. They are not sinless or faultless, but they are pure in heart, though they “stumble in many [ways]” (James 3:2). The upright person is honest and transparent in his motives. He is focused on God and desires to live before His face, that is, in His presence, in the awareness of His presence.
This God is the “LORD of hosts” (Psalms 84:12). The sons of Korah use this title for the fourth time in this psalm (Psalms 84:1b; 3; 8; 12). That shows how impressed they are by His exaltation above all heavenly and earthly hosts. The confidence that everything is in His hand, gives rest to continue the way to God’s house.
This almighty God, Who surpasses everything and everyone, is completely worthy of man’s trust. He who does so is truly “blessed”. This is the third time that this word, this ‘beatitude’, occurs. The first time it is in connection with dwelling in the house of God (Psalms 84:4). The second time it is in connection with the heart of those who seek their strength in God (Psalms 84:5). The third time, here, it is connected with trusting God.
Psalms 116:6
A Sun and Shield
Those who know God as the God of Jacob because they know themselves, see in God their shield, their protection (Psalms 84:9). God being their shield (Psalms 84:9a) is parallel to God beholding the face of His anointed (Psalms 84:9b). It means that His protection (shield) is based on seeing His anointed. It is similar to the Passover, where God says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).
Their protection, which consists in being able to call the LORD their King and their God, is not based on their faithfulness or their merit. It is based on God looking upon the face of His Anointed, His Messiah. Therefore, the LORD God has become a sun and shield for them (Psalms 84:11). The blessings and salvation in the psalms hereafter are based on the same fact.
What has just been said is evident from the question, “look upon the face of Your anointed”. This means that they are asking God to look not at them, but at His Messiah. “Anointed” is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ and the Greek word ‘Christ’. The remnant knows that they are not in themselves pleasing to God and that God does not listen to them because of who they are. They are pleasing to God only because of their connection to the Messiah.
A beautiful illustration is found in Paul’s letter to Philemon, where he tells Philemon to accept Onesimus as if Onesimus were Paul (Philemon 1:17). Thus the remnant, and thus we too, are accepted by God because God sees them, and us, in Christ.
To the New Testament believer this applies to a higher, heavenly level. He is “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). God can only answer any prayer on the basis of Who His Son is to Him and on the basis of the work He accomplished on Calvary’s cross.
The believer, in whatever age he lives, knows to discern what “is better” (Psalms 84:10). It is better, he confesses, to experience one day of fellowship with God than countless days of enjoying all the goods the world has to offer. “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [outside].”
The comparison of one day to a thousand days makes it clear that one day in the courts of God dwarfs everything else. There is nothing that outweighs being in the courts of God. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). One day of fellowship with the Lord is far preferable to a thousand years in the dwelling (tent) or palace of the wicked (the antichrist and followers).
The sons of Korah add another comparison. They prefer a place “at the threshold of the house of my God” above dwelling “in the tents of wickedness”. They made the right choice from the two choices presented in Psalms 1. They have been obedient to Moses’ call to depart from the tents of the wicked men when their father rebelled. As a result, they did not perish with their father (Numbers 16:23-27; 31-32; Numbers 26:9-11). Their choice for the LORD is a choice against wickedness.
To “stand at the threshold of the house of my God” means to perform a service in the temple in the presence of God. This is in contrast to their ancestor Korah who was not satisfied with what he considered a minor service (Numbers 16:1-3). In 1 Chronicles 26 we read that some of the sons of Korah worked as gatekeepers of the temple, guardians of the entrance (1 Chronicles 26:1-19; 1 Chronicles 9:19).
The sons of Korah explain why they choose the presence of the LORD. The consideration is not difficult, “for the LORD God is a sun and shield” (Psalms 84:11). The remnant here is in darkness and cold. God is “a sun” to them in those circumstances, giving light and warmth. The “sun” is the description of what God is to the believers in the realm of peace (Isaiah 60:19-20; Revelation 21:23; Malachi 4:2). He is also their “shield”, that is, their protection.
Having said what God is, the sons of Korah say what He will give. He “gives grace and glory”. Grace is needed to make the journey to God’s house (John 1:16). Glory will be given to the pilgrims when they get there. God will honor them for their perseverance. Grace has its origin in Him. The same is true of glory. What He honors the pilgrim for is the result of His work in the pilgrim. Honor or glory is the consequence when we behold the Lord Jesus in faith. We are then changed in His “image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Yet He imputes to the pilgrim the perseverance for which He has given the strength. The homage He pays is therefore an expression of His grace. No one will congratulate and praise himself for what he has done. Nor will anyone want to do that, for God has given all that has been necessary for the way that has been traveled.
God withholds no good thing “from those who walk uprightly” (cf. Psalms 15:1-2). That God does not withhold good thing means that God gives what is needed (cf. Philippians 4:19). It is a stronger expression than saying that God gives. With giving, the act, the giving, is more prominent. With not withholding, the emphasis is on the person using the opportunity to give.
By this mode of expression, the Spirit meets our tendency to accuse God of withholding something from us when He does not give us something we ask for or think we need. The devil was successful with Eve because he was able to convince her that God had withheld something from her.
“Those who walk uprightly” are those who go their way with God. They are not sinless or faultless, but they are pure in heart, though they “stumble in many [ways]” (James 3:2). The upright person is honest and transparent in his motives. He is focused on God and desires to live before His face, that is, in His presence, in the awareness of His presence.
This God is the “LORD of hosts” (Psalms 84:12). The sons of Korah use this title for the fourth time in this psalm (Psalms 84:1b; 3; 8; 12). That shows how impressed they are by His exaltation above all heavenly and earthly hosts. The confidence that everything is in His hand, gives rest to continue the way to God’s house.
This almighty God, Who surpasses everything and everyone, is completely worthy of man’s trust. He who does so is truly “blessed”. This is the third time that this word, this ‘beatitude’, occurs. The first time it is in connection with dwelling in the house of God (Psalms 84:4). The second time it is in connection with the heart of those who seek their strength in God (Psalms 84:5). The third time, here, it is connected with trusting God.
Psalms 116:8
Introduction
Now that the remnant of the ten tribes has returned from exile we have an outward restoration. In Psalms 85 we find the spiritual exercise of the remnant leading to inner restoration. We first have a retrospective (Psalms 85:1b-3), then a look ahead (Psalms 85:4-7) with finally teaching from the LORD to comfort the remnant (Psalms 85:8-13).
God Shows Favor to His Land
For “for the choir director” (Psalms 85:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.
For “a Psalm of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.
The first part of the psalm (Psalms 85:1b-3) gives a retrospective. The psalm begins with the grateful acknowledgment that the LORD has shown “favor to” His “land” (Psalms 85:1b) – Israel is His land (Leviticus 25:23). It is about the time when God has “restored the captivity of Jacob” (Leviticus 26:44-45). This is what the remnant will say when the great tribulation is over and the people, Jacob, that is the twelve tribes, have been brought back by God to His land. The land is God’s, He owns the land, and dwells in it in His own who dwell in it.
The blessing is the result of the removal of the iniquity and sin of the people (Psalms 85:2). It concerns the believers of the ten tribes. They have received forgiveness for their sins; the anger no longer rests on them. Their iniquity and sins have been the reason for God to drive His people out of His land. These sins can be summarized in two things: not accepting the Son, the Messiah, and accepting, serving and following the antichrist (John 5:43). In other words: murder and (spiritual) adultery, or the breaking of the commandments of both of the two stone tablets of the law.
But He “forgave the iniquity” of His people. The word “forgave” or “carried away” is reminiscent of the day of atonement where the goat that is sent away carried away all the iniquities of the people to a solitary land in the east (Leviticus 16:22). The iniquity of His people is that they rejected Him in His Son. He has taken it away by making the rejection the basis for their blessing. He has done this by laying the iniquity of the people upon His Son and judging Him for it.
Iniquity was manifested in their countless sins. The rejection of the Son is the culmination and irrefutable evidence of a life full of sin. But He has “covered all their sin”. The covering for sin is likewise found in the work of His Son. The blood of Christ covers all the sins, without exception, of every one who confesses his sins and believes in Him (1 John 1:7).
The remnant can say to God “You withdrew all Your fury” because the Son of God has already suffered the wrath of God over sin (Psalms 85:3; cf. Psalms 42:8b). Because God has let His burning wrath pass over His Son by making Him sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), God has “turned away” from His “burning anger” over His people.
Psalms 116:9
Introduction
Now that the remnant of the ten tribes has returned from exile we have an outward restoration. In Psalms 85 we find the spiritual exercise of the remnant leading to inner restoration. We first have a retrospective (Psalms 85:1b-3), then a look ahead (Psalms 85:4-7) with finally teaching from the LORD to comfort the remnant (Psalms 85:8-13).
God Shows Favor to His Land
For “for the choir director” (Psalms 85:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.
For “a Psalm of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.
The first part of the psalm (Psalms 85:1b-3) gives a retrospective. The psalm begins with the grateful acknowledgment that the LORD has shown “favor to” His “land” (Psalms 85:1b) – Israel is His land (Leviticus 25:23). It is about the time when God has “restored the captivity of Jacob” (Leviticus 26:44-45). This is what the remnant will say when the great tribulation is over and the people, Jacob, that is the twelve tribes, have been brought back by God to His land. The land is God’s, He owns the land, and dwells in it in His own who dwell in it.
The blessing is the result of the removal of the iniquity and sin of the people (Psalms 85:2). It concerns the believers of the ten tribes. They have received forgiveness for their sins; the anger no longer rests on them. Their iniquity and sins have been the reason for God to drive His people out of His land. These sins can be summarized in two things: not accepting the Son, the Messiah, and accepting, serving and following the antichrist (John 5:43). In other words: murder and (spiritual) adultery, or the breaking of the commandments of both of the two stone tablets of the law.
But He “forgave the iniquity” of His people. The word “forgave” or “carried away” is reminiscent of the day of atonement where the goat that is sent away carried away all the iniquities of the people to a solitary land in the east (Leviticus 16:22). The iniquity of His people is that they rejected Him in His Son. He has taken it away by making the rejection the basis for their blessing. He has done this by laying the iniquity of the people upon His Son and judging Him for it.
Iniquity was manifested in their countless sins. The rejection of the Son is the culmination and irrefutable evidence of a life full of sin. But He has “covered all their sin”. The covering for sin is likewise found in the work of His Son. The blood of Christ covers all the sins, without exception, of every one who confesses his sins and believes in Him (1 John 1:7).
The remnant can say to God “You withdrew all Your fury” because the Son of God has already suffered the wrath of God over sin (Psalms 85:3; cf. Psalms 42:8b). Because God has let His burning wrath pass over His Son by making Him sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), God has “turned away” from His “burning anger” over His people.
Psalms 116:10
Introduction
Now that the remnant of the ten tribes has returned from exile we have an outward restoration. In Psalms 85 we find the spiritual exercise of the remnant leading to inner restoration. We first have a retrospective (Psalms 85:1b-3), then a look ahead (Psalms 85:4-7) with finally teaching from the LORD to comfort the remnant (Psalms 85:8-13).
God Shows Favor to His Land
For “for the choir director” (Psalms 85:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.
For “a Psalm of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.
The first part of the psalm (Psalms 85:1b-3) gives a retrospective. The psalm begins with the grateful acknowledgment that the LORD has shown “favor to” His “land” (Psalms 85:1b) – Israel is His land (Leviticus 25:23). It is about the time when God has “restored the captivity of Jacob” (Leviticus 26:44-45). This is what the remnant will say when the great tribulation is over and the people, Jacob, that is the twelve tribes, have been brought back by God to His land. The land is God’s, He owns the land, and dwells in it in His own who dwell in it.
The blessing is the result of the removal of the iniquity and sin of the people (Psalms 85:2). It concerns the believers of the ten tribes. They have received forgiveness for their sins; the anger no longer rests on them. Their iniquity and sins have been the reason for God to drive His people out of His land. These sins can be summarized in two things: not accepting the Son, the Messiah, and accepting, serving and following the antichrist (John 5:43). In other words: murder and (spiritual) adultery, or the breaking of the commandments of both of the two stone tablets of the law.
But He “forgave the iniquity” of His people. The word “forgave” or “carried away” is reminiscent of the day of atonement where the goat that is sent away carried away all the iniquities of the people to a solitary land in the east (Leviticus 16:22). The iniquity of His people is that they rejected Him in His Son. He has taken it away by making the rejection the basis for their blessing. He has done this by laying the iniquity of the people upon His Son and judging Him for it.
Iniquity was manifested in their countless sins. The rejection of the Son is the culmination and irrefutable evidence of a life full of sin. But He has “covered all their sin”. The covering for sin is likewise found in the work of His Son. The blood of Christ covers all the sins, without exception, of every one who confesses his sins and believes in Him (1 John 1:7).
The remnant can say to God “You withdrew all Your fury” because the Son of God has already suffered the wrath of God over sin (Psalms 85:3; cf. Psalms 42:8b). Because God has let His burning wrath pass over His Son by making Him sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), God has “turned away” from His “burning anger” over His people.
Psalms 116:11
Restore Us
The glorious situation of the previous verses has not yet arrived. The ten tribes have received the forgiveness, but they don’t yet understand the reality and scope of it properly. We see this in picture in the difficulty the brothers of Joseph had in understanding and accepting the depth and genuineness of Joseph’s forgiveness.
The remnant is still far from God’s land. Therefore, they make an urgent appeal to the “God of our salvation” to restore them i.e. to bring them back into the land (Psalms 85:4). They are in the great tribulation, in which they acknowledge God’s indignation toward them because of their iniquity and sins. The question to God, “cause Your indignation toward us to cease”, involves the acknowledgment of its righteousness. It is a demand for grace.
The LORD has forgiven them (Psalms 85:2-3), but they ask for forgiveness again. We see this in pictures in Genesis 50 with the brothers of Joseph (Genesis 50:17). Years after Joseph has forgiven them, they ask again for forgiveness. In the same way, there are many Christians who are not sure of the forgiveness of their sins. They have accepted the Lord Jesus and received forgiveness, but in their lives they are often uncertain because time and again they return to the law and time and again they look to themselves instead of to the Lord’s accomplished work.
Surely it cannot be, they continue to ask, that “You will be angry with us forever?” (Psalms 85:5). Surely God cannot prolong His anger “to all generations”, can He? They bow in despair under God’s indignation, experiencing it as endless.
Yet in their despair there is also a trace of hope. They speak emphatically to God, saying: You, God, “will You not Yourself revive us again?” (Psalms 85:6). They acknowledge that only God is able to do that. When He does, the result is that His people rejoice in Him. A people who have been made spiritually alive is a people who rejoice in God.
They have doubts about their relationship with God. They are asking for God to revive them again. This means that they feel ‘dead’, which means that they do not experience a relationship with God. We hear this in what the father says of the prodigal son (Luke 15:24a) and in what is written of the condition of unbelievers (Ephesians 2:1). To live means to have a relationship. “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:11-12).
They passionately appeal to the LORD to show them His “lovingkindness” (Psalms 85:7). Lovingkindness is the translation of the Hebrew word Adonai, which means covenant faithfulness, which means that the blessings, the lovingkindness, are based on the covenant. They make everything dependent on Him. From themselves they expect nothing. The salvation of the realm of peace, for which they so long, must come from Him. He must give it. That is what they beg Him for.
Psalms 116:12
Restore Us
The glorious situation of the previous verses has not yet arrived. The ten tribes have received the forgiveness, but they don’t yet understand the reality and scope of it properly. We see this in picture in the difficulty the brothers of Joseph had in understanding and accepting the depth and genuineness of Joseph’s forgiveness.
The remnant is still far from God’s land. Therefore, they make an urgent appeal to the “God of our salvation” to restore them i.e. to bring them back into the land (Psalms 85:4). They are in the great tribulation, in which they acknowledge God’s indignation toward them because of their iniquity and sins. The question to God, “cause Your indignation toward us to cease”, involves the acknowledgment of its righteousness. It is a demand for grace.
The LORD has forgiven them (Psalms 85:2-3), but they ask for forgiveness again. We see this in pictures in Genesis 50 with the brothers of Joseph (Genesis 50:17). Years after Joseph has forgiven them, they ask again for forgiveness. In the same way, there are many Christians who are not sure of the forgiveness of their sins. They have accepted the Lord Jesus and received forgiveness, but in their lives they are often uncertain because time and again they return to the law and time and again they look to themselves instead of to the Lord’s accomplished work.
Surely it cannot be, they continue to ask, that “You will be angry with us forever?” (Psalms 85:5). Surely God cannot prolong His anger “to all generations”, can He? They bow in despair under God’s indignation, experiencing it as endless.
Yet in their despair there is also a trace of hope. They speak emphatically to God, saying: You, God, “will You not Yourself revive us again?” (Psalms 85:6). They acknowledge that only God is able to do that. When He does, the result is that His people rejoice in Him. A people who have been made spiritually alive is a people who rejoice in God.
They have doubts about their relationship with God. They are asking for God to revive them again. This means that they feel ‘dead’, which means that they do not experience a relationship with God. We hear this in what the father says of the prodigal son (Luke 15:24a) and in what is written of the condition of unbelievers (Ephesians 2:1). To live means to have a relationship. “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:11-12).
They passionately appeal to the LORD to show them His “lovingkindness” (Psalms 85:7). Lovingkindness is the translation of the Hebrew word Adonai, which means covenant faithfulness, which means that the blessings, the lovingkindness, are based on the covenant. They make everything dependent on Him. From themselves they expect nothing. The salvation of the realm of peace, for which they so long, must come from Him. He must give it. That is what they beg Him for.
Psalms 116:13
Restore Us
The glorious situation of the previous verses has not yet arrived. The ten tribes have received the forgiveness, but they don’t yet understand the reality and scope of it properly. We see this in picture in the difficulty the brothers of Joseph had in understanding and accepting the depth and genuineness of Joseph’s forgiveness.
The remnant is still far from God’s land. Therefore, they make an urgent appeal to the “God of our salvation” to restore them i.e. to bring them back into the land (Psalms 85:4). They are in the great tribulation, in which they acknowledge God’s indignation toward them because of their iniquity and sins. The question to God, “cause Your indignation toward us to cease”, involves the acknowledgment of its righteousness. It is a demand for grace.
The LORD has forgiven them (Psalms 85:2-3), but they ask for forgiveness again. We see this in pictures in Genesis 50 with the brothers of Joseph (Genesis 50:17). Years after Joseph has forgiven them, they ask again for forgiveness. In the same way, there are many Christians who are not sure of the forgiveness of their sins. They have accepted the Lord Jesus and received forgiveness, but in their lives they are often uncertain because time and again they return to the law and time and again they look to themselves instead of to the Lord’s accomplished work.
Surely it cannot be, they continue to ask, that “You will be angry with us forever?” (Psalms 85:5). Surely God cannot prolong His anger “to all generations”, can He? They bow in despair under God’s indignation, experiencing it as endless.
Yet in their despair there is also a trace of hope. They speak emphatically to God, saying: You, God, “will You not Yourself revive us again?” (Psalms 85:6). They acknowledge that only God is able to do that. When He does, the result is that His people rejoice in Him. A people who have been made spiritually alive is a people who rejoice in God.
They have doubts about their relationship with God. They are asking for God to revive them again. This means that they feel ‘dead’, which means that they do not experience a relationship with God. We hear this in what the father says of the prodigal son (Luke 15:24a) and in what is written of the condition of unbelievers (Ephesians 2:1). To live means to have a relationship. “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:11-12).
They passionately appeal to the LORD to show them His “lovingkindness” (Psalms 85:7). Lovingkindness is the translation of the Hebrew word Adonai, which means covenant faithfulness, which means that the blessings, the lovingkindness, are based on the covenant. They make everything dependent on Him. From themselves they expect nothing. The salvation of the realm of peace, for which they so long, must come from Him. He must give it. That is what they beg Him for.
Psalms 116:14
Restore Us
The glorious situation of the previous verses has not yet arrived. The ten tribes have received the forgiveness, but they don’t yet understand the reality and scope of it properly. We see this in picture in the difficulty the brothers of Joseph had in understanding and accepting the depth and genuineness of Joseph’s forgiveness.
The remnant is still far from God’s land. Therefore, they make an urgent appeal to the “God of our salvation” to restore them i.e. to bring them back into the land (Psalms 85:4). They are in the great tribulation, in which they acknowledge God’s indignation toward them because of their iniquity and sins. The question to God, “cause Your indignation toward us to cease”, involves the acknowledgment of its righteousness. It is a demand for grace.
The LORD has forgiven them (Psalms 85:2-3), but they ask for forgiveness again. We see this in pictures in Genesis 50 with the brothers of Joseph (Genesis 50:17). Years after Joseph has forgiven them, they ask again for forgiveness. In the same way, there are many Christians who are not sure of the forgiveness of their sins. They have accepted the Lord Jesus and received forgiveness, but in their lives they are often uncertain because time and again they return to the law and time and again they look to themselves instead of to the Lord’s accomplished work.
Surely it cannot be, they continue to ask, that “You will be angry with us forever?” (Psalms 85:5). Surely God cannot prolong His anger “to all generations”, can He? They bow in despair under God’s indignation, experiencing it as endless.
Yet in their despair there is also a trace of hope. They speak emphatically to God, saying: You, God, “will You not Yourself revive us again?” (Psalms 85:6). They acknowledge that only God is able to do that. When He does, the result is that His people rejoice in Him. A people who have been made spiritually alive is a people who rejoice in God.
They have doubts about their relationship with God. They are asking for God to revive them again. This means that they feel ‘dead’, which means that they do not experience a relationship with God. We hear this in what the father says of the prodigal son (Luke 15:24a) and in what is written of the condition of unbelievers (Ephesians 2:1). To live means to have a relationship. “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:11-12).
They passionately appeal to the LORD to show them His “lovingkindness” (Psalms 85:7). Lovingkindness is the translation of the Hebrew word Adonai, which means covenant faithfulness, which means that the blessings, the lovingkindness, are based on the covenant. They make everything dependent on Him. From themselves they expect nothing. The salvation of the realm of peace, for which they so long, must come from Him. He must give it. That is what they beg Him for.
Psalms 116:15
Blessing For the Land
The doubt of the remnant (Psalms 85:7) gives the LORD the opportunity to teach the remnant about the scope of God’s salvation. After the supplication in the previous verses, the righteous waits for the answer God will give (Psalms 85:8). This expectant attitude after supplication is wonderful and an example for us (cf. Habakkuk 2:1). The righteous knows what God is going to say. He knows this because he knows God’s love for His people.
His people are “His godly ones”. “Godly ones” in Hebrew is chasidim, the plural of chasid, which is derived from Adonai, which is the lovingkindness or ‘covenant faithfulness’. The remnant was in doubt about this and asked the LORD in Psalms 85:7 to show His covenant faithfulness.
In Psalms 85:2-3 they have testified of forgiveness on the basis of the blood of the covenant. In Psalms 85:8 the LORD speaks of peace, He speaks to their hearts – as Joseph once did to his brothers. Then they should not return to the folly of doubting His love. The LORD speaks of peace only to His godly ones, that is, to those who are faithful to His covenant.
God will “speak peace” to those who are still so distressed. Thus God always speaks peace to those who have made peace with Him on the basis of repentance and confession of their sins. In doing so, they must be determined not to “turn back to folly” (cf. Proverbs 28:13b). To return to folly means to return to a state of unbelief, of trusting in idols and of excluding God (Psalms 14:1).
In the light of the New Testament with the application to us, this is not about the peace with God that someone receives at his conversion (Romans 5:1) It is about the peace of God that a believer may experience as he walks in trust and fellowship with God (Philippians 4:7).
The remnant knows for sure, “surely”, that “His salvation is near to those who fear Him” (Psalms 85:9). Salvation is not the portion of everyone, but only of the God-fearing. For them it is “near”, it is imminent and will soon be there. They must hang on a little longer, and then they will fully enjoy salvation in the realm of peace. Associated with this is the fact “that glory may dwell in our land”. If God is feared, that is, if people live in awe of Him – and this will be the case in the realm of peace – this will bring glory to the entire land (cf. Psalms 72:19).
That glory is the blessing and prosperity that will come upon the land. Fundamentally, that glory consists in the Messiah dwelling in the midst of His people. He is their glory (Isaiah 60:1-2; Zechariah 2:5). That glory came to them at Christ’s first coming to earth in Him (John 1:14), but was rejected by them (Isaiah 53:2-3). When He comes to them the second time, His people will confess their sin and He will allow them to share in His earthly glory (Zechariah 12:2; Zechariah 13:1; 9).
This is all the result of Christ’s work on the cross. There “lovingkindness and truth” met and “righteousness and peace” kissed each other (Psalms 85:10). These features are now personified, they are presented as persons, that is, they are present in a strong, emphatic way.
What by sin have become irreconcilable opposites, God has reconciled in Christ on the cross. Lovingkindness always precedes faithfulness or truth (Psalms 25:10; Psalms 89:14; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 20:28; cf. John 1:17b). The cause is that on the ground of the truth the people forfeited every right to blessing. They therefore need lovingkindness or grace to still receive the blessing. But it is grace on the basis of truth.
As a result of Christ’s work of reconciliation, “truth springs from the earth” (Psalms 85:11). Since the Fall, the earth has produced thorns and thistles, the symbols of sin (Genesis 3:18). In the regeneration or rebirth of the earth (Matthew 19:28), which is the realm of peace, thorns and thistles disappear (Isaiah 55:13). Through Christ and His death on the cross, everything has been changed. He has become the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. Because of this, there is already a spiritual harvest of all who are fruits of His work through faith in Him (John 12:24).
Truth in the realm of peace does not spring from the earth because of man’s righteousness. The righteousness that can connect with faithfulness from the earth comes from heaven. It also means that heaven is now in harmony with earth, as the Lord Jesus puts it in the prayer He taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).
This also means that this righteousness is not that of man, but that of God (Romans 3:21), which means that it must be revealed by God. We see this in the realm of peace. The truth that springs from the earth is the truth or faithfulness of God to all His promises, the fulfillment of which is seen in the fullness of blessing on earth. All the earth, yes, all creation, “will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21).
The blessings of the New Testament believer go far beyond that. The blessings of those who belong to the church are not earthly and material, but heavenly and spiritual. They are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). But both earthly and heavenly blessings flow from the righteousness of God in Christ in heaven. Heaven is the source of all blessing.
At that time, when righteousness of God in heaven and truth of God on earth are joined together, “the LORD gives what is good” (Psalms 85:12). “What is good” consists of all the good things that God will give to His people. This includes both earthly good things and spiritual good things. One of the good things of the realm of peace is that the “land will yield its produce”.
The Messiah will go through the land. In doing so, “righteousness will go before Him” like a herald goes out before a king (Psalms 85:13). That righteousness will be seen therein that He makes “His footsteps into a way”. The remnant may follow Him. All they have to do is put their footsteps in those of the Messiah. The way the remnant goes is the way the Messiah first went in righteousness.
Righteousness is the hallmark of the realm of peace par excellence. The LORD will then be the true Melchizedek, the King of righteousness. The LORD will then be Yahweh Tzidkenu or “the LORD our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6d). When He rules on earth, righteousness will rule all the earth (Isaiah 32:1a).
When the Messiah reigns, justice will no longer turn back and truth will no longer stumble in the streets, as it does today (Isaiah 59:14). Justice has returned to earth in Christ and reigning happens in truth. “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).
Psalms 116:16
Blessing For the Land
The doubt of the remnant (Psalms 85:7) gives the LORD the opportunity to teach the remnant about the scope of God’s salvation. After the supplication in the previous verses, the righteous waits for the answer God will give (Psalms 85:8). This expectant attitude after supplication is wonderful and an example for us (cf. Habakkuk 2:1). The righteous knows what God is going to say. He knows this because he knows God’s love for His people.
His people are “His godly ones”. “Godly ones” in Hebrew is chasidim, the plural of chasid, which is derived from Adonai, which is the lovingkindness or ‘covenant faithfulness’. The remnant was in doubt about this and asked the LORD in Psalms 85:7 to show His covenant faithfulness.
In Psalms 85:2-3 they have testified of forgiveness on the basis of the blood of the covenant. In Psalms 85:8 the LORD speaks of peace, He speaks to their hearts – as Joseph once did to his brothers. Then they should not return to the folly of doubting His love. The LORD speaks of peace only to His godly ones, that is, to those who are faithful to His covenant.
God will “speak peace” to those who are still so distressed. Thus God always speaks peace to those who have made peace with Him on the basis of repentance and confession of their sins. In doing so, they must be determined not to “turn back to folly” (cf. Proverbs 28:13b). To return to folly means to return to a state of unbelief, of trusting in idols and of excluding God (Psalms 14:1).
In the light of the New Testament with the application to us, this is not about the peace with God that someone receives at his conversion (Romans 5:1) It is about the peace of God that a believer may experience as he walks in trust and fellowship with God (Philippians 4:7).
The remnant knows for sure, “surely”, that “His salvation is near to those who fear Him” (Psalms 85:9). Salvation is not the portion of everyone, but only of the God-fearing. For them it is “near”, it is imminent and will soon be there. They must hang on a little longer, and then they will fully enjoy salvation in the realm of peace. Associated with this is the fact “that glory may dwell in our land”. If God is feared, that is, if people live in awe of Him – and this will be the case in the realm of peace – this will bring glory to the entire land (cf. Psalms 72:19).
That glory is the blessing and prosperity that will come upon the land. Fundamentally, that glory consists in the Messiah dwelling in the midst of His people. He is their glory (Isaiah 60:1-2; Zechariah 2:5). That glory came to them at Christ’s first coming to earth in Him (John 1:14), but was rejected by them (Isaiah 53:2-3). When He comes to them the second time, His people will confess their sin and He will allow them to share in His earthly glory (Zechariah 12:2; Zechariah 13:1; 9).
This is all the result of Christ’s work on the cross. There “lovingkindness and truth” met and “righteousness and peace” kissed each other (Psalms 85:10). These features are now personified, they are presented as persons, that is, they are present in a strong, emphatic way.
What by sin have become irreconcilable opposites, God has reconciled in Christ on the cross. Lovingkindness always precedes faithfulness or truth (Psalms 25:10; Psalms 89:14; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 20:28; cf. John 1:17b). The cause is that on the ground of the truth the people forfeited every right to blessing. They therefore need lovingkindness or grace to still receive the blessing. But it is grace on the basis of truth.
As a result of Christ’s work of reconciliation, “truth springs from the earth” (Psalms 85:11). Since the Fall, the earth has produced thorns and thistles, the symbols of sin (Genesis 3:18). In the regeneration or rebirth of the earth (Matthew 19:28), which is the realm of peace, thorns and thistles disappear (Isaiah 55:13). Through Christ and His death on the cross, everything has been changed. He has become the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. Because of this, there is already a spiritual harvest of all who are fruits of His work through faith in Him (John 12:24).
Truth in the realm of peace does not spring from the earth because of man’s righteousness. The righteousness that can connect with faithfulness from the earth comes from heaven. It also means that heaven is now in harmony with earth, as the Lord Jesus puts it in the prayer He taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).
This also means that this righteousness is not that of man, but that of God (Romans 3:21), which means that it must be revealed by God. We see this in the realm of peace. The truth that springs from the earth is the truth or faithfulness of God to all His promises, the fulfillment of which is seen in the fullness of blessing on earth. All the earth, yes, all creation, “will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21).
The blessings of the New Testament believer go far beyond that. The blessings of those who belong to the church are not earthly and material, but heavenly and spiritual. They are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). But both earthly and heavenly blessings flow from the righteousness of God in Christ in heaven. Heaven is the source of all blessing.
At that time, when righteousness of God in heaven and truth of God on earth are joined together, “the LORD gives what is good” (Psalms 85:12). “What is good” consists of all the good things that God will give to His people. This includes both earthly good things and spiritual good things. One of the good things of the realm of peace is that the “land will yield its produce”.
The Messiah will go through the land. In doing so, “righteousness will go before Him” like a herald goes out before a king (Psalms 85:13). That righteousness will be seen therein that He makes “His footsteps into a way”. The remnant may follow Him. All they have to do is put their footsteps in those of the Messiah. The way the remnant goes is the way the Messiah first went in righteousness.
Righteousness is the hallmark of the realm of peace par excellence. The LORD will then be the true Melchizedek, the King of righteousness. The LORD will then be Yahweh Tzidkenu or “the LORD our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6d). When He rules on earth, righteousness will rule all the earth (Isaiah 32:1a).
When the Messiah reigns, justice will no longer turn back and truth will no longer stumble in the streets, as it does today (Isaiah 59:14). Justice has returned to earth in Christ and reigning happens in truth. “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).
Psalms 116:17
Blessing For the Land
The doubt of the remnant (Psalms 85:7) gives the LORD the opportunity to teach the remnant about the scope of God’s salvation. After the supplication in the previous verses, the righteous waits for the answer God will give (Psalms 85:8). This expectant attitude after supplication is wonderful and an example for us (cf. Habakkuk 2:1). The righteous knows what God is going to say. He knows this because he knows God’s love for His people.
His people are “His godly ones”. “Godly ones” in Hebrew is chasidim, the plural of chasid, which is derived from Adonai, which is the lovingkindness or ‘covenant faithfulness’. The remnant was in doubt about this and asked the LORD in Psalms 85:7 to show His covenant faithfulness.
In Psalms 85:2-3 they have testified of forgiveness on the basis of the blood of the covenant. In Psalms 85:8 the LORD speaks of peace, He speaks to their hearts – as Joseph once did to his brothers. Then they should not return to the folly of doubting His love. The LORD speaks of peace only to His godly ones, that is, to those who are faithful to His covenant.
God will “speak peace” to those who are still so distressed. Thus God always speaks peace to those who have made peace with Him on the basis of repentance and confession of their sins. In doing so, they must be determined not to “turn back to folly” (cf. Proverbs 28:13b). To return to folly means to return to a state of unbelief, of trusting in idols and of excluding God (Psalms 14:1).
In the light of the New Testament with the application to us, this is not about the peace with God that someone receives at his conversion (Romans 5:1) It is about the peace of God that a believer may experience as he walks in trust and fellowship with God (Philippians 4:7).
The remnant knows for sure, “surely”, that “His salvation is near to those who fear Him” (Psalms 85:9). Salvation is not the portion of everyone, but only of the God-fearing. For them it is “near”, it is imminent and will soon be there. They must hang on a little longer, and then they will fully enjoy salvation in the realm of peace. Associated with this is the fact “that glory may dwell in our land”. If God is feared, that is, if people live in awe of Him – and this will be the case in the realm of peace – this will bring glory to the entire land (cf. Psalms 72:19).
That glory is the blessing and prosperity that will come upon the land. Fundamentally, that glory consists in the Messiah dwelling in the midst of His people. He is their glory (Isaiah 60:1-2; Zechariah 2:5). That glory came to them at Christ’s first coming to earth in Him (John 1:14), but was rejected by them (Isaiah 53:2-3). When He comes to them the second time, His people will confess their sin and He will allow them to share in His earthly glory (Zechariah 12:2; Zechariah 13:1; 9).
This is all the result of Christ’s work on the cross. There “lovingkindness and truth” met and “righteousness and peace” kissed each other (Psalms 85:10). These features are now personified, they are presented as persons, that is, they are present in a strong, emphatic way.
What by sin have become irreconcilable opposites, God has reconciled in Christ on the cross. Lovingkindness always precedes faithfulness or truth (Psalms 25:10; Psalms 89:14; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 20:28; cf. John 1:17b). The cause is that on the ground of the truth the people forfeited every right to blessing. They therefore need lovingkindness or grace to still receive the blessing. But it is grace on the basis of truth.
As a result of Christ’s work of reconciliation, “truth springs from the earth” (Psalms 85:11). Since the Fall, the earth has produced thorns and thistles, the symbols of sin (Genesis 3:18). In the regeneration or rebirth of the earth (Matthew 19:28), which is the realm of peace, thorns and thistles disappear (Isaiah 55:13). Through Christ and His death on the cross, everything has been changed. He has become the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. Because of this, there is already a spiritual harvest of all who are fruits of His work through faith in Him (John 12:24).
Truth in the realm of peace does not spring from the earth because of man’s righteousness. The righteousness that can connect with faithfulness from the earth comes from heaven. It also means that heaven is now in harmony with earth, as the Lord Jesus puts it in the prayer He taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).
This also means that this righteousness is not that of man, but that of God (Romans 3:21), which means that it must be revealed by God. We see this in the realm of peace. The truth that springs from the earth is the truth or faithfulness of God to all His promises, the fulfillment of which is seen in the fullness of blessing on earth. All the earth, yes, all creation, “will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21).
The blessings of the New Testament believer go far beyond that. The blessings of those who belong to the church are not earthly and material, but heavenly and spiritual. They are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). But both earthly and heavenly blessings flow from the righteousness of God in Christ in heaven. Heaven is the source of all blessing.
At that time, when righteousness of God in heaven and truth of God on earth are joined together, “the LORD gives what is good” (Psalms 85:12). “What is good” consists of all the good things that God will give to His people. This includes both earthly good things and spiritual good things. One of the good things of the realm of peace is that the “land will yield its produce”.
The Messiah will go through the land. In doing so, “righteousness will go before Him” like a herald goes out before a king (Psalms 85:13). That righteousness will be seen therein that He makes “His footsteps into a way”. The remnant may follow Him. All they have to do is put their footsteps in those of the Messiah. The way the remnant goes is the way the Messiah first went in righteousness.
Righteousness is the hallmark of the realm of peace par excellence. The LORD will then be the true Melchizedek, the King of righteousness. The LORD will then be Yahweh Tzidkenu or “the LORD our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6d). When He rules on earth, righteousness will rule all the earth (Isaiah 32:1a).
When the Messiah reigns, justice will no longer turn back and truth will no longer stumble in the streets, as it does today (Isaiah 59:14). Justice has returned to earth in Christ and reigning happens in truth. “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).
Psalms 116:18
Blessing For the Land
The doubt of the remnant (Psalms 85:7) gives the LORD the opportunity to teach the remnant about the scope of God’s salvation. After the supplication in the previous verses, the righteous waits for the answer God will give (Psalms 85:8). This expectant attitude after supplication is wonderful and an example for us (cf. Habakkuk 2:1). The righteous knows what God is going to say. He knows this because he knows God’s love for His people.
His people are “His godly ones”. “Godly ones” in Hebrew is chasidim, the plural of chasid, which is derived from Adonai, which is the lovingkindness or ‘covenant faithfulness’. The remnant was in doubt about this and asked the LORD in Psalms 85:7 to show His covenant faithfulness.
In Psalms 85:2-3 they have testified of forgiveness on the basis of the blood of the covenant. In Psalms 85:8 the LORD speaks of peace, He speaks to their hearts – as Joseph once did to his brothers. Then they should not return to the folly of doubting His love. The LORD speaks of peace only to His godly ones, that is, to those who are faithful to His covenant.
God will “speak peace” to those who are still so distressed. Thus God always speaks peace to those who have made peace with Him on the basis of repentance and confession of their sins. In doing so, they must be determined not to “turn back to folly” (cf. Proverbs 28:13b). To return to folly means to return to a state of unbelief, of trusting in idols and of excluding God (Psalms 14:1).
In the light of the New Testament with the application to us, this is not about the peace with God that someone receives at his conversion (Romans 5:1) It is about the peace of God that a believer may experience as he walks in trust and fellowship with God (Philippians 4:7).
The remnant knows for sure, “surely”, that “His salvation is near to those who fear Him” (Psalms 85:9). Salvation is not the portion of everyone, but only of the God-fearing. For them it is “near”, it is imminent and will soon be there. They must hang on a little longer, and then they will fully enjoy salvation in the realm of peace. Associated with this is the fact “that glory may dwell in our land”. If God is feared, that is, if people live in awe of Him – and this will be the case in the realm of peace – this will bring glory to the entire land (cf. Psalms 72:19).
That glory is the blessing and prosperity that will come upon the land. Fundamentally, that glory consists in the Messiah dwelling in the midst of His people. He is their glory (Isaiah 60:1-2; Zechariah 2:5). That glory came to them at Christ’s first coming to earth in Him (John 1:14), but was rejected by them (Isaiah 53:2-3). When He comes to them the second time, His people will confess their sin and He will allow them to share in His earthly glory (Zechariah 12:2; Zechariah 13:1; 9).
This is all the result of Christ’s work on the cross. There “lovingkindness and truth” met and “righteousness and peace” kissed each other (Psalms 85:10). These features are now personified, they are presented as persons, that is, they are present in a strong, emphatic way.
What by sin have become irreconcilable opposites, God has reconciled in Christ on the cross. Lovingkindness always precedes faithfulness or truth (Psalms 25:10; Psalms 89:14; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 20:28; cf. John 1:17b). The cause is that on the ground of the truth the people forfeited every right to blessing. They therefore need lovingkindness or grace to still receive the blessing. But it is grace on the basis of truth.
As a result of Christ’s work of reconciliation, “truth springs from the earth” (Psalms 85:11). Since the Fall, the earth has produced thorns and thistles, the symbols of sin (Genesis 3:18). In the regeneration or rebirth of the earth (Matthew 19:28), which is the realm of peace, thorns and thistles disappear (Isaiah 55:13). Through Christ and His death on the cross, everything has been changed. He has become the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. Because of this, there is already a spiritual harvest of all who are fruits of His work through faith in Him (John 12:24).
Truth in the realm of peace does not spring from the earth because of man’s righteousness. The righteousness that can connect with faithfulness from the earth comes from heaven. It also means that heaven is now in harmony with earth, as the Lord Jesus puts it in the prayer He taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).
This also means that this righteousness is not that of man, but that of God (Romans 3:21), which means that it must be revealed by God. We see this in the realm of peace. The truth that springs from the earth is the truth or faithfulness of God to all His promises, the fulfillment of which is seen in the fullness of blessing on earth. All the earth, yes, all creation, “will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21).
The blessings of the New Testament believer go far beyond that. The blessings of those who belong to the church are not earthly and material, but heavenly and spiritual. They are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). But both earthly and heavenly blessings flow from the righteousness of God in Christ in heaven. Heaven is the source of all blessing.
At that time, when righteousness of God in heaven and truth of God on earth are joined together, “the LORD gives what is good” (Psalms 85:12). “What is good” consists of all the good things that God will give to His people. This includes both earthly good things and spiritual good things. One of the good things of the realm of peace is that the “land will yield its produce”.
The Messiah will go through the land. In doing so, “righteousness will go before Him” like a herald goes out before a king (Psalms 85:13). That righteousness will be seen therein that He makes “His footsteps into a way”. The remnant may follow Him. All they have to do is put their footsteps in those of the Messiah. The way the remnant goes is the way the Messiah first went in righteousness.
Righteousness is the hallmark of the realm of peace par excellence. The LORD will then be the true Melchizedek, the King of righteousness. The LORD will then be Yahweh Tzidkenu or “the LORD our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6d). When He rules on earth, righteousness will rule all the earth (Isaiah 32:1a).
When the Messiah reigns, justice will no longer turn back and truth will no longer stumble in the streets, as it does today (Isaiah 59:14). Justice has returned to earth in Christ and reigning happens in truth. “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).
Psalms 116:19
Blessing For the Land
The doubt of the remnant (Psalms 85:7) gives the LORD the opportunity to teach the remnant about the scope of God’s salvation. After the supplication in the previous verses, the righteous waits for the answer God will give (Psalms 85:8). This expectant attitude after supplication is wonderful and an example for us (cf. Habakkuk 2:1). The righteous knows what God is going to say. He knows this because he knows God’s love for His people.
His people are “His godly ones”. “Godly ones” in Hebrew is chasidim, the plural of chasid, which is derived from Adonai, which is the lovingkindness or ‘covenant faithfulness’. The remnant was in doubt about this and asked the LORD in Psalms 85:7 to show His covenant faithfulness.
In Psalms 85:2-3 they have testified of forgiveness on the basis of the blood of the covenant. In Psalms 85:8 the LORD speaks of peace, He speaks to their hearts – as Joseph once did to his brothers. Then they should not return to the folly of doubting His love. The LORD speaks of peace only to His godly ones, that is, to those who are faithful to His covenant.
God will “speak peace” to those who are still so distressed. Thus God always speaks peace to those who have made peace with Him on the basis of repentance and confession of their sins. In doing so, they must be determined not to “turn back to folly” (cf. Proverbs 28:13b). To return to folly means to return to a state of unbelief, of trusting in idols and of excluding God (Psalms 14:1).
In the light of the New Testament with the application to us, this is not about the peace with God that someone receives at his conversion (Romans 5:1) It is about the peace of God that a believer may experience as he walks in trust and fellowship with God (Philippians 4:7).
The remnant knows for sure, “surely”, that “His salvation is near to those who fear Him” (Psalms 85:9). Salvation is not the portion of everyone, but only of the God-fearing. For them it is “near”, it is imminent and will soon be there. They must hang on a little longer, and then they will fully enjoy salvation in the realm of peace. Associated with this is the fact “that glory may dwell in our land”. If God is feared, that is, if people live in awe of Him – and this will be the case in the realm of peace – this will bring glory to the entire land (cf. Psalms 72:19).
That glory is the blessing and prosperity that will come upon the land. Fundamentally, that glory consists in the Messiah dwelling in the midst of His people. He is their glory (Isaiah 60:1-2; Zechariah 2:5). That glory came to them at Christ’s first coming to earth in Him (John 1:14), but was rejected by them (Isaiah 53:2-3). When He comes to them the second time, His people will confess their sin and He will allow them to share in His earthly glory (Zechariah 12:2; Zechariah 13:1; 9).
This is all the result of Christ’s work on the cross. There “lovingkindness and truth” met and “righteousness and peace” kissed each other (Psalms 85:10). These features are now personified, they are presented as persons, that is, they are present in a strong, emphatic way.
What by sin have become irreconcilable opposites, God has reconciled in Christ on the cross. Lovingkindness always precedes faithfulness or truth (Psalms 25:10; Psalms 89:14; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 20:28; cf. John 1:17b). The cause is that on the ground of the truth the people forfeited every right to blessing. They therefore need lovingkindness or grace to still receive the blessing. But it is grace on the basis of truth.
As a result of Christ’s work of reconciliation, “truth springs from the earth” (Psalms 85:11). Since the Fall, the earth has produced thorns and thistles, the symbols of sin (Genesis 3:18). In the regeneration or rebirth of the earth (Matthew 19:28), which is the realm of peace, thorns and thistles disappear (Isaiah 55:13). Through Christ and His death on the cross, everything has been changed. He has become the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. Because of this, there is already a spiritual harvest of all who are fruits of His work through faith in Him (John 12:24).
Truth in the realm of peace does not spring from the earth because of man’s righteousness. The righteousness that can connect with faithfulness from the earth comes from heaven. It also means that heaven is now in harmony with earth, as the Lord Jesus puts it in the prayer He taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).
This also means that this righteousness is not that of man, but that of God (Romans 3:21), which means that it must be revealed by God. We see this in the realm of peace. The truth that springs from the earth is the truth or faithfulness of God to all His promises, the fulfillment of which is seen in the fullness of blessing on earth. All the earth, yes, all creation, “will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Romans 8:21).
The blessings of the New Testament believer go far beyond that. The blessings of those who belong to the church are not earthly and material, but heavenly and spiritual. They are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). But both earthly and heavenly blessings flow from the righteousness of God in Christ in heaven. Heaven is the source of all blessing.
At that time, when righteousness of God in heaven and truth of God on earth are joined together, “the LORD gives what is good” (Psalms 85:12). “What is good” consists of all the good things that God will give to His people. This includes both earthly good things and spiritual good things. One of the good things of the realm of peace is that the “land will yield its produce”.
The Messiah will go through the land. In doing so, “righteousness will go before Him” like a herald goes out before a king (Psalms 85:13). That righteousness will be seen therein that He makes “His footsteps into a way”. The remnant may follow Him. All they have to do is put their footsteps in those of the Messiah. The way the remnant goes is the way the Messiah first went in righteousness.
Righteousness is the hallmark of the realm of peace par excellence. The LORD will then be the true Melchizedek, the King of righteousness. The LORD will then be Yahweh Tzidkenu or “the LORD our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6d). When He rules on earth, righteousness will rule all the earth (Isaiah 32:1a).
When the Messiah reigns, justice will no longer turn back and truth will no longer stumble in the streets, as it does today (Isaiah 59:14). Justice has returned to earth in Christ and reigning happens in truth. “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).